Most of us will probably be tucking into large quantities of rich food, and imbibing plentifully, during the festive season.

Spare a thought for slimmers this year and prepare a Christmas dinner that isn't loaded with kilojoules, fat, saturated fat and cholesterol.

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Here are the energy, fat, saturated fat and cholesterol contents of a delicious, but lighter and more balanced meal that could be used to replace the traditional Christmas dinner.

The menus
Traditional Christmas dinner
Nuts and raisins

Salmon mayonnaise on a bed of lettuce with rolls and butter

Roast turkey with stuffing

Glazed ham garnished with pineapple and maraschino cherries served with gravy

Roast potatoes

Glazed peas and carrots

Christmas pudding with brandy butter, custard and ice cream

Chocolates with coffee and liqueurs

Champagne

Light Christmas dinner
Chilled melon balls in brandy, decorated with glazed ginger and maraschino cherries

Cold roast turkey slices

Cold glazed ham slices, garnished with pineapple and maraschino cherries

Potato salad with a yoghurt, herb and mustard dressing

Mixed salad of lettuce, tomato wedges, cucumber slices, olives, chopped green pepper, onion rings, and feta cheese with a French dressing

Carrot salad with an orange juice dressing

Fresh fruit salad with apricot sorbet

Coffee

Champagne

The results
Take a look at the results of the two calculations for adult men and women aged about 30, employed in jobs that only require light physical activity, and who do about four hours of moderately strenuous exercise a week. Portions for the ladies have been reduced.

a) Men
Traditional menu: 8990kJ, 119g fat, of which 45g is saturated, 320mg cholesterol

Light menu: 4305kJ, 36g fat, of which 10g is saturated, 121mg cholesterol

b) Women
Traditional menu: 6663kJ, 88g fat, of which 33g is saturated, 250mg cholesterol

Light menu: 3166kJ, 25g fat, of which 8g is saturated, 100mg cholesterol

The difference between these two meals is mind boggling.

Anyone eating the traditional menu with all the trimmings, will:

• consume 70-73% of the daily energy requirement at one sitting;
• overload his/her body with fat, especially saturated fat and eat more than the suggested amount of cholesterol.

On the other hand, the light menu:

• only supplies 33-35% of the daily energy requirement (exactly half the kilojoules of the traditional menu);
• and it doesn't overload the body with fat, saturated fat and cholesterol.

Makes you think, doesn’t it?

If you take the soaring temperatures we experience in December into consideration, don’t you think the light menu sounds cooler, more relaxed and inviting? It's also much kinder to slimmers and anyone who wants to keep fat intake down.

- (Dr I.V. van Heerden, DietDoc, updated December 2007)

Any questions? Ask DietDoc
 

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