The festive food swaps that will save you thousands of calories

While Christmas is a time for celebrations, burning the candle at both ends can often lead to eating more and moving less.

But you don’t need to put on weight from excess canapes, wine and champagne over the silly season.

Experts have revealed how the same meal made with different ingredients and quantities can make a huge difference to the calories.

Experts revealed how the same meal made with different ingredients and quantities can make a huge difference to the calories (pictured: two versions of an asparagus and chicken mini)

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STARTERS/CANAPES 

Asparagus and Chicken Mini Muffin Quiches 

460 calories versus 203 calories

To save calories on this dish, experts from the weight loss program The Healthy Mummy said you should swap one third of a sheet of full-fat puff pastry (55 grams) for mountain bread. 

You could also ditch the full-fat feta (30 grams) and pine nuts (two grams) and still enjoy a similar dish.

Often served as canapes, if you want to save calories on cucumber S’mores, switch calorie-laden Jatz crackers for cucumber slices (pictured)

Cucumber S’mores with Turkey, Parmesan and Cranberry Sauce 

365 calories versus 133 calories

Often served as canapes, if you want to save calories on cucumber S’mores, The Healthy Mummy team said it’s all about which base you choose.

Whereas on the healthier version, the base is a slice of cucumber, on the other version 200 grams of Jatz crackers have been subbed in – which means an addition of 232 calories.

Similar to the turkey, parmesan and cranberry sauce S’mores, with these again if you use cucumber as a base, you’ll better off than if you use crackers (pictured)

Cucumber S’mores with Cream Cheese, Smoked Salmon and Dill 

451 calories versus 136 calories

Similar to the turkey, Parmesan and cranberry sauce S’mores, with these again if you use cucumber as a base, you’ll better off than if you use crackers.

‘Swap reduced-fat cream cheese to full fat (160g for four serves),’ The Healthy Mummy team recommended.

If you want to make a healthier sausage roll, simply swap full-fat feta for the low-fat variety, then swap regular tomato sauce for a low sugar version (pictured)

Sausage Rolls

285 calories versus 178 calories

Sausage rolls are always one of the first snacks to go at a party, but if you don’t keep an eye on your consumption, you can quickly put on weight.

If you want to make a healthier version, simply swap full-fat feta for the low-fat variety, then swap regular tomato sauce for a low sugar version.

You can also decrease the amount of pork mince used, and instead add in more vegetables such as onion and garlic. 

With baked pear custard tart, if you want to cut down on calories but still enjoy dessert, you need to ditch fuller fat cream and increase the amount of pears(pictured)

DESSERTS 

Baked Pear Custard Tart 

404 calories versus 253 calories 

With baked pear custard tart, if you want to cut down on calories but still enjoy dessert, you need to look at what you’re using.

Ditch fuller fat cream for a low fat variety, use wholemeal flour and plenty of pears.

You can find the recipe for a healthy baked pear custard tart here. 

To decrease the date and coconut banoffee pies, cut down on the amount of banana used, decrease the amount of dates and change full fat cream to coconut cream (pictured)

Date and Coconut Banoffee Pies

241 calories versus 151 calories

To decrease the date and coconut banoffee pies, you should cut down on the amount of banana used, decrease the amount of dates and change full fat cream to coconut cream.

‘Tweaking the portion sizes of things like almond meal, honey, almond butter and maple syrup will also make a huge difference,’ The Healthy Mummy team said.

By cutting down on the amount of custard you serve with your four ingredient fruit cake, you save valuable calories (pictured)

Four Ingredient Fruit Cake

415 calories versus 273 calories

By cutting down on the amount of custard you serve with your four ingredient fruit cake, you save valuable calories. 

Keep an eye on your condiments and only enjoy a small amount of them to keep your weight on track over Christmas. 

Apple coleslaw can be quite good for you, but the additions of a few extras like mayonnaise tip it over from a healthy dish to the opposite (pictured)

MAINS/SIDES

Apple Coleslaw

258 calories versus 108 calories

Apple coleslaw can be quite good for you, but the additions of a few extras like mayonnaise tip it over from a healthy dish to the opposite.

Full fat mayonnaise, full fat sour cream, brown sugar and poppy seeds are all things you don’t need to make a healthy side dish – and by switching them out you could save 140 calories.

While these two meals might look quite similar, in actual fact they differ by more than 400 calories (pictured)

Roast Turkey with Citrus and Date Stuffing

1019 calories versus 615 calories  

While these two meals might look quite similar, in actual fact they differ by more than 400 calories.

By simply getting a smaller turkey, switching feta to low fat, ditching the butter rub on top of the turkey and cutting back on pistachios you could save yourself almost an entire meal’s worth of calories.

If you need to load up on some food this Christmas, instead try salads and vegetables.

Often described as ‘volume eating’, this is what will fill you up without making you go overboard on calorie-dense dips and carbs.

With ham, by picking a slightly smaller leg, you’ll save valuable calories; you could also use coconut sugar over honey as the glaze (pictured)

Sticky Ginger and Pineapple Baked Ham

597 calories versus 417 calories

Again, the quantity of meat you eat here is key.

Buy a slightly smaller leg of ham and you’re less likely to overeat. 

The Healthy Mummy also recommend you use coconut sugar over honey as the glaze.

Ditch the full-fat yoghurt, decrease the amount of walnuts, honey and olive oil and you still have a similar potato and rocket walnut salad to the 292 calorie version (pictured)

Potato and rocket walnut salad 

292 calories versus 118 calories

Ditch the full-fat yoghurt, decrease the amount of walnuts, honey and olive oil and you still have a similar potato and rocket walnut salad to the 292 calorie version.

The experts recommend if you still feel hungry after one serving, that you go back for salad over mayonnaise-laden potato salad.

That way, you’ll know if you’re really hungry or just feeling greedy.