Festive food tip:how to tuck into trifle without widening your waistline

Despite being a festive favourite, tucking into a tasty trifle can not only tighten our trousers, but trigger tooth decay - particularly if eaten in excess.

In order to ensure that you enjoy this seasonal staple without the worry of a wider waistline (and hindered health!), here are my top seven food swaps for satisfying a sweet tooth sensibly...

1. Tweak the topping.
Tasty trifle toppings such as chunks of chocolate may tickle our taste buds, but they're also bursting with an abundance of added sugar - the type that we need to ditch from our daily diet - artificial additives and empty energy.

Sensible swap: swap milk chocolate (and/or hundreds and thousands!) for grated dark chocolate (of at least 85% cocoa) sprinkled sparingly, or sliced strawberries and flaked almonds.

2. Opt for fruit in juice.
Although fruit may be full of fibre - an essential nutrient that can aid the elimination of excess weight by leaving us feeling fuller for longer - tucking into tinned varieties in syrup can instantly increase our intake of the sweet stuff that we need to slash.

Sensible swap: swap tinned fruit in syrup for fresh fruit and/or tinned fruit in fruit juice.

3. Cut the clotted cream.
Despite dairy's nutrient-rich properties playing a vital role in our daily diet - this particular food group provides mandatory macronutrients and micronutrients including protein and calcium - certain sources such as clotted cream can contain copious amounts of calories, fat and saturated fat - three culprits that we need to cut (saturated fat) and control (fat and calories) in order to reduce our risk of health complications such as high cholesterol, heart disease and an accumulation of additional weight.

Sensible swap: swap clotted cream for a low-sugar alternative such as Anchor squirty cream light.

4. Choose custard carefully.
Although this dairy based dessert may seem like a sensible food source - particularly as it's made from milk - it often contains a substantial amount of sugar and saturated fat per serving.

Sensible swap: swap supermarket brands such as Ambrosia for a low (or reduced) sugar custard such as Asda's own 50% less fat fresh custard.

5. Switch to sugar-free jelly.
Fruit flavoured jelly may make a moreish addition to a tasty trifle, but it also adds an abundance of added sugar with many brands bursting with as much as 19g* of the sweet stuff!

Sensible swap: swap a sugary slab of jelly for a sugar-free alternative such as Hartley's sugar-free strawberry jelly.

6. Avoid alcohol.
Providing 7 calories per gram, no nutritional value and an abundance of added sugar, sneaking seasonal tipples such as sherry into our trifle can cause our caloric consumption to creep up - calories that can contribute to a wider waistline when consumed in excess.

Sensible swap: if avoiding the addition of alcohol is too tough, be sure to add it sparingly in order to eliminate as much excess (and empty!) energy as possible.

7. Slash portion sizes.
As tempting as it may be to satisfy our sweet tooth with a super sized trifle (or two!), scoffing such a substantial serving can sabotage more than just our silhouette - particularly if we fail to sustain sensible food swaps such as those listed above.

Sensible swap: swap a standard sized dessert bowl for a small glass - this will instantly reduce our intake of the core culprits that we need to cut and/or control (think excess energy, sugar and saturated fat) whilst creating the illusion of a satisfying serving.

Final thought: slip ups may be inevitable during the festive season, but taking the time to create healthier, homemade versions of our favourite foods will leave us less likely to subject ourselves to the negative self-criticism that stems from 'failing' to sustain self-control.

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