Enjoy Your Christmas Treats for Fewer Calories

Christmas comes hand in hand with some really yummy treats. But those treats can be a real minefield for people that may be on a weight loss journey or wanting to minimise weight gain over the festive season. As the saying goes, ‘I can resist anything but temptation’.   

So how do you have a very Merry without piling on the pounds or being a party pooper?

To help with damage limitation, we went shopping to look for the calorie highs and lows of popular Christmas sweet treats.

We looked at calories in mince pies, Christmas cake, Christmas pudding, Pannetone and Stollen. At the bottom of the list you'll find some new treats that are under 200 calories.

We have used the recommended serving sizes as stated by the manufacturer. However, there is nothing stopping you having a smaller portion to save a few more calories.

Mince Pies

If you're partial to a mince pie (or few) over the festive season, you could be adding quite a few extra calories. Luckily most of the big supermarkets have see the light and now most offer mini mince pies. We think this is a geat idea - so long as you stop at one!

	Instead of this...	Try this...
Tesco	Finest Mince Pies 239 calories per pie	WLR RECOMMENDS! Finest MINI Mince Pies 85 calories per pie
Sainsburys	TTD All Butter Mince Pies 215 calories per pie	TTD All Butter Mini Mince Pies 98 calories per pie
Morrisons	The Best Mince Pies 218 calories per pie	The Best Mini Mince Pies 121 calories per pie
Mr Kipling	Deep Filled Mince Pies 249 calories per pie	Mini Mince Pies 118 calories per pie

If you stop for a coffee, take care - Costa’s Mince Tart will set you back 390 cals! It is a bit of a beast at 103g, so you could share one with a friend for 195 calories each instead.

 

Christmas Cake

Christmas Cake is heavy on taste but also on the calories. So, if you want to have your cake and eat it, what can you do? You could try having a smaller portion than recommended on the pack. After all it is the first few bites that taste the best, especially when you're eating cakes and puddings. Or have a look at alternatives to a big single cake. Bars, slices and bites all help keep portions in check.

	Instead of this...	Try this...
Tesco	Finest Rich Fruit Cake Cake 282 calories per cake	Finest Rich Fruit Cake Bar 176 calories per slice
Sainsburys	TTD Free From Iced Christmas Cake 287 calories per slice	TTD Iced Rich Fruit Cake Slices 179 calories per slice
Morrisons	The Best Fully Iced Christmas Cake 219 calories per slice	The Best Iced Fruit Bar 171 calories per slice

 

Christmas Puddings

Christmas pud is normally very high in calories because of the alcohol and richness. The wlr foodies were surprised that Morrison's luxury version fared better than their Rich Christmas pud. Tesco only seem to have their luxury version at the moment so, we looked for another pudding that might hit the spot on their shelves. Here's our findings...

	Instead of this...	Try this...
Tesco	Finest Christmas Pudding 329 calories per serving	Aunty's Sticky Toffee Pudding 279 calories per pudding
Sainsburys	TTD Christmas Pudding 337 calories per serving	WLR RECOMMENDS! Free From Christmas Pudding 303 calories per pudding
Morrisons	Rich Fruit Christmas Pudding 355 calories per serving	The Best Christmas Pudding 314 calories per serving

Or try making your own using wlr's Low Calorie Christmas Pudding Recipe with just 219 calories per portion.

 

Stollen

A slice of Stollen is generally high in calories. If you're looking for an easy way to keep on track but still have a little of what you fancy opt for Stollen bites and have one or two.

	Instead of this...	Try this...
Tesco	Stollen Loaf 202 calories per slice	WLR RECOMMENDS! Finest Stollen Slices 146 calories per bite
Sainsbury's	TTD Stollen Slices 136 calories per slice	Kuchenmeister Luxury Marzipan Stollen 134 calories per slice
Morrisons	Stollen Loaf 214 calories per slice	Stollen Bites 126 calories per 2 bites

 

And now for something different

While we were wandering up and down the aisles, we decided to put together an 'alternative list' of goodies that are all under 200 calories. Take a look at what we found . . .