Question: If you serve dip with vegetables, which one has the fewest calories? Spinach dip or Creamy cheese dip?

Just because it has spinach doesn't mean it's low in calories or fat. In this case, 1/4 cup of spinach dip has 250 calories. Some brands have as many as 300 calories per 1/4 cup serving. The cheese dip is lower in calories - 1/4 cup has 140 calories - half as much as the spinach dip. Your best bet is hummus, a dip made from chickpeas. One-quarter cup has 100 to 120 calories and only 1 gram of fat.

Question: Let's say you want holiday treat on your coffee break. Which is lower in calories: Starbuck's Gingerbread Latte with whipped cream or Starbucks Gingerbread Loaf?

This might surprise you. If you want a holiday treat but don't want to overdo it on calories, choose the Ginger bread Latte with Whip cream, not the Gingerbread Loaf. A Grande (16 oz.) non fat Gingerbread Latte with whipped cream has 270 calories. A piece of Starbuck's Holiday Gingerbread Loaf has 400 calories along with 13 grams of fat and 10 teaspoons of sugar! Of course, if you are really trying to cut calories, skipping the whipped cream will save 70 calories.

Question: Which glass of holiday cheer is the healthier choice: apple cider or eggnog?

If you're looking for more vitamins and minerals, head for the punch bowl filled with eggnog. Per serving, eggnog has more protein, vitamin B12, vitamin D, calcium, magnesium, and zinc than apple cider.

In fact, one cup provides one-third of your daily calcium and half a day's vitamin B12. To reduce your intake of saturated fat, buy reduced fat eggnog, 2% milkfat or less (If you do plan to serve apple cider, buy a pasteurized product to reduce the risk of food-borne illness).

Question: Some restaurants offer special holiday meals. How does Swiss Chalet's Festive Holiday rate in terms of calories?

This Holiday Meal special comes with a quarter chicken, stuffing, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes and 5 chocolate truffles. The grand total: 1346 calories, 72 grams of fat and 3173 milligrams of sodium! That's almost a day's worth of calories for many women and two day's worth of sodium for all adults. If you like Swiss Chalet Chicken and want a healthier option, order the Health Check Classic Quarter Chicken Dinner. It has only 360 calories, 11 grams of fat and 745 milligrams of sodium.

Question: If you're indulging your sweet tooth, which holiday dessert is the healthier choice: pumpkin pie or fruit cake?

If you're looking for fewer calories and more nutrients, pick pumpkin pie. One slice has 229 calories and it's a good source of beta-carotene from the pumpkin.

A slice traditional fruit cake has more calories than you might think - a 2 ounce piece has 270 calories.