{"id":15221,"date":"2025-12-05T10:36:41","date_gmt":"2025-12-05T16:36:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.personaltrainerfood.com\/blog\/?p=15221"},"modified":"2026-02-03T00:03:09","modified_gmt":"2026-02-03T06:03:09","slug":"4-healthy-holiday-foods-that-cause-weight-gain-and-lower-calorie-swaps","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.personaltrainerfood.com\/blog\/4-healthy-holiday-foods-that-cause-weight-gain-and-lower-calorie-swaps\/","title":{"rendered":"4 \u201cHealthy\u201d Holiday Foods That Cause Weight Gain (And Lower Calorie Swaps)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Holiday<\/p>\n

Want to avoid holiday weight gain? Avoid these 4 holiday favorites that look healthy but are surprisingly high in calories.<\/p>\n

We\u2019ve got some lower calorie swaps to help you LOSE weight during the holiday season.<\/p>\n

\"Spinach<\/p>\n

Spinach-artichoke dip<\/h2>\n

So, this dip has spinach and artichoke \u2013 two really healthy ingredients. So why is it so bad? Combining these veggies with mayonnaise, sour cream, and cream cheese adds a lot of calories. One popular restaurant’s version of this dish is 905 calories. It also has an incredible 3,100 milligrams of sodium.<\/p>\n

Swap with \u2013 Cucumber with Hummus<\/strong><\/p>\n

Looking for a delicious appetizer? Slice up some cucumbers and dip them in hummus. It\u2019s a healthy crowd pleaser you can serve at a party or just for yourself.<\/p>\n

\"Sweet<\/h3>\n

Sweet Potato Casserole<\/h2>\n

We hear that sweet potatoes are good for us. Sweet potatoes have more fiber and are slightly lower on the glycemic index than white potatoes. So what makes this dish unhealthy? It\u2019s the addition of brown sugar, maple glaze, pecans, flour and marshmallows that adds unnecessary calories.<\/p>\n

Swap with \u2013 Mashed Sweet Potatoes<\/strong><\/p>\n

Bake sweet potatoes in your oven, peel off the skin, and mash them up. Add nutmeg for a delicious flavor without added calories.<\/p>\n

\"Green<\/h3>\n

Green Bean Casserole<\/h2>\n

This holiday favorite is considered the go to vegetable dish for many gatherings. And, hey, green beans are a great source of fiber and vitamin A and C. Once again, it\u2019s the extras that add on the calories. Butter, cheese, salt, cream of mushroom soup and fried onions add a ton of calories and sodium.<\/p>\n

Swap with – Spicy Green Beans<\/strong><\/p>\n

Spice up your green beans with garlic, ginger and soy sauce. Steam, saut\u00e9, or microwave your PTF green beans and add in these spices to have a delicious green been dish. Here\u2019s our Spicy Green Beans recipe<\/u><\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"Pumpkin<\/strong><\/p>\n

Holiday Coffee Drinks<\/strong><\/h2>\n

We all love our holiday coffee drinks: Peppermint mocha, eggnog latte, or toasted gingerbread latte. Hey, it\u2019s just coffee. And we know caffeine can sometimes help with weight loss. But the calories and sugar in these drinks can be through the roof.<\/p>\n

Swap with \u2013 Coffee with cream and spices<\/strong><\/p>\n

Add a little cream or almond milk to your coffee. Sprinkle it with cinnamon, or nutmeg, or a drop of Madagascar vanilla extract. You\u2019ll get the flavor without the calories and added sugar.<\/p>\n

Eat healthy during the holidays<\/strong><\/p>\n

Do these swaps and enjoy the holidays without all those extra calories. Want more help to stay on track? Personal Trainer Food delivers delicious prepared weight loss meals to your door. It\u2019s easy to lose weight when you always have healthy meals on hand, ready in minutes. Check out our meal plans<\/u>.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Want to avoid holiday weight gain? Avoid these 4 holiday favorites that look healthy but are surprisingly high in calories. We\u2019ve got some lower calorie swaps to help you LOSE weight during the holiday season. Spinach-artichoke dip So, this dip has spinach and artichoke \u2013 two really healthy ingredients. So why is it so bad? […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":15223,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[6,4,721],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-15221","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-truth-in-weight-loss","8":"category-healthy-living","9":"category-featured-article","10":"entry"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.personaltrainerfood.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/holiday-foods.jpg?fit=800%2C533&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7cwqv-3Xv","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.personaltrainerfood.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15221","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.personaltrainerfood.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.personaltrainerfood.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.personaltrainerfood.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.personaltrainerfood.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15221"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.personaltrainerfood.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15221\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20339,"href":"https:\/\/www.personaltrainerfood.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15221\/revisions\/20339"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.personaltrainerfood.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15223"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.personaltrainerfood.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15221"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.personaltrainerfood.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15221"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.personaltrainerfood.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15221"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}