b'Small Changes,Big ResultsBy Phyllis Allen, M.S., R.D., L.D.TheChristmasholidayseasonisspecialtomanyof usbecausewelookforwardtospendingtimewith our families and friends.Good food is an important element to many of the social gatherings during the holiday season. More of your favorite foods are easily available and extra goodies are everywhere. So, we eat, eat and overeat!Unless you are careful, your post-holidays weigh-ins will show that you might have indulged a bit too much. Just an extra 350 calories a day over the six weeks of the holiday day season could mean another five pounds. Five pounds does not seem like a lot but it will take much more effort and some physical activity to get rid of those extra pounds than it took to put them on.For every pound you gain, you will need to reduce your calories and exercise enough to burn 3,500 calories to lose it. Depending on your weight, one hour of brisk walking burns about 300 calories. At that rate, it will take you about twelve days to walk off one of those extra pounds you gained and almost two months to take off those extra five pounds. Saving a few calories here and there could help to prevent the usual holiday weight gain.This month, I created a healthier version of a popular holiday dessert, Red Velvet cake. A traditional Red Velvet cake is loaded with fat and calories. One slice has a whopping 645 calories and 32 grams of fat (44% calories from fat). This healthier version has about half the calories, only 11 grams of fat, and is much lower in cholesterol and saturated fat. In order to reduce calories and fat, I used fat free buttermilk, replaced two eggs with 4 egg whites, used only one whole egg, and replaced half the oil with unsweetened applesauce.Butter and full fat cream cheese were replaced with fat free and 1/3 less fat cream cheese in the frosting. Are you concerned that healthier and lower fat means less taste! Well just put that thought out of your mind. Participants at the IMARA Woman Empowerment Tours have sampled the cake and loved it! Even though the cake is slimmer on calories and fat, portion control is still important. Foods that are healthier and lower in calories dont mean you should, Eat all you want. Eating too large a portion of healthier foods still produces excess calories that your body will store as fat.Indulge in a small slice and savor every bite. Enjoy!18IMARA'