Holiday Calorie-Cutting Tricks

Trim 100 calories or more with each of these simple swaps

Swap chocolate ice cream for chocolate sorbet to save 100 calories! // Illustration by Justin Renninger

Skip licking the spoon: When is comes to cookie and cake batter, a spoonful can easily add up to more than 100 calories. Save those calories and enjoy the fruits of your labor:  The holiday cookies you have enjoyed since your grandmother made them, cooked.

Cut fats in half: You don’t have to skip the stuffing, mashed potatoes, or your favorite holiday cake, but with every tablespoon of butter you omit from the recipe you also cut 100 total calories. Your guests won’t even know it is missing.

Trade-off toppers: Can’t enjoy pie if it’s not à la mode? Switch 1/2 cup Häagen-Dazs chocolate ice cream for 1/2 cup chocolate sorbet and shave 100+ calories from your dessert. Sorbet won’t cut it? Opt for only a 1/4 cup of ice cream instead to cut 100 calories.

Lighten up apps: Swap out sour cream or mayonnaise in veggie dip for non-fat yogurt and save 100 calories. Snack on veggies like roasted peppers and artichokes instead of high-fat cheeses like brie. Just 2 ounces of brie packs on 200 calories versus a half-cup of roasted vegetables, which weights in at around 50 calories—light on the oil, of course.

Pudge-proof bubbly:
Swap one glass of wine for a sparkling water flavored with fresh cucumber slices or lemon and lime to save 100 calories.