Avoiding party food at Christmas takes military planning. This handy guide gives you all the ammunition you need
'A moment on the lips...' is never truer than at Christmas when you're faced with a constant bombardment of enticing food.
But have you ever considered how many calories you could be packing in when you pluck another sausage roll from the passing tray? It may not seem like a lot but over a few days it soon adds up. It takes just 3,500 extra calories to put on a pound in weight. It's easily done - check out the list below.
| Food | Weight | Calories |
| Mince Pies | 2 (110g) | 370 |
| Crisps | 1 packet (30g) | 164 |
| Christmas Cake | 1 slice (70g) | 249 |
| Mixed Nuts | 1 handful (40g) | 256 |
| Christmas Pudding w/ double cream |
1 portion (100g) 1 serving (60g) |
329 269 |
| Mulled Wine | 1 glass (125ml) | 245 |
| White Wine | 2 glasses (250ml) | 185 |
| Breadsticks | 4 (28g) | 110 |
| Taramasalata | 1 serving (45g) | 227 |
| Assorted Chocs | 6 chocolates (60g) | 268 |
| Twiglets | 1 serving (100g) | 394 |
| Sausage rolls | 2 small (64g) | 254 |
| Pate on French Toast |
2 servings (80g) 2 slices (80g) |
252 216 |
| Total | 3788 |
According to Professor John Garrow, an obesity expert at London’s Northwick Park Hospital, most adults tend to put on around 0.5kg (1.1lbs) over Christmas.
The problem is that we nibble on extra foods between meals but, says Professor Garrow, these snacks don’t generate signals of satisfaction or fullness to the brain and the extra calories get converted to fat.
So, how can you get through the party season without piling on the pounds? Here are some survival tips:
- Choose plain bread wherever possible. French bread is delicious naked.
- Breadsticks are great low fat snacks but go easy on high fat dips such as taramasalata or blue cheese.
- If you can’t survive without dips, pick salsa varieties over yoghurt-based ones.
- Choose cocktail sausages instead of sausage rolls – pastry contains a lot of fat.
- Pick white wine or a spritzer instead of mulled wine.
- Pretzels and Twiglets are good low fat alternatives to crisps and nuts.
- Cheeses such as Brie and Stilton are full fat, so avoid these and go for Edam if possible.
- Resist the temptation of snacking by standing as far as away from the party food table as possible.
- If, like me, you can’t help stockpiling your plate with food then ask a friend to get the food for you.
- Remember you’re not at school any more so you don’t have to finish what’s on your plate. After all, would you rather the extra food go to waste or go on your waist?
If the worst comes to the worst, you’ll at least have a good excuse to dance the night away to work off those extra calories.