What causes this gala dinner to end up with an unpleasant surprise while weighing yourself? Are there any proven ways to reduce the caloric content of Christmas dishes without compromising their taste? Here is an overview of traditional dishes prepared for Christmas Eve and the methods thanks to which the Christmas Eve dinner will provide even half of the calories.
1. Mushroom soup:
Although it is very easy to prepare a low-calorie version of this dish, housewives prefer to choose the one with a higher fat content. How do they get it? By adding cream, of course. It has been known for a long time that fat is the carrier of flavor, so we do not insist on completely giving up the whitening of the soup, but it is worth using natural or Greek yoghurt or milk.
2. Red borscht with dumplings:
The situation for each soup will be similar – if necessary, whiten it with yoghurt or milk (although we encourage you to try stocks without such additives). On the other hand, borscht with dumplings is characterized by one more feature that effectively increases the caloric value of this dish. Namely … with ears! Although the way of preparing the ears does not in itself make them gain high energy value, their delicious taste usually makes us eat them… way too much. Remember to make room (both in the stomach and in our calorie needs) for the remaining 11 Christmas Eve dishes. Although, according to tradition, we sit down to the Christmas Eve dinner after a full-day fast, do not succumb to the feeling of hunger and try a little of each dish, and do not eat the first dishes to your heart’s content. In addition, some recipes for dough in the ears include the addition of fat – it is worth giving up this element, because one tablespoon of olive oil or oil is an additional 80 kilocalories! The same applies to the fat needed to fry the stuffing – it is not essential and you can successfully stew mushrooms and onions in a little water.
3. Karp:
The most popular fish on Christmas Eve is usually prepared by coating in egg, flour or breadcrumbs and fried in butter or oil. Unfortunately, this method of preparation makes a portion of the fish twice as caloric. If you like the taste of this fish very much and you eat at least two pieces every Christmas Eve – be sure to try steamed or oven-baked carp. To enhance the taste of the fish without breading, use herbs, lemon or herb pepper, or coat the carp in the bran instead of the white flour. To prepare this dish, even if you use the oven, do not use oil. The second popular way of preparing this product is the Jewish-style carp – unfortunately, we advise against this because of the very caloric additives, including breadcrumbs, butter, dried fruits and alcohol.
4. Track:
This fish usually appears on the Christmas table surrounded by dried fruits or chopped onions, of course, poured with oil or cream. Sometimes it is also used in salads, unfortunately often with the addition of mayonnaise. Herring should not be eaten in large portions, as it is caloric and quite fat by itself. On the other hand, giving up sauces based on oil, mayonnaise or cream will effectively reduce the caloric value of Christmas Eve dishes with this fish.
5. Greek-style fish:
The dish is very easy to prepare according to the principles of reducing calories: grate the root vegetables, put them in a saucepan with a little water, season and add a tablespoon of tomato paste. Then add pieces of lean fish on top, for example cod, pollock, tilapia, hake – sprinkle with spices and cook it for several minutes. The dish can be prepared in a similar way using an oven – put the ingredients in an ovenproof dish and bake for about half an hour at 170-180 ° C.
6. Cabbage with additives:
Cabbage with peas is a dish for people who have no problems with the digestive system. In itself, it is difficult to digest, and the addition of a roux in the form of butter and breadcrumbs may additionally increase the feeling of heaviness after a meal (not to mention increasing the energy value). For this reason, we usually do not eat large portions of this dish, but giving up the roux will be the most appropriate way to reduce its caloric content.
7. Pierogi:
Christmas Eve dumplings are, of course, those stuffed with cabbage and mushrooms. Therefore, the filling for dumplings is not very caloric (if – as in the case of dumplings – it is not prepared with the addition of fat), similarly with the dumplings dough (when preparing them according to the recipe, we omit the addition of fat). However, the most important thing is not to fry dumplings before serving on the Christmas table – we serve dumplings made of water or baked.
8. Kutia or noodles with poppy seeds:
These are two different, although having a similar base, Christmas Eve dishes. Kutia is a mixture of poppy seed mass with wheat, while noodles with poppy seeds, as the name suggests – combines pasta with poppy seeds mixed with dried fruits and honey. The poppy seed mass, common to both dishes, is very healthy and rich in energy at the same time. Therefore, in order to reduce the caloric content of these incredibly tasty dishes, the recipe for homemade poppyseed mass should be slightly modified. Rum should be replaced with rum aromas, cream with a little milk, you may be tempted to replace honey (about 370 kcal / 100g) for agave syrup (about 315 kcal / 100g). Dried fruits are indispensable in the mass of poppy seeds, and at the same time they are a source of healthy fatty acids, vitamins A, E, B group, magnesium and calcium, so let’s not change their content. Above all, however, try to add less poppy seeds to the wheat or pasta.
9. Brokers:
Some people confuse this name with the dish from the above item – poppy seed dumplings. On the other hand, the mackerel is actually a mass of poppy seeds with the addition of butter and egg yolk, served with chopped stale bun. The calorie reduction of this dish can be carried out according to the above scheme. It is also worth giving up the addition of butter and egg yolks, use milk with a fat content of 1,5% to soak the rolls, and replace the sugar from the traditional recipe with a sweetener – xylitol or erythritol.
10. Makowiec:
Without this cake, there is no Christmas Eve! If you prepare the poppy seed mass at home (we hope so, because those available in the store usually have a very questionable composition), prepare it according to the above tips. However, make yeast dough with the addition of milk with 0,5 or 1,5% fat and replace sugar with a sweetener – these treatments will not make the dough fail.
11. Cheesecake:
Christmas Eve cheesecake is the traditional one – simple and minimalist, fortunately without unnecessary glaze and caloric additives. The average piece of this cake contains about 300 kcal (120 g), while after losing weight, we can get the same portion in the range of 120-150 kcal! It is enough to use lean curd and sweetener instead of sugar in the preparation, instead of 4 eggs, half of them will be enough. In addition, replace the vanilla sugar with a real vanilla pod, and do not use fat in the curd mass (or on the baking sheet).
12. Compote of dried fruit:
The best thing to do is to drink a symbolic portion of this drink before you start your Christmas Eve dinner, but if you like it very much – follow a few tips. First, when making dried fruit compote, don’t add honey or sugar to it – it’s not essential. However, when pouring yourself a portion, do not add dried fruit to a glass – 5 small pieces of this product is about 100 kcal! Do not sip the compote between individual dishes – not only will it add calories to your dinner, but sipping bites will adversely affect the digestive processes.
Photo 1: Photo on Foter.com
Photo 2: Photo by a.fiedler on Foter.com / CC BY-SA
Photo 3: Photo on Foter.com