Healthy Christmas recipes for weight loss

How to prepare for the holiday season

Can Christmas foods really be dangerous for your diet? Can we avoid gaining weight in the midst of the unrestrained Christmas rush? I would like to help you maintain a healthy diet during the holidays, and I also encourage you to try new things. Read on and get some ideas!

It starts earlier and earlier

At the end of October, the start button is pressed for Christmas preparations. This means that Christmas cookies and chocolate Santa Clauses are relentlessly tempting us in stores. From mid-November, Christmas music is playing. Retailers are getting ready earlier and earlier for us to start buying holiday items. Sugary Christmas cakes. Boxes to go with them. New mugs with winter patterns for hot chocolate. I could go on and on. In this frenzied Christmas rush, it’s no wonder you find it hard to resist the temptation of high-calorie foods.

It is human nature to be tempted.

Before you think that I am definitely not tempted (because I only eat according to a sample diet plan, which does not include white sugar and white flour), let me reassure you: I am easily tempted too.

Speculoos cookies

Perhaps you are familiar with Favorina speculoos cookies. You have surely seen them at Lidl if you have been there around Christmas time. They are crispy cookies flavored with gingerbread spices. There is even a cookie spread available now (in Hungary).

Over the weekend, I was looking for Christmas recipe inspiration, and when I went on Instagram, I was inundated with photos of speculoos Christmas cookies and cream cakes.

The next time I went to Lidl, I threw a jar of honey cream into my basket. 🙂 I had never eaten anything like it before. I was curious to know why everyone was so crazy about it. When I tasted it, I understood. It was delicious. Pure sweetness. You only need a little, and of course, even a small amount is full of calories.

One teaspoon (10 g) contains 59 calories, which wouldn’t be too bad. I think it’s better to count at least three servings (30 g), because it’s easy to overeat. That’s 176 calories, 16 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of protein, and unfortunately 12 grams of fat.

The calories aren’t a problem, as 200 calories is acceptable for a small meal (mid-morning or afternoon snack), but the fat content is high.

If I had to sum it up in one word, I would say dangerous. Certainly from the point of view of diet and healthy eating.

Dangerous Christmas foods

As the holidays approach, there are more and more dangers lurking for those of us who eat healthily. And it’s so easy to be tempted!

After the pause for effect, I could now write down how many calories are in each of our beloved Christmas foods to scare you. I don’t see the point in that. Because I don’t want to tell you not to indulge. I want to tell you to allow yourself to enjoy them! Go ahead and taste them! (Unless, of course, you have a food allergy or illness.) Know what they taste like! Because I think total restriction is much worse for your soul. Don’t crave them! Eat what you want, just keep it in moderation!

Two Favorina speculoos cookies contain only 116 calories (17 grams of carbohydrates, 5 grams of fat, and 1 gram of protein). Based on these figures, they can even fit into a small meal (mid-morning or afternoon snack), even if you are on a diet.

How can it fit?

The secret lies in counting calories and the Eat and Lose Weight method. If you are not familiar with it, you can learn about it in the Lifestyle Change Package.

Legnépszerűbb:

Életmódváltó csomag

Ebben a tudáscsomagomban ahhoz szeretnék neked gyakorlati tanácsokat adni, hogy hogyan alakítsd ki te magad a saját, személyre szabott diétás étrendedet. Mindezt kínkeserves éhezés és bonyolult méricskélések nélkül. Ne feledd, a cél az, hogy egy olyan étrended legyen, amit hosszú távon, könnyedén be is tudsz tartani, mert a zsírpárnáktól való tartós megszabaduláshoz idő kell!

Megnézem

So it’s not that dangerous after all?

Yes and no. In fact, there is nothing useful in Spakulatius Christmas cookies or their cream filling that your body really needs. I consider them to be empty calories that don’t fill you up, and afterwards you just want more sweets.

In my opinion, moderation is key. Two Christmas cookies won’t ruin your health. Neither will buying a chocolate Santa Claus or anything else that the festive shopping season dictates. However, you can quickly exceed your calorie limit if you want to buy and taste everything you see in the store. That’s why I’m writing that this is a critically difficult time for those who want to eat healthily or lose weight. Awareness is especially important now.

Searching for Christmas recipe inspiration

I didn’t look for Christmas recipe inspiration on Instagram at first. My tried-and-tested recipe for getting into the Christmas spirit is to dig out my old recipe magazines. Most of them are from 2006, but there are also some from 1998. My mother used to collect them, and she usually bought the Christmas issues. When the question of what to cook for Christmas arises, the first thing we do is pull out this basket of old magazines. We flip through them, and in the end, the menu will be pretty much the same as last year and the year before.

Yes, that’s the sad reality. We used to experiment more, but lately we’ve stuck to tried and tested recipes. There’s always a recipe that has to be made (because without it, it’s not Christmas), and then there’s no capacity left for new dishes. (How did we have more time before?)

As I leafed through these magazines this year, I was overcome by a feeling of emptiness. I no longer found the recipes as exciting or spectacular as the ones I see on Instagram or Pinterest, for example. To my eyes, they seemed like boring ideas.

Perhaps social media has spoiled us? Or should we just accept that the world has evolved, and with it, recipes? I don’t know the answer. In any case, I certainly didn’t find inspiration in these old recipe magazines.

However, they did help me with a little analysis. I compiled a list of ingredients that we consider to be Christmas ingredients.

These include, among others:

• turkey
• duck
• fish
• prunes
• raisins
• oranges
• pomegranates
• coconut
• cinnamon
• chestnuts
• honey
• apples
• poppy seeds
• walnuts

Show me something new!

I think we should use these ingredients to create new recipes. It would be good to rediscover our desire to experiment and not just stick to traditional, tried-and-tested recipes.

Try something new! That will be my challenge this Christmas.

What are your plans for Christmas this year? Do you also have old, tried-and-tested recipes? Will you try something new? What are your plans? Write your comments below!