Misa de Gallo Breakfast
Avoid: Ensaymada
Opt for: Bibingka or Puto Pumbong
Usually eaten with hot chocolate, ensaymada is made with tubs of butter (or worse, margarine, which is basically a mask for saturated fat) both inside and out. Bibingka is made with coconut milk, which is high in good fats, while puto bumbong, the healthiest among the three, is made with purple yam, which is low in calories and high in potassium and vitamin C.

Noche Buena Favorites
Avoid: Ham
Opt for: Lechon or roasted chicken
Most commercial Christmas hams have been cured, meaning they have been rubbed with good amounts of salt, sugar, and seasoning to preserve as well as enhance their flavor. The two recommended alrernatives are both roasted, allowing calories to drip out of their meaty bodies. Just skip the gravy and crispy skin so as not to spoil your diet.

Christmas Dessert
Avoid: Fruit cake and ube halaya
Opt for: Fruit salad or gingerbread cookies
Dried and candied fruits--ingredients that make a fruitcake what it is--are either soaked or coated in sugar, making it dense with calories. Ube halaya on its own is healthy, but mixed with condensed milk becomes calorie-dense. Trade them for a small serving of fruit salad or gingerbread cookies, which are made of molasses and thus, rich in potassium.