Christmas dinner: how many calories does panettone, chocolate and classic Christmas Eve and New Year dishes have

Food should not be synonymous with guilt, never, for any circumstance. In recent years, more and more nutrition specialists recommend learning to eat by choosing more nutritious foods than counting calories. This is because many times by trying to eat fewer calories, foods full of artificial colors and flavors are consumed that provide little energy but because of the substances they contain, they could affect our intestinal microbiota, so important for our immune system. Under this line, we will share tips to have a healthy Christmas dinner and, if necessary – we will detail it below – count calories.

The first thing we must take into account is that Christmas or New Year’s dinner is one more of all that we will eat throughout the year. Although it is delicious thanks to the number of different dishes that are prepared for these days, it is not necessary to eat everything and everything. We must learn to listen to our body, choose what we like, make the combinations we want and if we already feel satisfied, internalize that both December 26 and January 1 are official days of the “overheated”, and on many occasions , until two or three days later they will continue eating turkey and panettone. So we should not think that it is the last supper or the only one.

Another important point is that the day after eating, we do not have to “oxidize calories”, yes the calories are oxidized and not burned. It is not necessary to exercise a lot or walk a lot to compensate for what we have eaten, and having this habit indicates that we may have a bad relationship with food. If you want to play sports, the morning of January 1 is great because you give your body endorphins and health, but if this has become an obligation, it’s time to think about why you’re doing it.

Within the number of dishes that are prepared at Christmas and New Year, there are some more nutritious than others. This is true. We have preparations that are baked, others fried or in the pot. How we prepare a food will affect the quality of the nutrients that it normally provides. So, if you currently have a health problem such as high cholesterol, diabetes, insulin resistance, cardiovascular disease, kidney disease, or obesity, the ideal would be to talk to your nutritionist and ask him or her which cooking techniques are the most appropriate for you and what at the same time allow you to enjoy a good time with your family. In the end, food is not just calories, it also has a cultural and social connotation.

Basic recommendations:

If you have any of the diseases already mentioned, try to eat low in salt, limit your sugar intake, opt for panettone and desserts that are made with whole wheat flour and sweeteners such as stevia, monk fruit or jacón. Also, that your Christmas dinner has a fresh salad, full of vegetables, of different colors and textures.

Choose the drink you want, but if you have cardiovascular disease, kidney disease or diabetes, try to choose one that does not contain alcohol and is more natural, such as kombucha, a mocktail (non-alcoholic cocktail), among others.

We know that you are reading this note, because you are interested in knowing how many calories the turkey you are going to eat has or how many calories the panettone with chocolate has. Moreover, some are already with the calculator in hand. And no, that’s not our goal.

There are special cases, such as someone who has a chronic non-communicable disease or who is following a food plan because they have a specific objective that this information would be useful to them.

Source: USDA’s FoodData Central / MINSA Food Composition Table

Source: USDA’s FoodData Central / MINSA Food Composition Table

Remember that you can take this information as a reference, but remember that what we eat are not only calories, they are also proteins, carbohydrates, fats (good and bad), vitamins and minerals. The nutritional quality will depend on what ingredients and culinary techniques we use, let’s choose the most nutritious, and if not, let’s enjoy and remember that we can always start healthy habits the next day.