Holiday Eating Revamps 
Holiday parties revolve around food and often the holidays bring more workplace treats as well. Being out of our normal eating and activity routine can leave us feeling lethargic. Here are some ideas on ways to revamp holiday recipes or find dishes and strategies that are fun, healthier, and still delicious.
Swap potatoes for hearty winter squash. Instead of serving baked or mashed potato options, use butternut or acorn squash. They have a slightly sweet flavor and are about half the calories and carbohydrates as potatoes and are a good source of fiber, vitamins and minerals. If you are intimated by the hard squash shell, put it in the microwave for 3 minutes to soften the shell. It will be easy to cut open afterwards. You can swap butternut squash for potatoes in recipes OR use acorn squash in place of mashed potatoes. Winter squash recipes to try: Acorn Squash with Balsamic Glaze or Roasted Butternut Squash
Use spaghetti squash in place of spaghetti noodles. Spaghetti squash looks like spaghetti noodles but has 5 times fewer calories and 4 times fewer carbohydrates than regular noodles. This means you could have 5 cups of spaghetti squash for the same calories as 1 cup of regular noodles! Check out these 35 Spaghetti Squash Recipe Ideas.
Use plain Greek yogurt in place of sour cream. Are you serving dips? Make your own by using plain Greek yogurt, instead of sour cream, and a packet of dip seasonings (or use your own seasoning combination). You will get 6 times more protein, 6 times less saturated fat and 3 times less calories by making that one switch and you won’t be able to tell the difference! Check out this Yogurt Ranch Dip Recipe.
Revamp your plate with a focus on the non-starchy vegetables. Mashed potatoes, stuffing, dinner roll, sweet potatoes, corn, green bean casserole—all at the same meal? Many holiday meals are carbohydrate and fat heavy making us feel sluggish. Volunteer to bring the vegetable dish to the meal and look to www.myplate.gov for inspiration when dishing up your plate. Try filling half the plate with this delicious roasted vegetables recipe, a quarter with your meat and a quarter with one of the starch options from above. You won’t have the after-meal coma, PLUS, you will enjoy dessert later!
Revamp the alcohol. Try these tips to enjoy a cocktail while reducing the empty calories: Use less alcohol in the drink. Use a calorie-free seltzer as a mixer. Skip fruity, sugary drinks. Bring your own lower-calorie beer. Drink a glass of water between alcoholic drinks. Use a smaller glass. Check out more ideas here.
Holidays at work. If you like to do something nice for co-workers at the holidays, try giving small gifts like hand sanitizer or lotion as an alternative to food. Or bring a bowl of fruit-clementine’s, bananas and apples are all great choices for snack breaks. Individual bags of almonds, pretzels or baked chips could also be appreciated. If a co-worker brings in a plate of sweets that is tempting you daily, try limiting yourself to one piece of your favorite treat each day. If none of the options are your favorite, maybe it’s not worth the splurge?
Photo: ©iStock.com/bhofack2
