Watch CBS News

Cut Half the Fat from Holiday Treats

It wouldn't be the holidays without delicious treats like cookies, pies, cakes and brownies, but these tasty treats can be loaded with fat.

To help cut the fat this holiday season -- but not the taste -- registered dietician Keri Glassman, a Women's Health magazine contributing editor, shared some advice on how to prepare those holiday goodies this season.

Healthy Dessert Options For the Holidays

In fruit pies:
Use: Half the sugar
Instead of: All the sugar
• You'll save 744 calories for every cup of sugar you don't use.
• It doesn't change the chemistry of the pie, so you can go as low in sugar as you'd like.
• Sometimes fruit pies can be overly sweetened. Cut the sugar in half and let the fruits natural sweetness come through.

In puddings and pudding pie fillings:
Use: Two percent milk
Instead of: Heavy cream
• This swap slashes 700 calories per cup.
• It will still have a nice creamy body, but so much less fat.

In cookies and crusts:
Use: All whole wheat pasty flour (or half whole-wheat pastry flour and half all-purpose flour)
Instead of: All-purpose flour
• Whole wheat has 12 grams of filling fiber in every cup.
• Guests probably won't notice the difference if you cut the all-purpose flour with whole-wheat flour.

In cheesecake:
Use: Part-skim ricotta cheese
Instead of: Cream cheese
• You'll double the amount of hunger-fighting protein and cut the fat by close to 60 grams for each cup you use.
• Ricotta cheese is much less heavy and caloric than cream cheese.

In brownies and fruit breads:
Use: Pureed pumpkin
Instead of: Oil
• For every half-cup of oil you sub out, you'll save more than 900 calories and 100 grams of fat using pumpkin puree instead.
• Plus, pumpkin puree keeps baked goods moist.

In chocolate cake and fudge:
Use: Three tablespoons of cocoa powder
Instead of: One ounce of baking chocolate
• Substituting cocoa powder peels off 85 calories and 13 grams of fat.

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.