Enjoying Easter - The healthy way

No matter how pious you are, when you think ‘Easter’, you’re bound to also think ‘chocolate’ within a few seconds. And when the supermarket shelves are weighed down with enough chocolate eggs to feed a million Easter bunnies, it’s impossible not to!

The huge Easter displays can be very tempting, making it seem like a hard time of year to stick to your weight-control goals. If you're feeling like ditching your goals and gobbling down chocolate, read on for some ideas to keep you on track over the Easter break.

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The trick to surviving the Easter holidays with your weight-control goals intact is to focus on the word 'one' - have just one egg, just one hot cross bun. Allowing yourself to indulge just a little won't leave you feeling deprived, and it won't hurt your weight loss either.

However, for most of us having 'just one' can be a pretty difficult task. One chocolate egg or one hot cross bun can have the power to push you down a slippery slope and when you get to the bottom you realise that you've demolished a whole packet of buns or a giant crate of Easter eggs.

So what can you do? Here are some tips that will help you avoid that slippery slope:

Eat well and stick to the meals you have planned. Make sure that you don't let yourself get too hungry - if you've had enough to eat you'll be able to say no to nibbles and treats more easily.
Plan to have healthy alternatives on hand. How about preparing a batch of our low-fat hot cross buns instead of the traditional variety? Or you could have some low-fat sweet or savoury muffins to give guests or as a snack instead of hot cross buns. Check out the CalorieKing.com.au Recipe section for more inspiration.
Have a little of what you like. Instead of eating everything in the house, except what you really wanted to indulge in, allowing yourself a small treat can help you beat a craving.
Keep the amount of chocolate and hot cross buns in the house to an absolute minimum. If your partner insists that it's just not Easter without hot cross buns, buy a pack of six instead of 12, or make your own low-calorie version. Buy just enough chocolate eggs for the kids and keep them out of sight until Easter Sunday morning.
Ask your family not to buy you a food-based present. Instead, tell them that you'd love some flowers or a nice hand-made card instead of chocolate this year. Decorate with dyed, coloured hard boiled or blown eggs, instead of chocolate ones.
Check out CalorieKing's Easter Treats Guide for an idea of just how many calories, kilojoules and fat are in that tempting treat. (See Related Articles)