Give fats the holiday off: cooking tips to lighten your celebrations.

Trimming grams of fat here and there can not only make a difference in the healthfulness of your holiday meals; you'll be happier stepping on the scales in January. Try incorporating some of these easy fat-paring tactics into your meal planning this holiday season and throughout the coming year:

Change Your Cooking Style

Instead of gravy, candied yams, stuffing, and ambrosia, serve a crisp salad of varied greens and dish up a delectable-looking platter of fruit for dessert.

For stuffing, use wild rice and/or brown rice instead of buttery breadsrice has a nuttier taste, and more fiber and B vitamins. Preparing a variety of foods that supply fiber and bulk will give you more staying power and produce a feeling of fullness.

When a soup or sauce recipe calls for light cream, whipping cream, or evaporated milk, remember that evaporated skim milk provides almost the same richness with a lot less fat. You get 44 grams of fat in one-half cup of whipping cream and just one gram of fat in that amount of evaporated skim milk.

Steam fresh vegetables, then toss them with slivered almonds, lemon juice, and a squirt of olive oil.

Omit rich sauces and crumb toppings. Substitute light cream cheese in any appetizer or dessert recipe calling for cream cheese, and use nonfat yogurt in place of sour cream.

As a holiday gift, you could purchase a cookbook or magazine with lower-fat, lower-calorie versions of holiday recipes.

Thicken sauces with a small amount of cornstarch and pureed vegetables, rather than flour, cream, or butter.

Eat Like a Gourmet

Rather than stuff yourself with everything in sight, take small portions and savor each bite. You will eat less but enjoy it more.

Try to limit foods that tend to take awhile to digest or stay with you long after the holiday meal. Those foods include chocolate, gravy, ice cream, cheese, and nuts - all loaded with fat.

A few drinks can play havoc with your calorie count, as well as your willpower. For a refreshing alternative, try equal parts of white grape juice and seltzer or Perrier, with plenty of ice.

Baking? Learn How to Cheat

Cholesterol, calories, and fat can be reduced greatly by altering the recipes a bit. You can substitute half the amount of butter without changing the consistency of a baked good.

Use applesauce, mashed bananas, or fruit purees to moisten baked goods and decrease the fat. Baby foods, such as peaches or prunes, also work well. However, if you substitute more than 50 percent fruit for the butter, oil, or margarine, the flavor will be a bit bland and the texture will turn out tough and rubbery.

To make prune puree, combine one and one-third cups pitted prunes and six tablespoons water in a food processor. Pulse on and off until prunes are finely chopped.

(Note: Recipes prepared with infinitesimal amounts of fat and reduced sugar don't keep as well as their higher counterparts. Freeze unused portions immediately.)

Use graham cracker crusts, moistened with approximately two tablepoons fruit juice for just enough to make the crust stick together), instead of pastry crusts that call for butter or shortening. Or bake a crustless pie. A pumpkin pie filling, poured into a baking dish, gives you a smooth, creamy pie,, that is high in vitamin A and low in fat.

Leftovers Can Be Your Downfall

You might have used great restraint at the party, but when putting the food away you find yourself munching on everything, or making another trip back to the fridge after the family is asleep.

Either give leftovers to guests as they leave or freeze them immediately for another meal. If you have an extra freezer in the garage, that's even better. Having help with the cleanup will make it easier to get through it without nibbling.

Finally, if you are tempted to overeat, visualize yourself in some new clothes after the holidays to strengthen your resolve. Remember that the focus of celebrating should be on spending time with those peDAle in our lives for whom we who care about us.