5 ways to enjoy holiday dining with dietary restrictions

Holiday cuisine—often filled with rich, decadent foods—can often feel inaccessible to people with dietary restrictions. But whether you follow a specific eating plan for personal or medical reasons, you can still enjoy appetizing holiday dishes and desserts that fit your lifestyle, with a few modifications.

Here a few fuss-free meal tips for five types of eaters.

From starchy side dishes to baked goods galore, it can feel difficult to manage your intake of carbohydrates during the holiday season. But there are plenty of holiday dishes that make it easier to count carbs.

For example, popular dishes like beef tenderloin can be enjoyed with a smaller side of potatoes made partly with pureed cauliflower. Instead of traditional macaroni and cheese, opt for a lower-carb pasta—perhaps one made from chickpeas or protein-rich quinoa—with reduced-fat cheese and fat-free evaporated milk. If you enjoy the Feast of the Seven Fishes on Christmas Eve, add a heart-healthy fish to the mix, such as salmon, cod, or halibut. Casseroles and roasted veggies can also be livened up with a topping made from crushed nuts or fiber cereal instead of traditional breadcrumbs.

Got a sweet tooth? Instead of cakes, pies, and puddings, try a plate of fresh fruit topped with fresh whipped cream. If a baked good recipe calls for oil and sugar, replace it with applesauce for less fat and sugar and more fiber.

Whether you’re following a gluten-free eating plan due to celiac disease or gluten sensitivity, the supermarket shelves are stocked with plenty of flour substitutes.

Fried or baked chicken can be coated with gluten-free all-purpose flour mix, which may be made from a blend of millet flour, rice flour, potato starch, chickpea flour, and/or sorghum flour. Puffed brown rice can take the place of traditional breadcrumbs. Gravy for meat dishes can be thickened by using either corn starch, potato starch, or arrowroot. Many companies make gluten-free pasta or you can try other substitutes like making pasta from spaghetti squash or zucchini.

For dessert, flours made from almond meal, coconut, pea, or soy work well for baking breads, cookies, muffins, and cakes.

Modifying recipes with lower-fat and lower-calorie foods will help you reduce your intake of saturated fat and make your heart happy this holiday season.

For a crunchy appetizer, try whole-grain breadsticks or crackers with hummus instead of cheese. Ground beef with higher-fat content can be swapped for leaner beef, low-fat bison or venison, or ground turkey. Italian dishes can be made with low-fat mozzarella or part-skim ricotta cheese. And you can drizzle your salad with a simple homemade dressing of lemon juice and olive oil.

You can also lighten up your dessert. The American Heart Association recommends light, fluffy angel food cake as a substitute for richer devil's food cake. Make cookies and pies with unsaturated oils, egg whites (or egg substitutes), and fat-free milk, while going lighter on butter, full-fat milk, and heavy cream. Ice cream lovers can satisfy their craving for chilly treats with sorbet, low-fat frozen yogurt, or a simple "ice cream" made from frozen bananas blended with berries.

Contrary to conventional wisdom, animal products are not necessary for creating mouthwatering holiday dishes. There are a range of ways to swap in plant-based foods while still enjoying flavor and texture. 

Hearty soups and stews can be made with vegetable stock (instead of chicken or beef), plus beans, legumes, and root vegetables instead of chunks of meat. Nuts or beans can take the place of meat in stuffing. Portobello mushrooms can be used as an alternative in meat dishes like Beef Wellington. If a recipe calls for eggs, you may be able to substitute with an egg replacement, applesauce, or 1/4 cup of pureed tofu for each egg.  

Vegans can enjoy desserts, too! Coconut oil or vegan margarine may be substituted for butter. Almond milk, soy milk, and coconut milk can be an alternative for cow’s milk. 

If you’re allergic to dairy, lactose intolerant, or have stopped consuming cow’s milk in order to add more plant-based foods to your diet, there are plenty of ways to enjoy creamy foods—without the cream.

Focus on hearty dips made from pureed sweet peas and ground, cooked chickpeas, like hummus. Oat milk or rice milk serve as flavorful alternatives in creamy soups, sauces, and mashed potatoes. A combination of almond milk, flour, oil, vinegar, and nutritional yeast can produce a substitute for ricotta cheese to use in lasagna.

Cacao butter, cocoa butter, coconut butter, and almond butter—as well as dairy-free margarine—are tasty alternatives for baking. Coconut milk (the full-fat version) can take the place of heavy cream in desserts.