6 Party Foods to Avoid This Holiday Season
By: Tanya Jolliffe,
SparkPeople Blogger
12/10/2009 11:25 AM
: 118 comments
: 14,020 Views
Last weekend, my husband and I enjoyed a wonderful evening with many of his co-workers and their guests at their company holiday party. As drinks were enjoyed and the conversation flowed, friendly people roamed around serving appetizers. The most interesting appetizer we tried was the shrimp topped grits cake.
When it was time for the main course, we had our choice of two wonderfully prepared tables, one focusing on vegetarian pastas and the other which included meat entrées. Luckily, none of the worst holiday foods on this list were offered and we enjoyed a wonderful meal, great conversation and exciting entertainment thanks to the Rock Band set up in one of the dining areas.
Which foods should you watch out for and limit at your party events this season?
According to Health.com, here are 6 of the worst holiday foods to watch for this party season.
What party foods will you be watching out for and limiting at your gatherings this season?
When it was time for the main course, we had our choice of two wonderfully prepared tables, one focusing on vegetarian pastas and the other which included meat entrées. Luckily, none of the worst holiday foods on this list were offered and we enjoyed a wonderful meal, great conversation and exciting entertainment thanks to the Rock Band set up in one of the dining areas.
Which foods should you watch out for and limit at your party events this season?
According to Health.com, here are 6 of the worst holiday foods to watch for this party season.
- Swedish meatballs - These savory and creamy balls of ground beef show up in many heating trays or crock pots this time of year. Many see them as a good choice to control portion sizes. However, the creamy sauce should be a give away to the nutrition conscious that they are probably something that is best to limit to a serving size of one. If you want a more nutrition conscious portion controlled meat selection, look for the shrimp cocktail instead.
- Eggnog - This rich, smooth, creamy drink is very calorie rich although delicious. With ingredients such as sugar, eggs, whipping cream and bourbon, there is very little nutrition for the calories and fat you are consuming. There certainly are ways to trim some of those fat and calories with lower calorie recipe options, however, if you are at a party, more than likely that is not the eggnog that is being served. Selecting club soda or spiced cider instead of eggnog, you will not only reduce your risk of food borne illness from contaminated raw eggs, but also limit your fat and calorie consumption, which will save room for the veggie tray.
- Creamed vegetables - One of my favorite appetizers is Spinach and Artichoke dip and I have a hard time only enjoying a taste when it appears on the party buffet table. Creamed spinach or corn as well as cheesy broccoli or cauliflower take normally healthy and nutrient rich options and transform them into a tempting side dish full of saturated fat and calories. The veggie tray is obviously a much healthier choice. If you still want to enjoy a taste of the creamy option, finding a way to focus on the healthy fresh fruits and veggies with a taste of the creamy option as a dip is always a great choice.
- Pot roast - No, say it isn't true, not the roast beast! Yep, unfortunately when we enjoy the meat nicely cut for us by the server in the tall white hat, many times we are selecting one of the fattier beef options. Of course, we accept the gravy when offered and walk away with an entrée with at least 7 grams of saturated fat and something that is not very heart friendly. The white meat of turkey or chicken would be a better meat selection if available as well as baked or broiled fish as long as it isn't roasted in butter.
- Fruitcake - We probably have all heard a fruit cake joke or two over the years but regardless of the jokes, fruitcake remains a holiday favorite at many seasonal parties and gatherings. While the sweet treat does contain fruit, it isn't without loads of butter and sugar as well. Due to fruitcakes density, it is much more of a dessert than bread. Of course selecting fresh fruit is the best option as a nutrient rich, lower calorie alternative. If you were thinking about this cake or bread as a sweet treat for dessert, you would do just as well to select a small slice of pumpkin pie or a sugar cookie.
