3 Real Lowest-Calorie Christmas Dinner Swaps
None of these mean skipping Christmas dinner, they’re genuine, like-for-like swaps within the traditional meal, real foods for real foods, with the actual per-100g calorie figures from our own database.
Three real swaps
- Pigs in Blankets, 310kcal per 100g → extra Turkey Breast (roasted, no skin), 153kcal per 100g
- Cauliflower Cheese, 115kcal per 100g → Steamed Carrots, 35kcal per 100g
- Sticky Toffee Pudding, 340kcal per 100g → Bread and Butter Pudding, 192kcal per 100g
What all three swaps save on one plate
Added up, the same 100g portion of each: the three original choices come to 765kcal (310 + 115 + 340), the three swapped choices come to 380kcal (153 + 35 + 192), a real 385kcal saved across the plate, before you’ve changed a single portion size.
One more real option for dessert
If Bread and Butter Pudding isn’t your thing, Trifle (sherry) is a genuine second option, and comes in even lower, 165kcal per 100g against Sticky Toffee Pudding’s 340kcal.
The good news already on your plate
Brussels Sprouts are genuinely low-calorie, just 43kcal per 100g, whatever else people say about them at the table. So is Braised Red Cabbage, 45kcal per 100g.
Where you will see it used on this site
Our Meat & Poultry, Fruit & Vegetables and Snacks & Confectionery category pages can all be sorted lowest calorie first. For real, similarly like-for-like sugar swaps, most Christmas puddings and mince pies are genuinely sugar-heavy too, see 6 Real Low-Sugar Swaps.
*This article is general information, not medical or dietary advice. If you’re making dietary changes for a specific health reason, speak to a doctor or registered dietitian.