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| The average cup of non-alcoholic eggnog has 343 calories |
So Thanksgiving is behind us, or is it on our behinds? I managed to lighten up just about all of my recipes this year and had my dinner on a salad plate, so I think I managed just fine. How did you do? Now I have to think about my plans for the coming round of parties, dinners and general non-stop celebrating. That means cocktails, wine, and the infamous eggnog offerings everywhere I turn.
Anybody ever wonder just how many calories 1 cup of eggnog contains? I did so I just looked it up on calorieking.com and the average cup of non-alcoholic eggnog has 343 calories. If you add 1 ounce of rum or brandy to it you add another 64 calories thus raising the calorie count for one little cup of heaven to more than 400 calories. I don’t know about you but I am NOT willing to drink 400 calories and only get about 9 grams of protein from it. My yummy peanut butter chocolate protein drink is only 110 calories and I get 27 grams of protein – a much more acceptable ratio.
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| There are quite a few alternatives |
So what do we do? Do we have to swear off eggnog forever because we had weight loss surgery? You guessed the answer to be yes, but guess again because where there is a will there is ALWAYS an alternative. As a matter of fact, there are quite a few alternatives and I will share just a few of them with you today. Pick the one that sounds best to you, give it a try and then let me know by either commenting on this blog post or logging on to the
Forums at BandedLiving.com and sharing the recipe you like or warning us about one that was awful.
Remember that adding an ounce of brandy or rum to the mix as a substitute for the brandy or rum flavoring will add 64 calories to each serving.
Here’s a recipe that sounded pretty interesting to me:
Egg Nog Light
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| Rum or brandy flavoring will eliminate 64 calories per serving |
Ingredients:
- 5 cups light vanilla soymilk
- Small box of sugar free, fat free Vanilla instant pudding mix (4 serving size)
- 6 teaspoons Splenda
- 1 teaspoon of rum extract
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg
Directions:
Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend on high to mix thoroughly. Refrigerate for 2-3 hours to chill and thicken.
Serving size: 1 cup, servings per recipe = 5
Calories: about 90
Protein: about 6 grams
Remember, if you add 1 ounce rum or brandy to each cup you get a 154 calorie cup of nog instead of a 400 calorie one! Not too bad.
Now let’s make this light eggnog light into Pumpkin eggnog light for a different taste treat:
Directions:
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| Pumpkin eggnog light for a taste treat |
To the recipe above add :
- 2/3 cup canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix, just pumpkin)
- 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
Follow blender directions and chill for 1-3 hours. Pour into cups and garnish with a bit of cinnamon. Yumm…
Serving size 1 cup
Calories about 110
Protein about 6 grams
Did anybody try either of the two recipes above? What did you think? Good as the stuff you buy in the containers at the market, and better since you save hundreds of calories, right?
Now here’s an egg nog recipe that requires a little more fussing but could very well be worth the time:
Ingredients:
- 6 cups skim milk
- 1 cup egg substitute
- ½ cup non-fat powdered milk
- 6 Tablespoons Splenda
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoons rum extract
- Ground nutmeg or cinnamon
- Cool Whip free whipped topping
Directions:
In a medium pot over medium heat whisk together the skim milk, egg substitute, powdered milk and Splenda. Cook, stirring for 15-20 minutes until thickened.
Remove from heat and whisk in the vanilla and rum extracts. Let cool for 20 -30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Refrigerate for 2-3 hours to chill. Stir well and pour into cups. Add 1 Tablespoon whipped topping and sprinkle each with nutmeg, cinnamon (or both).
Serving size 1 cup, makes about 7 servings
Calories about 125
Protein about 16 1/2 grams
This one is a bit higher in the calorie department, but it sure rocks when it comes to protein from all of that milk and eggs….Hmmmm, could be my holiday season breakfast “shake”. What do you think?
Finally, here’s one that seems to combine the best parts of the 2 different light eggnog styles above into one recipe:
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| Heat up for an instant cup of holiday delight |
Ingredients:
- 4 cups unsweetened, vanilla light almond milk
- 1 cup egg substitute
- 1 small package sugar free vanilla instant pudding mix (4 serving size)
- 1/8 teaspoon salt (not sure this is necessary)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
Directions:
Whisk together almond milk and egg substitute. Add instant pudding mix, salt, vanilla extract and nutmeg. Whisk for several minutes. Refrigerate for 1-3 hour to chill, or heat up for an instant cup of holiday delight.
Serving size: 1 cup, servings 6
Calories: about 75
Protein: about 5 grams
I don’t know about you, but I plan to make some egg nog for holiday cheer without worrying about adding holiday season 2011 to my thighs.
