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Low-fat Christmas cooking tips

If the holiday season means your healthy eating habits and resolve get thrown out the window, take heart. It's still possible to indulge in Christmas goodies without piling on the pounds

You can easily breeze through December enjoying festive food and drink with a few simple tips to avoid the pitfalls of over doing it and some helpful substitutions for the usual calorie-loaded foods.

• Substitute light or low-fat spreads for butter when baking or use half butter, half spread to get a rich flavour with less animal fat. Use yoghurt or buttermilk in baked goods, both low in fat and calories.

  Smetana (or smatana) is a soured cream originally from Russia and Eastern Europe and though not as low fat as yoghurt, has less fat than traditional soured cream or crème fraiche. It can be added to sauces at the end of cooking time.

• Instead of cream sauces to go with meat and starters, make vegetable puree ones like red pepper and onion. Making your own chicken, beef and vegetable stocks (or buying good quality ready-made versions) will drastically improve the taste and consistency of reduction sauces.

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