A Low Carb Christmas Dinner!
Turkey, ham, stuffing, all the trimmings, pudding, cake or mince pies, not to mention the vol-au-vents, crisps and peanuts at the staff ‘do’ – Christmas is great, isn’t it Unfortunately, the greater the indulgence in December, the heavier the cloud of depression when you step on the scales in January - and the less likely it is that that new Christmas jumper will hide the bulges. This time of year is as much of a challenge for your waistline as it is for your wallet.
Where do I start?
For low carbers, smoked salmon, pate and antipasto are ideal – proscuitto or Parma ham, olives, roast peppers and marinated artichoke hearts keep the carb-count down.
The main event
The good news is that meat and poultry are zero-carb foods. So enjoy the turkey and ham but be careful of glazes, relishes and sauce. Swap breadcrumb stuffing for sausage meat stuffing but do be careful of hidden carbs – lead the labels and make your own sausage meat if necessary with minced pork and spices. Bacon rolls are back on the menu, too!
And don’t forget to enjoy all those low-carb veggies – sprouts with bacon or almonds get the go-ahead, as do other leafy greens, but pass on the root vegetables as these are super-high in carbohydrate.
A bit on the side
Gravy can be very high in carbs so use a low-carb thickener or a little cornflour to thicken meat juices.
And afters?
Packed with sugar-rich dried fruit, Christmas pud and Christmas Cake are a no-no for low carbers. So how about something a little out of the ordinary and go for a cheese plate instead of dessert? Low in carb but full of flavour, blue and hard cheeses will satisfy without adding lots of extra carbs. Or, of course, you could go for berries (look for frozen ones at this time of the year) with double cream for an indulgent dessert.