Experts on How to Make your Christmas Feast Diet Friendly

Theres a good reason why the holiday season is synonymous with indulgences According to a 2017 survey by a nutrition supplement company an average Christmas dinner contributes a whopping 5200 calories and 190 g of fat Further many festive favourites come loaded with carbs and include generous portions of meat and dairy making it tough on those following restrictive diets such as keto or lowsodium or vegans However experts say that some creative thinking and advance planning can go a long way to ensure your Christmas meals are inclusive and wholesomeFrom left Dr Rida Peerzada Karishma ChawlaFor the calorie consciousNutritionist and lifestyle educator Karishma Chawla emphasises on the importance of planning the menu in advancegtgt List healthy recipes and keep ingredients handy so you arent compelled to substitute caloric ingredients in desperation gtgt Pick lean proteins such as chicken fish turkey lowfat paneer or vegan options such as tofu jackfruit and legumes gtgt Swap fried potatoes with baked potatoes or baked turnip friesgtgt Replace wraps made of corn and refined flour with celery ones filled with lean protein and veggies gtgt Thicken the gravies with nuts such as cashews and almonds rather than corn starch and fullfat cream gtgt Replace white rice with brown or redgtgt Use almond flour to bind vegetables instead of corn starch or bread gtgt Use antiinflammatory oils such as olive and rice bran oil for cooking gtgt For snacks replace refined flour sticks and crackers with olives wholegrain alternatives and vegetable sticks made of carrot and cucumber served with guacamole hummus or hung curd dips gtgt Replace those desserts that are rich in white sugar with fruitbased options or those that use dates or other natural sweetenersDr Siddhant Bhargava a fitness and nutritional scientist and cofounder of Food Darzee points out that the occasional indulgence up to four cheat meals a week will not throw your diet off course A more feasible goal is to focus on maintaining your weight The 52 rule can help in offsetting your caloriedense indulgences Consume only 800 to 850 calories for two days and regular meals on the other five days Replace a few regular meals with cheat meals If you will be eating a heavy meal later in the day prepare in advance by eating mostly lean proteins eggs chicken or protein shakes for breakfast and lunch By doing so you are meeting your daily protein goals while consuming very few calories he saysFor those on the keto dietgtgt Replace mashed potatoes with steamed cauliflower mash seasoned with garlic powder not granules and a sharp cheese gtgt Use almond flour instead of wheat flour Replace sugar with a mix of stevia and powdered erythritol Mixing these two ketofriendly sweeteners greatly reduces the aftertaste from each sweetener gtgt Since berries are ketofriendly use a mix of dried and unsweetened cranberries blueberries and strawberries Soak these in white rum and use in your Christmas cake gtgt For cookies use a mix of almond flour powdered flax seeds and a little bit of powdered chia seeds Replace regular chocolate chips with Lindt 85 per cent chocolate broken into chips gtgt For breads replace flour with almond flour Use baking soda chia seed powder and flaxmeal Add chopped jalapenos olives and oregano for flavourgtgtAny type of unsweetened berries can be boiled with a little water stevia erythritol and xanthan gum to make jam Add a splash of lime when the jam has cooled gtgt Indulge in liquor as long as you combine it with sugarfree chasers or water Although alcohol will not kick you out of ketosis it will stall the fat burn until it is digested and out of your system Devansh Jhaveri CEO at Hustle FoodsFor diabetics and those on a lowsodium dietDr Bhargava says Eat on time Also eat healthy fats such as nuts with your meals Nuts take longer to digest and slow down the digestion of everything else you have eaten Chawla advises using herbs such as ginger garlic turmeric rosemary thyme and cinnamon to flavour food while minimising the use of saltDevansh Jhaveri and Dr Siddhant BhargavaFor vegansVegan milk butter and eggreplacers can be used in most recipes You can either make almond soy or coconut milk or purchase them from online stores Add some vinegar to make buttermilk Most vegan cakes use oil instead of butter Instead of eggs use mashed bananas applesauce or aquafaba chickpea water depending on the recipe says Dr Rida Peerzada a home baker at Rather Bake You can also prepare condensed milk using coconut milk powder While vegans cannot recreate a whole Christmas roast Dr Peerzada says that soybased mock meats work well in vegan mince piesHealthy roast chickenThis holiday classic is easily adaptable to a lowercalorie and nutritionallydense format says chef Ishijyot Surri executive chef at SJI Hospitality and FoodsIngredientsFor roast chicken gtgt 1 whole chicken 800 g to 1 kg gtgt 20 g chopped onions gtgt 10 to 15 asparagus tips gtgt 40 g baby potatoes cut in half gtgt 40 g chopped carrotFor chicken marinade gtgt 5 g to 9 g Dijon mustard gtgt 10 ml virgin olive oil gtgt 5 g crushed garlic gtgt 3 g fresh thyme gtgt 3 g fresh rosemary gtgt 60 g hung curd gtgt Pink salt and crushed black pepper to tasteMethodWash the whole chicken thoroughly and drain out the excess water For the marinade in a mixing bowl mix the hung curd with the fresh thyme and rosemary Add the crushed garlic Dijon mustard pink salt and crushed black pepper Now marinate the whole washed chicken for about 40 minutes at room temperature in the marinade Lightly grease a roasting pan Place the marinated chicken and vegetables in it Sprinkle some salt and crushed pepper over the vegetablesRoast the chicken in the preheated oven at about 160 degrees Celsius for 35 minutes and later at 220 degree Celsius for five to 10 minutes until it is visibly golden in colour Serve the whole roast chicken with the chicken jus and vegetablesKeep scrolling to read more newsCatch up on all the latest 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