7 Ways to Stay Slim During Holiday Parties

If you have a lot of holiday parties coming up, these 7 holiday foods and drinks can keep you from gaining weight.

Without feeling totally deprived, you can make food choices during the holidays that won't add pounds to your waistline, according to Woman's Day:

1. Cheese. It's full of protein so a little of this can leave you feeling satisfied. The best cheeses to choose? The full-fat, hard cheeses like Parmesan or aged Gouda. Their sharp taste helps curb cravings.These cheeses may have more calories than soft ones like Brie, but they have more protein. Limit yourself to 5 or so cubes.

2. Champagne. At about 100 calories for a 5 oz. serving, if you sip slowly on one glass, you won't feel deprived and won't pack on the pounds, since champagne is one of the few naturally low-calorie beverages around.

3. Nuts. They are full of fiber, which can help keep your blood sugar levels stable. They are high in calories, though, so don't overdue it. Put a small handful on your plate and ration them throughout the evening.

4. Dark Chocolate. Especially if you know it's the real dark stuff, like over 80% cacao. It's full of antioxidants, which could keep your blood pressure and cholesterol from spiking.

5. Red Wine. If you can stick to one 5-oz. glass (sip slowly), it could help keep weight gain at bay. Red wine contains a compound (piceatanol) that some experts say could slow fat cell growth.

6. Shrimp cocktail. (Yum, my favorite, as long as I don't have to peel it!) Shrimp is high in protein and omega 3 fats, which will help you stay full longer and help to keep cholesterol in check. And, as an added bonus, it's low in calories. Nine medium shrimp equals only 50 calories! (Go light on the cocktail sauce, though, because that will contain sugar.)

7. Spinach-artichoke dip. A small portion of this rich dip that contains fat can help you feel full more quickly and thereby curb your hunger hormones. But be mindful of what you are dipping into the dip. Bread is a bad choice. So are chips, even if they are whole wheat. Load your plate with fresh, crisp vegetables to dip into the dip. You can always count on veggies to be low in calories, full of fiber, and healthy in about a zillion other ways. But stick to just two medium-sized spoonfuls of that veggie dip.