How They Got So Light

“Basically, people throw themselves into the holidays, using it as a license to overeat,” says Evelyn Tribole, a registered dietitian. “The meals get bigger and fattier, and there are holiday goodies everywhere--at the office in desk drawers or on table tops at home. People figure that come January they will go on their famous annual diet. That is not a good idea because it usually doesn’t work, and there is an easier way to do it.”

Since the typical holiday menu can contain as many as 2,000 calories and half of those can come from fat, eating half as much is a reasonable goal. On a 1,000-calorie plan, you’re allowed 33 grams of fat.

This is the requirement we asked the chefs to follow in developing a lighter holiday menu: Each of the following ingredients is equal to 1 teaspoon of fat; the chefs were allowed 6 to 7 teaspoons of fat per person. Outside of these restrictions, the chefs were free to select any items they desired.

* 1 teaspoon butter, regular margarine, shortening or oil, including olive oil

* 1 tablespoon diet margarine

* 1 teaspoon mayonnaise

* 1 tablespoon diet mayonnaise

* 1/8th avocado

* 6 whole almonds

* 10 large or 20 small peanuts

* 1 tablespoon hazelnuts, sunflower seeds or pine nuts

* 2 whole pecans or walnuts

* 2 teaspoons pumpkin seeds

* 1 slice bacon

* 2 tablespoons shredded coconut

* 2 tablespoons sour cream

* 1 tablespoon whipping cream

* 1/2 cup whole milk

* 1 tablespoon cream cheese

* 1/4 ounce salt pork

* 1/3 ounce unsweetened chocolate

* 1 tablespoon chocolate pieces

* 1 ounce low-fat cheese such as Lifetime, Weight Watchers

* 1/2 ounce hard or semisoft cheese

* 1 tablespoon regular salad dressing such as blue cheese, Russian, Thousand Island, French or Italian

* 2 tablespoons reduced-calorie salad dressing

* 10 medium olives

* 1 egg yolk