Like most dietitians, I love to eat! As a result, I spend a great deal of time fiddling with my favorite recipes, trimming calories and increasing nutrition; healthy holiday cookies are no exception.
Whether adding a bit more of this or a bit less of that, here are four tried-and-true methods to indulge in a favorite holiday tradition in a more guilt-free way. Note: I highly recommend you experiment with these modifications BEFORE making the batch for company!
1) Decrease amounts of calorie-dense foods
Butter and sugars provide a lot of calories, and not a lot of healthful nutrients, in the amounts required in favorite recipes. Here are some ways to counter their effects:
• In most cookie recipes, you can easily cut the amount of butter in half. I always make chocolate chip cookies with one vs two cubes of butter. Be sure not to overcook your batches, and be aware that cookies will not spread as much.
• Substitute up to half the butter with unsweetened applesauce. This works especially well in oatmeal or fruit-type varieties.
• Start by cutting the sugar by 25%; you may find you can decrease more. Note: sugar is a browning agent, so be sure not to use the color of the cookies as an indication of doneness. Add high-fiber, sweet dried fruits like dates or raisins, and extra vanilla, to help take up the sweetness gap.
• Decrease the amount of added goodies. For example, the typical chocolate chip cookie recipe (can you tell it’s my favorite?) calls for two cups of chips; one will do the job. Less (or no) nuts is also a fairly painless modification.
2) Add/substitute healthy ingredients
• Substitute half the flour with the whole-wheat version.
• Or try using protein powder, vanilla or chocolate, for up to half the flour.
• Enjoy the many health benefits of dark chocolate by using it in place of semisweet or milk chocolate versions.
• Experiment with healthy yogurt, avocado or pumpkin in place of some of the fats.
3) Smaller portion sizes
Sounds silly, but eating three cookies is eating three cookies, whether they’re large or small. So increase the batch size and decrease the caloric impact of each cookie by producing a smaller version.
4) Be mindful of the process
Cut down on your caloric and guilt level by keeping fingers out of the ingredient bowl as much as possible (try chewing gum while making cookies) and finding somebody else clean the dishes and utensils. Count out the number of cookies you want, and eat that many.
And finally, sit down and savor them!
Check online for healthy holiday cookies; Cooking Light is one excellent source.
For more information about fitness after 50, read my free ebook.