An employee in the toy section of the Galeries Lafayette department store arranges a display near a Christmas tree in preparation for holiday season gift shopping in Paris November 17, 2011.
An employee in the toy section of the Galeries Lafayette department store arranges a display near a Christmas tree in preparation for holiday season gift shopping in Paris November 17, 2011. Reuters/Charles Platiau

Christmas is the time for gathering around with family and friends to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ on Dec. 25 every year. Part of the traditional Christmas festivities is eating good food. Whether it's a simple get together at home, or a grand Christmas party at work, it's a chance to be merry. Unfortunately, almost all the delicious food served during Christmas is rich, sweet and fatty. That's why a lot of people gain weight during the holidays. But, it's not such a lost cause for those who want to enjoy eating while not packing on the pounds. Read on to learn more about how you can do it by serving and eating the top 5 low-fat Christmas 2014 recipes.

The best solution to avoid gaining weight, or at the very least minimize it during the holidays, especially on Christmas, is to serve healthier alternatives that are low in fat but still yummy. Below are some suggestions on what to serve or eat this Christmas 2014 from goodfood.com.

Top 5 Low-Fat Christmas 2014 Recipes:

1. Cranberry Chicken Salad - This recipe serves four people. The preparation time is 15 minutes while the cooking time is 10 minutes. If you have leftover cranberry sauce, you can also use that in this dish. Another option would be to open up a can of cannellini beans and mix it in the salad. Click HERE to see the steps in preparing and cooking the Cranberry Chicken Salad.

Ingredients:

  • 2 skinless chicken breasts
  • 4 tsp olive oil
  • 25g dried cranberries
  • 85g/3oz cranberry sauce
  • juice 1 lime
  • 2 red onions, thinly sliced
  • 200g mixed leaves
  • ½ cucumber, deseeded and sliced

    2. Curried Lentil, Parsnip And Apple Soup - This recipe serves six to eight people. The preparation time is 20 minutes while the cooking time is 40 minutes. This is a spicy soup that can be made ahead and then frozen. Just thaw and heat in the microwave if you want to serve it. Click HERE to see the steps in preparing and cooking the Curried Lentil, Parsnip and Apple Soup.

    Ingredients:

    • 500g parsnips (around 5 medium parsnips), peeled and cut into chunks
    • 140g dried red lentils
    • 2 tbsp sunflower oil
    • 3 tbsp medium curry paste
    • 2 medium onions, roughly chopped
    • 2 Bramley apples (about 400g), peeled, cored and cut into chunks
    • 1½ l vegetable or chicken stock, made with 1 stock cube
    • chopped coriander, to serve (optional)
    • natural yogurt, to serve (optional)

    3. Braised Sea Bass With Spinach - This recipe serves four people. The preparation time is 50 minutes while the cooking time is 40-50 minutes. Click HERE to see the steps in preparing and cooking the Braised Sea Bass with Spinach.

    Ingredients:

    • 250g cherry or baby plum tomatoes, halved
    • small handful capers
    • 12 large black olives, stoned and roughly chopped
    • 20 basil leaves
    • 2 red peppers, halved, deseeded
    • 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
    • 2 shallots, chopped
    • 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
    • large knob butter
    • 250g bag spinach
    • 50ml white wine
    • 100ml/3½ fl oz tomato juice
    • 2 whole sea bass, about 600-700g/1lb 5oz-1lb-9oz each, gutted, scaled and cleaned (get your fishmonger to do this)

    4. Roast Pork With Couscous And Ginger Yogurt - This recipe serves six people. The preparation time is 10 minutes while the cooking time is 40 minutes. Click HERE to see the steps in preparing and cooking the Roast Pork with Couscous and Ginger Yogurt.

    Ingredients:

    • 2 pork fillets, each about 500g/1lb 2oz, trimmed of any fat
    • 2 tsp olive oil
    • 100g sultanas
    • zest and juice 1 lemon
    • small bunch mint, chopped
    • 200g fat-free natural yogurt
    • 4 tsp grated ginger
    • 250g couscous
    • 3 tsp ground cumin
    • 1 tsp ground cinnamon

    5. Clementine And Prosecco Jellies - This recipe serves six people. The preparation time is 20 minutes while the cooking time is two minutes. This is best served chilled. Click HERE to see the steps in preparing and cooking the Clementine and Prosecco Jellies.

    Ingredients:

    • 7 leaves gelatin
    • 300ml Prosecco
    • 600ml clementine juice (from about 14 clementines)
    • 1 sheet edible gold leaf (available from squires-shop.com)

    These are the Top 5 low-fat Christmas 2014 recipes that must be tried to avoid gaining too much weight during the holidays. Keep reading International Business Times for more updates about Christmas 2014 as well as news about entertainment, shopping, luxury, economics, technology, business, science, health, gaming and sports.