Tips for holiday partying with healthier options

The Greenbelt Marriott has collected tips from its experts on throwing a great holiday party with healthier options and easy-to-do decorating that won’t break the bank. The hotel is also helping guests stay in shape through the $700,000 expansion of its fitness center, due to be completed early next year.

To keep calories and fat down in baked goods, which are abundant this time of year, the hotel’s culinary experts suggest substituting applesauce or fruit puree for oil or butter and using egg whites or egg substitutes instead of whole eggs. Another healthy trick is to substitute ¼ of the sugar for the same amount of non-fat powdered milk; and use low-fat yogurt in place of sour cream.

“Substituting healthier ingredients for some of the fat and sugar are easy tricks that don’t change the taste but go a long way in boosting the health appeal in some of your favorite holiday foods,” says John Scheeler, executive chef at the Greenbelt Marriott hotel. “There’s no need to throw health out the window over the holidays. These substitutions can be made and your guests will never know the difference.”

The Greenbelt Marriott kitchen puts its advice to work when it bakes fresh muffins every morning that are light, contain premium fruits and vegetables, and are low fat and fat free. “Some of our specialty flavors are New England blueberry, cranberry orange, fat-free carrot raisin bran and for the holidays, seasonal fresh pumpkin spice,” explains Chef Scheeler.

For simple and inexpensive decorating ideas, Greenbelt Marriott event planners suggest placing decorative Christmas tree ornaments or peppermints in a glass vase, or wrapping cinnamon sticks in cloth napkins tied with a small bow and placing one in the center of each plate. In addition, hotel experts point to candles as cheerful and inexpensive decorating tools. For a festive centerpiece, place small candles inside wine glasses of different heights that are clustered together, or set them next to each place setting. Another favorite is to put floating candles in a glass jar filled with colored water (add a few drops of red or green food coloring) for a great holiday effect.

Despite these tips, many of us will overindulge over the holidays. For hotel guests who arrive needing to work off those extra holiday calories, the newly expanded fitness center will offer 1,900 square feet of space and a variety of new, state-of-the-art equipment. Guests can look forward to six treadmills, four elliptical machines each with I-Pod integration and USB plug-in capability. Three adjustable weight benches, two bicycles with DVD/CD laptop compatibility, and a high-tech resistance training machine with an incremental weight dial system, and more. The fitness center will be opened 24 hours a day and has open stair access to the pool and sauna. Demolition began November 16, with the opening scheduled for early January.

“Our new fitness center will offer a comfortable and spacious place with new top-of-the-line equipment for our guests to enjoy,” explains Robert M. Allen, general manager of the Greenbelt Marriott hotel. “We seek feedback from our guests at every opportunity and they told us they would value an expanded fitness opportunity. We acted on their suggestions and our owner, Lerner Enterprises, stepped in to fund the project.”