- Pecan pie - Another of my holiday favorites. Many nuts provide healthy fats along with filling protein but when you add them to sugar, butter, and corn syrup, you get a high calorie dessert. Many delicious pecan pie recipes provide you with a slice that contains more than 500 calories and 20 grams of fat. When enjoyed at the end of your meal, it can totally ruin all your smart choices you made throughout the evening. A handful of mixed nuts would be a better protein choice and if it is sweets you desire, a slice of pumpkin pie provides about half the calories and fat of pecan pie and would be your better pie choice when available.
What party foods will you be watching out for and limiting at your gatherings this season?
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Comments
I for one enjoyed the heck out of the homemade egg nog & schnitzel last night with friends and was back to my normal way of eating this morning. No guilt, only the warm fuzzy of time spent with friends. - 12/20/2009 3:27:49 PM
I've just made it through too days of office parties. I'm happy to report that I stuck to the fresh fruit and vegetable platters, and I didn't even touch the dip. My deal with myself was that I could have some treats if I ate a whole plate of fruits and vegetables first. I did and had no appetite left for the sweets. Yeah! - 12/16/2009 11:33:57 PM
I had to read Wikipedia to know what an eggnog is, for instance, and I am not familiar with creamed vegetables also. For sure I know a lot of things I should avoid, and for me such a food is chocolate, or panettone, or torrone, a typical dessert made with nuts and sugar, also a disaster for tooth.
What a pity for the pot roast..... ;0(
- 12/14/2009 5:40:29 AM
I don't eat most of these things on the list I do like them,except for the fruit cake. - 12/14/2009 1:53:51 AM
I also LOVE cookies so Christmas is challenging since so many people bring homemade cookies to work.
I'm just working to keep up my exercising during the holidays, and my goal is to gain no more than 3 lbs if I gain at all. This is realistic. I'm going to work hard to make this a reasonable holiday season, food-wise. - 12/13/2009 8:04:36 PM
Moderation in many cultures is the norm. I get really tired of this all or nothing mentality that seems to underlie the prudential American response to solution finding.
Learning to adapt means sometimes you will fail. Cannot handle that other 2/3 of the pecan sitting around after the event? Throw it out or send it to an office or other residence where it will be appreciated. You *can* have your cake and eat it too! Just not the whole darn thing!
Also, most people dont have battles with making these foods the norm in their diet the other 51 weeks out of the year. Making healthier choices during those weeks makes overindulgence during the 1 week or so much more difficult. You'd be surprised at how much more tempting that fresh fruit tray becomes over the cheese and meat one as you make it part of your life.
Be strong but dont beat yourself up over foods during a holiday feast with family to the point where you become "that person." :)
- 12/13/2009 2:15:24 AM
While some around me piled their plates to overflowing, I went for small portions. Because Thanksgiving at our house is always a joint affair (my wife and I take care of the turkey and dressing, my wife bakes both a Pecan Pie and a Pumpkin Pie and other members bring their favorite dish (or dishes). Because of this, there are always multiple choices.
I weighed everything (my family is used to my quirks) and I had one of everything - except the fresh yeast rolls my wife surprised us with this year. I had three of those.
My breakfast was cut by about 50 calories, and at dinnertime I was still too stuffed to really eat, I forced myself to have some more turkey and crudites.
That's my plan for Christmas, but I sometimes have to adjust for a couple of days before and after.
We have a Christmas tradition that no one cooks on Christmas, so we go out Christmas Eve and get barbecue from the #1 Zaget rated barbecue restaurant in the country, Fiorello's Jack Stack in Martin City - just outside Kansas City, MO.
Would you believe that our small family of 8 gets a gallon of their barbecued beans every Christmas? - 12/13/2009 1:36:27 AM
Most of the other items on the list don't interest me that much. I like beef roast but I make my own pot roast in my crock pot from a shoulder beef roast--one of the leaner cuts of meat.
Fortunately having retired last year I don't have parties to attend so that cuts the temptation as if I want any of these items I have to make them myself. - 12/12/2009 9:00:10 AM
LOL - 12/11/2009 3:33:27 PM
And if something rich isn't one of my absolute, to-die-for, only-at-Christmas favorites, I'll skip it. - 12/11/2009 1:24:22 PM
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