15 lowest-calorie Christmas foods, from 28 to 263 kcal
Fifteen Christmas foods and drinks from 28 to 263 kcal, from sprouts and turkey to mini mince pies and lighter mulled wine, plus the heavy ones worth knowing.
Christmas food has a reputation for being impossible to fit into a normal week. Most of it is not. The calories come from a handful of items eaten in quantity, not from the table as a whole.
Every item below comes from the calorie breakdowns in this Journal, using the same figures, so you can follow each one back to the full numbers. They are sorted from lightest to heaviest per normal portion.
The list at a glance
| # | Food or drink | Portion | Calories |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brussels sprouts, boiled | 80g | 28 |
| 2 | Gravy from granules | 100ml | 35 |
| 3 | Turkey breast, no skin | 25g thin slice | 38 |
| 4 | A wrapped chocolate from the tub | about 8g | 43 |
| 5 | Cocktail sausage roll | 15g | 54 |
| 6 | Sage and onion stuffing ball, from a packet | 40g | 56 |
| 7 | Roast potato | 1 piece, 40g | 57 |
| 8 | Pig in blanket | 1 | 65 |
| 9 | Brut prosecco | 125ml flute | 82 |
| 10 | Half-and-half mulled wine | 150ml cup | 100 |
| 11 | Mini mince pie | 1 | 120 |
| 12 | Trifle | 100g bowl | 160 |
| 13 | Turkey breast, no skin | 150g portion | 225 |
| 14 | Christmas pudding | 75g slice | 240 |
| 15 | Turkey sandwich with cranberry | 2 slices, 60g turkey | 263 |
1. Brussels sprouts
80g: 28 kcal
The lightest thing on the Christmas plate, and the easiest way to make the plate bigger without making it heavier. Swapping an 80g portion of roast parsnips (112 kcal) for a second portion of sprouts saves 84. Butter on top costs more than the sprouts: 10g is 72 kcal. (Roast dinner breakdown.)
2. Gravy from granules
100ml: 35 kcal
A normal pour is under 4% of a roast dinner. Roasting tin gravy with the fat skimmed is nearly the same, at about 40. With the fat left in it is about 90, so the skimming is the only decision. (Gravy breakdown.)
3. A thin slice of turkey breast
25g: 38 kcal
Skinless turkey breast is about 150 kcal per 100g with 30g of protein, one of the best ratios of any food on the table. The skin adds about 40 kcal per 100g, which matters more than white against dark meat. (Turkey breakdown.)
4. One chocolate from the tub
About 8g: 43 kcal
Tub chocolates are mostly milk chocolate at about 5.35 kcal per gram. One is light. The tub is not designed for one, and six is 257 kcal. Take them out and put the lid back on. (Chocolate breakdown.)
5. Cocktail sausage roll
15g: 54 kcal
All sausage rolls sit near 360 kcal per 100g, so the small ones are light only because they are small. Six cocktail rolls equal one standard bakery roll. (Sausage roll breakdown.)
6. Packet sage and onion stuffing ball
40g: 56 kcal
About the same as one roast potato. A sausagemeat ball of the same size is about 100, and a US scoop of buttery dressing about 300. (Stuffing breakdown.)
7. One roast potato
40g piece: 57 kcal
Light on its own and the biggest item on the plate in total, because nobody has one. Four are 229 kcal, more than the turkey. Goose fat and oil carry the same calories per gram; how much clings to the potato is what counts.
8. One pig in blanket
1: 65 kcal
A chipolata in streaky bacon. Three are 195 kcal, close to the whole turkey portion. Count them by the piece. (Sausage breakdown.)
9. A flute of Brut prosecco
125ml: 82 kcal
The lightest common Christmas drink with alcohol in it, mostly because the flute is small. Extra Dry prosecco is, confusingly, sweeter than Brut. A 175ml glass of 13.5% red is about 132. (Wine breakdown.)
10. Half-and-half mulled wine
150ml cup: 100 kcal
500ml of red, 250ml of water, 40g of sugar and an orange. It still tastes of spice and fruit, and comes in at about 100 kcal a cup against 153 for the standard recipe. (Mulled wine breakdown.)
11. Mini mince pie
1: 120 kcal
About half a standard 233 kcal pie, and the pastry is still two thirds of it. A star or lattice top on a full-size pie saves about 38. (Mince pie breakdown.)
12. A small bowl of trifle
100g: 160 kcal
The lightest Christmas pudding per gram, because most of it is custard, jelly and fruit. The cream on top is a tenth of the bowl and nearly a third of the calories. (Trifle breakdown.)
13. A proper portion of turkey
150g, no skin: 225 kcal · about 45g protein
The best protein on the table by a distance. If one item is going to fill the plate, this is the one to choose.
14. A small slice of Christmas pudding
75g: 240 kcal
The standard 113g slice is 362, and the topping is often the bigger decision. Custard at 150ml is 150; a tablespoon of brandy butter is 84 for a much smaller spoonful. (Christmas pudding breakdown.)
15. A Boxing Day turkey sandwich
2 slices, 60g turkey, cranberry: 263 kcal
Butter takes it to about 335, sausagemeat stuffing to about 435 and a tablespoon of mayonnaise past 500. The turkey is the light part.
The heavy end, for comparison
| Food or drink | Portion | Calories |
|---|---|---|
| Christmas dinner plate | Turkey and all the trimmings | 1,017 |
| Christmas pudding with custard and brandy butter | 113g slice | 680 |
| Christmas pudding with custard | 113g slice plus 150ml | 512 |
| Six pigs in blankets | 6 | 390 |
| Large café mince pie | 1 | 360 |
| US stuffing or dressing | 150g scoop | 300 |
| Mulled wine | 200ml mug | 204 |
The whole day is in the Christmas dinner breakdown: about 3,000 kcal for a typical Christmas Day, with the afternoon grazing adding up to more than the dinner plate.
How to use this list
- Fill the plate from the top of the list. Sprouts, carrots, gravy and turkey make up most of a plate's volume for very little.
- Count the small things by the piece. Roast potatoes, pigs in blankets, chocolates and mini pies are each light. The number you eat is the whole story.
- Choose the drink before the party. Prosecco and lighter mulled wine are the two easy swaps.
- Do not skip the meal to save up. Arriving hungry is how the chocolate tub empties.