I can't tell you how many times I hear people say that they want to lose weight over the holidays (or at least maintain their current weight), but it never happens because they have to make foods that family & friends will all enjoy (which means low cal stuff is out the window). I can certainly attest to that...It is pretty tough to throw a dinner party and serve my guests the whole-grain soy pattie wraps that I normally make for myself. Yes, guilty as charged: I load my party dinners chock-full of calories in hopes of pleasing the masses. So what can we do? Well, I've come up with what I will call a list of "crossover" foods: Foods lower in calories, but still delicious enough not to scare away the "I don't do diet food" friends and relatives.



Candies and Chocolates: Don't let the crazy holiday candy/chocolate grazing get the best of you. Fight back with these light delights:

Gayle's Miracles: FOR 1: Calories: 30, Fat: 1g, Sodium: 10mg, Carbs: 6g, Fiber: 0g, Protein: 1g, WW PTS: 1, Cals/Gram: 2.73. We all know that the holidays are the time of year when gourmet chocolates make their grand appearance. Make sure you have these little 30 calorie luxury chocolate pieces on hand - they are oh so decadant - despite being at least 1/2 the calories of the other boxed chocolate grinches!

Spangler Sugar Free Candy Canes: FOR 1: Calories: 42, Fat: 0g, Sodium: 0mg, Carbs: 14g, Fiber: 0g, Protein: 0g, WW PTS: 1, Cals/Gram: 3.00. A candy cane for the holiday hall of fame. Now get 23% fewer calories than the regular candy cane, and these still taste candy cane sweet! A pretty slick way to keep the holiday sugar snacking in check.

York Sugar Free Peppermint Patties: FOR 3: Calories: 80, Fat: 3.50g, Sodium: 0mg, Carbs: 28g, Fiber: 1g, Protein: 0g, WW PTS: 2, Cals/Gram: 3.30. York Sugar Free Peppermint Pattie is the Christmas MACDADDY! My all time fav right here people. I'm mad for these mint patties with only 80 calories for 3 whole pieces. These are cheap and available almost everywhere - which is pretty sweet. Slip these into your chocolate dish and go on a short holiday mint stint.

Beverages: Holiday drinks are diet killers. Don't get lured down this very dark and dangerous caloric beverage alley.

Silk Eggnog: Calories: 90, Fat: 2g, Sodium: 75mg, Carbs: 15g, Fiber: 0g, Protein: 3g, WW PTS: 2, Cals/Gram: 0.75. With soy eggnog this good, you really don't need the 160 whopping calorie regular eggnog. I personally liked Vitasoy's Holly Nog better, which has 30 fewer calories (see review below), but Silk is a little better on price and can be found in your regular grocery store, so those are big pluses.

Vitasoy Holly Nog Calories: 60, Fat: 0g, Sodium: 0mg, Carbs: 14g, Fiber: 0g, Protein: 0g, WW PTS: 1, Cals/Gram: 3.00. This definitely takes the low calorie eggnog prize - and is pretty healthful, too! This not only cuts down the amount of calories from eggnog (big time - from 150 on average to 60), but is also organic, a great source of potassium, has no cholesterol or artificial sweeteners and virtually no fat. Pretty egg-celent I must say! You don't have to sacrifice so much on taste, either, so your whole clan can be a fan - which, as we know, is great for holiday gatherings. Vitasoy is right, it is a "holly" nog!

Alpine Sugar Free Cider: Calories: 15, Fat: 0g, Sodium: 0mg, Carbs: 4g, Fiber: 1g, Protein: 0g, WW PTS: 0, Cals/mL: 0.07. A cider that gives reason to tis' the season - only 15 little calories for an apple-cinnamon cup of luxury. Now you can sip without the guilt! You can find this just about anywhere - I found it at Super Walmart and Krogers. Random Holiday Ingredients: Make sure to sneak in lower calorie options where they are available. Some good swaps are:

Heinz Fat Free Turkey Gravy: Calories: 20, Fat: 0g, Sodium: 290mg, Carbs: 4g, Fiber: 0g, Protein: 1g, WW PTS: 0, Cals/Gram: 0.33. This turkey gravy tastes groovy, and when mixed in with stuffing and turkey breast, it is unlikely anyone will notice that it is fat free. This shaves 10 calories off of the regular gravy, and we all know that we will go for a couple of servings of this stuff - so it really starts to add up.

Comstock Sugar Free Cherry Pie Filling: Calories: 35, Fat: 0g, Sodium: 15mg, Carbs: 8g, Fiber: 0g, Protein: 0g, WW PTS: 1, Cals/Gram: 0.41. Cut your calories nearly in half with this awesome tastin' pie fillin'. Nowadays with pre-made crusts and this low calorie pie filling, it is mega easy to spend a little bit of time to make your pies at home...and save 100 - 150 calories! By the way, I spotted a generic Walmart Great Value brand of this with the same nutritional information, so use that and also save a few bucks!

Keebler Ready Crust: Reduced Fat Graham: Calories: 100, Fat: 3.5g, Sodium: 100mg, Carbs: 15g, Fiber: 0g, Protein: 1g, WW PTS: 2, Cals/Gram: 4.76. This reduced fat graham crust is a handy little holiday helper. It cuts off 10 calories and 1.5 grams of fat from the original. No...it's not much, but the nice part is that it tastes exactly the same, so its kinda low calorie hanging fruit. The bigger benefit (for me anyway) is this easy crust inspires me to make more pies, instead of buying them, and believe me, the pies you make at home can lob off 150+ calories per slice - now THAT'S a worthwhile benefit.

Now if only St. Nick would start using some of these items...I bet his reindeer would be eternally grateful!