Throwing your turkey in a deep fryer is not the healthiest choice on our list.  As you might guess, it has more fat and calories than a traditional, oven-roasted bird.  But a pre-seasoned bird beats a deep-fried gobbler.

No matter how your fix your turkey, you can carve out a healthy serving. Choose white meat, not dark, and pull off the skin.

Pick pumpkin. Most slices have 200 fewer calories than the same serving of pecan pie. Pumpkin pie also packs a heaping helping of vitamin A.

Nuts sound heart-healthy, but pecan pie is also made with corn syrup, sugar, butter, and eggs. You can end up with twice the fat of pumpkin pie, which is not good for your heart.

Apple pie, too, is sweeter than pumpkin -- and has a top crust, so you eat double the flour and butter in the dough.

Gingerbread men are often giants, which makes them naughtier than sugar cookies. The basics are similar in both recipes: sugar, butter, and flour. So, size matters if you're counting calories.

A candy cane has half the calories of most cookies and no fat, but it is all sugar.

Each of these treats -- in a regular size -- has fewer than 100 calories, but it's hard to stop at just one! So when visions of sugarplums dance in your head, go easy on the cookie tray.

Choose champagne for a holiday toast that'll go a little easier on your health than the others. Eggnog is loaded with cream, sugar, fat, and calories -- and that's before it's spiked.

Mulled wine can have added sugar, fruit, and spices. Celebrate with Swedes and you might also find vodka and brandy in their mulled wine, called glogg.

Made the old-fashioned way, dressing absorbs drippings while baking inside the turkey.

More ways to take the "stuffed" out of stuffing: Use low-fat, low-sodium chicken or vegetable broth instead of butter to keep it moist. Try swapping nutty, delicious wild rice for bread. You'll boost the flavor and fiber.

Skip cholesterol-loaded giblets, bacon, and sausage. Instead, opt for lean chicken-apple sausage, nuts, celery, apples, or currants.

Get crispy, delicious potato latkes by sautéing them in 1 or 2 tablespoons of oil rather than deep-frying.

Or save even more calories by baking. Drop latke mixture on a lightly oiled baking sheet, dab each top lightly with oil, and then bake at 425 degrees for 10 to 15 minutes on each side.

Top your lighter latkes with applesauce and plain, nonfat Greek yogurt rather than sour cream.

If you love the tangy taste of goat cheese (chevre), you’re in luck. Softer cheeses are usually lower in calories and fat than their firm cousins. Here's a look at calories per ounce, lowest to highest:

• Goat: 75
• Brie: 95
• Cheddar: 114

With any kind of cheese, calories add up fast. Try not to hover around the cheese tray. (Nibble the grapes instead.) 

Chilled shrimp with cocktail sauce is low in calories and rich in protein. Four large shrimp won't nudge your cholesterol level much, either, with just 46 mg. That's well below the 200 mg daily limit for people who need to watch their numbers.

Alas, pigs in blankets, a cute name for hot dogs baked in rolls, are stuck in a 1950s idea of nutrition. Though tasty, they're loaded with calories, saturated fats, and sodium.

On average, people gain 1 to 2 pounds from fall to spring, mainly during the feasting weeks between Thanksgiving and New Year’s.

This may not sound like much. But if you don't lose it by spring, it can hang around until the next holiday season, and add up. To fight holiday spread, aim to maintain, instead of gain. Amp up your activity level at the same time you indulge in seasonal treats.

You'll get whole-grain fiber at just 64 calories per cup with microwave popcorn. If it's air-popped, you cut the calories in half.

Keep your hands off the cheese straws! They have the most calories, 160 in eight pieces, and the most fat.  Pretzels are better, at 108 calories a cup and less fat.

Don't swipe popcorn balls off the tree -- that low-cal popcorn is stuck together with butter, corn syrup, or marshmallows.

Even with a pat of butter, a baked potato has fewer calories and less fat than a cup of cheesy scalloped or buttery mashed spuds.

If only mashed potatoes will suit your turkey, you can cut the fat by subbing skim milk for cream. Choose butter or gravy, not both. Butter has 36 calories a pat, while canned gravy is about eight calories per tablespoon. Homemade gravy from pan drippings has a much higher calorie count.