The holidays are a high-pressure time to ignore healthy eating habits and indulge in large portions of fattening foods at family gatheries and parties.

Thanksgiving, in particular, is difficult, since the celebration centers on food – high-calorie foods. Gloria Tsang, a registered dietian and author, offers a common-sense strategy for managing temptations during holiday meals. Tsang does not advise people to make sacrificies. Instead she offers some resourceful strategies for reducing the amount of sugar and fat in meals.

A key way to keep calories down and the nurtition up in a meal is to shop for natural foods. In Gulfport, on Tuesday offers a bounty of fresh produce, including potatoes and other root vegetables for your Thanksgiving meal. In addition, has tips for buying turkey that is just the right size for your number of guests. Publix also offers this handy guide.

Preparing a healthy and lower-calorie meal then is not hard. Just keep in mind portion size and substituting nonfatty ingredients for the high calories foods. Here are 5 easy steps to cut 400 calories from Thanksgiving and other holiday meals: