Holiday Dining Tips:

If there’s a buffet, plan your strategy before you step up to the table. Figure out how you want to approach the buffet table, if there is one.

If it’s impossible to resist trying everything on the table, at least make sure you take very small “tastes” or small spoonfuls of high-calorie dishes.

Sweet Potatoes

Mouth-watering sweet potatoes — why disguise this veggie’s naturally delicate flavor with gooey marshmallows or a brown sugar glaze? Not to be confused with the yam, sweet potatoes possess a higher degree of moistness and sweetness. And, they’re higher in nutritional oomph with a slew of antioxidant vitamins — C, E, and especially A.

Tip: Sweet potatoes should not be refrigerated. Store in a cool dry place between 55 and 65 degrees Fahrenheit.

Turkey

Low in fat and high in protein, turkey is an inexpensive source of B vitamins, iron, phosphorus, potassium and zinc.

Tips: Use a rack to roast the turkey so the fat drips away from the bird. Baste your bird with flavorful fat-free broth (instead of butter). You’ll have lots of delicious juices to serve without breaking your calorie bank.

If you’re trying to shave off calories, choose a turkey breast roast this year instead of the whole bird. The fat (and cholesterol) and calorie count is lower because white meat has less fat and fewer calories than dark.

Be sure to have a gravy separator on hand. This indispensable tool quickly skims excess fat from your pan drippings.

Stuffing/Dressing

Whole grains deserve a place on your holiday table too. The fact that they’re not refined means they’re in their natural form with texture, fiber and lots more flavor.

Skip the tired old white bread stuffing this year and whip up a savory batch of cornbread croutons for a memorable holiday dressing peppered with chunks of spicy low-fat turkey sausage and dried fruit. Treat your family and friends to a holiday feast that is as rich in health benefits as it is in flavor.

If you’re using broth for stuffing or gravy, be sure to choose fat-free.

If the stuffing calls for sautéed veggies such as celery, onions and mushrooms, use a nonstick pan to minimize the amount of oil required to cook them.

If you bake your stuffing outside of the bird, it’s called dressing. This also means that no juice (or fat) from the baking turkey is absorbed, resulting in a drastic calorie reduction. The right combination of ingredients can result in a dressing that is just as delicious and moist when baked outside the bird.

Pumpkin Pie or Sweet Potato Pie

Use cooked mashed sweet potato to substitute for pumpkin in your favorite pumpkin pie recipe if you favor sweet potato over pumpkin.

Make pumpkin (or sweet potato) pies with canned, evaporated, skim milk. As much of the water has been “evaporated,” the remaining milk is more concentrated — rich and creamy with lower calories and fat than regular evaporated milk

Try to decrease the amount of sweetener requested in your favorite recipe by about 25 percent. You may find you prefer it this way. And this year, try using agave nectar as your sweetener. Unlike sugar, it’s loaded with antioxidants. Yes, it has calories, similar to those of honey, but it’s natural and not artificial or chemically processed. Taste your modified pie filling before baking to be sure it’s sweet enough. Sometimes kicking up the sweet spices just a notch — such as cinnamon, cloves and ginger — helps to stretch the flavor so the lesser amount of sweetener isn’t as noticeable.

Substitute most or all of the whole eggs with egg whites.

Eat just the filling of the finished pie and skip the high-fat crust. Or, bake the filling in a springform pan without any crust at all.

Miscellaneous tips

Season vegetables with fresh herbs and low sodium seasonings — skip the butter.

There’s plenty of starch at this meal — why not skip the dinner rolls altogether?  If that’s not an option for your family, be sure to choose whole grain rolls.

Cheryl Forberg RD is a professional chef and the nutritionist for NBC’s The Biggest Loser. She is the author of “The Biggest Loser Simple Swaps: 100 Easy Changes to Start Living a Healthier Lifestyle and Positively Ageless:  A 28-Day Plan for a Younger, Slimmer, Sexier You.” For recipes and more information visit her website at www.cherylforberg.com.