Enjoying Holiday Dessert Without Guilt
It’s that time. Thanksgiving is only a week away, and the holiday parties will come fast and furious right after that. Along with all the parties and gifts come the vast assortment of desserts of the season.
How can we enjoy the parties, and the dessert, without the guilt? Diethicshttps://diethics.com offers some good advice.
Recently, a registered dietitian and Women’s Health magazine contributing editor, Keri Glassman, made an appearance on Good Morning America to discuss practical, easy ways to enjoy dessert in the holiday season without ruining your diet. She offered examples of ways to cut the calories and fat on some of our favorite pies. Take notes!
Her very first suggestion was simply slimming down the slice of pie to begin with. Slices are usually larger than anyone should be eating anyway.
Of the pies to select from on the dessert table, pumpkin is the best choice, according to Glassman. Why?
“Because it’s an open-face pie and has less crust, it generally has fewer calories per slice than many other pies. One slice contains 361 calories, 14 grams of fat (5 grams saturated) and 21 grams of sugar.”
But, because it’s the best slice of pie does not mean that’s enough. No, Glassman has a tip to make pumpkin pie even more guilt free: “If you cut off about half the crust — crust on the back of the slice — you can cut about 70 calories.”
We all know that pecan pie seems decadent. It sure tastes that way. The irony is that even though pecan pie is high in calories (at 503), its fat content is good fat because it comes from nuts. It also helps you feel full for longer as a result. So there’s no reason to avoid the pecan pie. However, if you pull five nuts from your piece, you can cut your calorie intake by 100. Eat that pie and enjoy!
Another popular pie is apple pie. It seems like the obvious “healthy” option since it is comprised of fruit, right? That all changes depending on what else is added to that slice of sweetness.
“If you choose a dough or lattice-topped slice over the crumb-covered kind, you’ll spare yourself 84 calories and nearly 2 grams of fat.”
Also, Glassman suggests that you heat up your slice. Why? A study published this year in the journal Appetite shows that when we can smell foods that are high in calories, that smell reminds us to not eat so much of it. Heat up that slice!
The burning question is whether we can touch the chocolate mousse pie on the table. Enjoy it, but only eat half a slice. Doing that will save about 200 calories. So savor the sliver!
With all the holiday parties coming up, this is great advice. Once in a while, especially after your umpteenth party, you may have the will and the aversion to sugar at that point to pass on dessert. But until then, it’s nice to have some easy ways to cut calories while at the same time savoring the sweets of the season.
