Fight Holiday Overindulgence and Maintain Your Diet This Season

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The holidays are often a time of joy, cheer and overindulgence. Unfortunately, all that merriment can leave you feeling sluggish, bloated, fatigued and a little heavier when the holidays are over. Stay on track with these tips to help you feel your best and maintain your weight with healthy, delicious eating throughout the season.
 
 Cut the fat with a surprising substitute. The latest stand-in for butter or margarine is prune purée. Cooks from all over are creating culinary magic with this versatile fat buster. Just mix up your favorite brownie, cake, cookie, or bread recipe, and substitute prune purée for the exact amount of butter, shortening, or oil the recipe recommends. You may have to add a little extra milk or water to reach the right consistency.

To make enough prune purée for several recipes:

  • 1 pound dried, pitted prunes

  • 1 cup hot tap water

  • Purée prunes and water in a food processor. Store in the refrigerator.

     

    Switch it up for fruity flavor. There are other tasty ways you can make your festive baked recipes healthier. Replace the fat with an equal amount of unsweetened applesauce and reduce the liquid ingredients a little to make up for the added moisture.

    Or, the next time you make a coffee cake, substitute half a mashed banana for each cup of oil. This subtracts fat and calories while adding fiber, potassium, and a yummy taste. If you’d like to add a little holiday zing, replace half the fat with an equal amount of pumpkin purée for extra flavor and color.

     

    Make adjustments for these sweet swaps. When baking with fat substitutes, use cake flour instead of all-purpose flour. This will help keep your baked goods tender. Also, be careful not to overbake fat-reduced recipes, which dry out more quickly than traditional variations that call for butter or oil.

    Remember, using fruit substitutes will change the texture and taste of your baked goods, so you may have to experiment to find the proportions you like.

    For even more tips on keeping your diet on track through the holidays, check out Super Abundant Health.

     

     

     

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    • FC&A Staff Writer