Most folks have no idea how many calories they’re downing when they fill their holiday plates. Now, I’d never suggest you go without, but you can still eat wisely while you eat well. Below is a chart for you to have a nice display of calories you could avoid by making some simple changes. Or my favorite way to avoid the unknown calorie over load is to enjoy a little bit of everything, and you can shave hundreds of excess calories off your meal!

	Calories in the Classic (per serving)	High-calories culprits
Mashed Potatoes	400	Lots of butter & cream
Green Bean Casserole	500	Cream & Creamy canned soup mixes
Sweet Potato Casserole with Marshmallows	460	Lots of butter & sugar
Meaty Stuffing	425	High fat meats and excessive butter
Creamy Soup	250-350	Large amounts of butter
Apple Pie	475	Large portion sizes and high-fat crust
Pumpkin Pie	400	Large portion size and high-fat crust

Save calories by trading these for the usual classics:

 

Mashed Potatoes Makeover 

Mashed Potatoes: Smashed Potatoes with Sour Cream and Chives – 270 calories saved (per serving)

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 pounds Yukon gold potatoes (4 medium) unpeeled, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1/4 cup low-sodium chicken broth, warmed
• 1/4 cup reduced fat sour cream
• 1 1/2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives
• Salt
• Freshly ground black pepper

 Directions

• Place potatoes in a steamer basket fitted over a large pot of boiling water.
• Cover and steam for about 15 minutes, or until potatoes are tender.
• Transfer potatoes to a large bowl.
• Add the broth, and coarsely mash the potatoes.
• Stir in the sour cream and chives. Season with salt and pepper, to taste, and serve.

 

 

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Pumpkin Pie Makeup

Slimmed Pumpkin Pie – 108 calories saved

Ingredients
Crust:

• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup cake flour
• 1 1/2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon fine salt
• 1/4 cup cold unsalted butter (1/2 stick), diced
• 1 large egg white
• 1/4 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
• 2 tablespoons ice water, plus more as needed
• Vegetable cooking spray

Filling:

• 1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin puree
• 1 (12-ounce) can evaporated skim milk
• 3/4 cup dark brown sugar
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1/4 teaspoon finely grated orange zest
• 2 tablespoons dark rum
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon fine salt

Directions
To make the crust:

• In a food processor, pulse the flours, sugar, baking powder, and salt until combined.
• Add the butter and pulse the mixture until it resembles cornmeal mixed with pea-sized bits of butter, about 10 times.
• Add the egg white, vinegar, and water, and pulse 1 or 2 times; don’t let the dough form into a ball in the machine. (If the dough is very dry add a couple of teaspoons of cold water.)
• Remove the bowl from the machine, remove the blade, and bring the dough together by hand. Form the dough into a disk, wrap it in plastic wrap, and refrigerate at least 1 hour.

 

• Lightly spray a 9-inch pie pan with oil. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough into a thin disk, about 13 inches in diameter.
• Transfer the dough to the prepared pie pan and trim the edges, leaving about one inch hanging over the edge. Tuck the overhanging dough underneath itself to form an edge even with the rim. Flute the edge as desired.
• Freeze the crust for 30 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• Line the crust with foil and fill with pie weights.
• Bake on the center rack until firm and just cooked, about 20 minutes.
• Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F. Lift the foil to remove the beans, return to the oven, and bake until golden, about 10 minutes.

 

Meanwhile, make the filling:

• In a large bowl, whisk the pumpkin, evaporated milk, brown sugar, eggs, orange zest, & rum.
• In a small bowl, combine the cornstarch, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and salt. Sift the dry ingredients over the pumpkin mixture and whisk until thoroughly blended.
• Pour the filling into the prepared crust and bake until the filling is just set but not cracked, about 1 hour.
• Cool on a rack, serve warm or at room temperature.

 

Slim down tips:

• Spray the pie tin with vegetable cooking spray to assure easy serving
• Top with 2 tablespoons of fat free frozen vanilla yogurt for an additional 23 calories
• This is a large serving (for comparison sake) – cut pie into 10 or 12 pieces instead of 8