appConfigEntityId

bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

isVideo

articlePageQuery

article

articleSchemaContent

content

hooksArticlePageAdvertisementConfigArticle

hooksArticlePageFloatingButtonConfigArticle

appConfig

filter

json

liveArticle

Novella Lui

During Year of the Pig celebrations, you will come across an array of traditional foods, from dried fruits and sweets placed in a bright red lacquered candy box, to mouth-watering glutinous rice cakes and deep-fried peanut dumplings, and to the delectable poon choi.
If you do not want to put on more excess weight during this 15-day celebration, here are some ways to make wise choices:
The Tray of Togetherness

The Tray of Togetherness is a box with six or eight compartments, filled with savouries and sweets for welcoming guests. Each edible item traditionally bears a symbolic meaning based on homonyms and idioms. With a large selection of offerings to buy, the platter can be varied to bear the blessings you wish for your guests.
Why Hong Kong’s most expensive Lunar New Year dish costs HK$6,888
Assemble a platter that emphasises good health
If wishing others good health is a priority, consider assembling a candy box with healthier options. Like the traditional red melon seeds, roasted and unsalted sunflower seeds are a good source of healthy unsaturated fats. However, the sunflower seeds are free from artificial colouring.
Like melon and sunflower seeds, unsalted pistachios and cashews are a good source of protein and rich in monounsaturated fats, which help to promote satiety and to keep the heart healthy, respectively. Choosing unsalted versions of these nuts helps to reduce the intake of added sodium.

While traditional candied fruits like candied coconut bear the symbolic meanings of togetherness and strong family ties, they are full of added sugars. Choose an unsweetened version instead, like unsweetened coconut chips. Alternatively, substitute the candied fruits with unsweetened dried fruits like dried apricots.
Sweets are included in the candy box to wish someone a sweet beginning to the new year. My top choice for the tray is dark chocolate, an indulgence that provides potential health benefits for the heart.
‘I love men’: how geisha celebrate Lunar New Year in Kyoto
Choose your treats sensibly
Snacking from the candy box is inevitable when conversations during the new year visits go on for hours.
While you cannot control the types of savouries and sweets placed in the candy box at the home you are visiting, you can be mindful of the choices you make.
If you envisage a longer stay at your relatives’ and friends’, have healthy snacks like yogurt with fruit, toast with nut butter, or some cheese and crackers, beforehand, so that you can avoid overindulging. When you are given the opportunity of picking your treats from the lacquered box, choose two or three items, and try to stop yourself from going back for more.
I would go for individually wrapped, single-portioned items for better control of my intake. If this is not available, choose a few pieces of nuts and seeds, and a piece or two of candied fruits at most.
Dumplings and cakes

One piece of glutinous rice cake has slightly more calories than half a bowl of rice. Sesame balls, peanut dumplings, turnip cakes, glutinous rice cakes and water chestnut cakes are part of many people’s must-haves during the Lunar New Year celebration.
One piece of steamed glutinous rice cake (100g) has 156 calories, which is 26 more calories than half a bowl (100g) of rice.
If the glutinous rice cake is pan-fried, the number of calories would be more, as oil and egg are used.
Pan-fried turnip cakes are not any better. Every 100 grammes is equivalent to half a bowl of rice.

8 tips to pack your bags the KonMari way for your Lunar New Year break
I would suggest you:
- treat them as a snack and limit yourself to an appropriate portion;
- steam or bake these sweets and savouries as much as possible to minimise the additional calories from oil;
- skip using condiments like XO sauce, soy sauce and chilli sauce to minimise the intake of calories, fat, sugar and salt.

Limit the number of pieces of deep fried peanut dumplings and sesame balls as they have the greatest amount of fat and calories.
Poon choi
Poon choi, a traditional dish that originated from villages in the New Territories, has become a mainstream meal during this festive season.



 

 
 


 
 

View this post on Instagram

 


 
 
 


 
 


 
 
 


Family in Melbourne年初二开年饭Happy Lunar New YearPoon Choi for dinnerReally traditional meal for celebrating New Year! #familydinner #family #melbourne #food #poonchoi #homemade #新年快樂 #yearofthepig #盆满钵满 #loveuall #cantonesesoup #fortune #lucky #初二 #開年飯 #盆菜 #住家飯 #豬籠入水
A post shared by Kristy kwok (@kkristy_kwok) on Feb 6, 2019 at 4:50am PST



Layers of food are arranged meticulously in a large porcelain pot. With vegetables like turnips, taros and lotus roots, laid at the bottom of the pot, meats and delicacies such as dried oysters, dried scallops, abalone and shrimps are placed on the top.
There is a methodical way to tackle this dish to avoid taking in excessive calories.
10 great Hong Kong Lunar New Year menus for the Year of the Pig
Eat the top layers first
For a typical meal, you would eat vegetables first to pace yourself. However, with a poon choi meal, most vegetables, particularly the root vegetables, are placed at the bottom of the pot, where they are drenched with the oils and fats from the meats, seafood and the cooking sauce.
If you are keeping a mental tally of your caloric intake, you would probably want to start eating the visible top layers, including the broccoli florets, first, as they are less likely to be covered with sauces, oils and fats.
Complement the dish with a bowl of rice
Since poon choi does not consist of carbohydrates such as rice, you may think that skipping carbohydrates in this meal is one of the ways to reduce your calories for the day.

The truth is, calories do add up. The more you overindulge on meats and seafood, the more calories you eat. Complementing your food with a bowl of rice, brown rice preferably, helps curb your appetite.
For a healthier and contemporary twist, enjoy a bowl of whole grains like quinoa, farro, buckwheat and millet for dietary fibre and other nutrients.
How to ‘lou sang’ the right way for more fortune and love this year
Pay attention to your portions
A classic poon choi is made for a table of 10, but more eateries are offering smaller portions to accommodate fewer guests per table. This does not mean that you have to eat everything to get the most bang of your buck.
Enjoy a bit of everything while keeping your appetite in mind. Pace yourself to avoid overindulgence.
You can also reduce your intake of unnecessary calories by being mindful of small gestures, such as skipping the skins on poultry and not drizzling your grains with poon choi sauce.
Want more stories like this? Sign up here. Follow STYLE on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter


Inside Melania Trump and Peng Liyuan’s visit to the Smithsonian’s Peacock Room

Year of the Horse 2026 eighth month predictions for all 12 Chinese zodiac signs

Who’s taking over the unseen work of organising Chinese New Year?

Year of the Horse 2026 sixth month predictions for all 12 Chinese zodiac signs

Lunar New Year

How to enjoy the Lunar New Year feasts without putting on weight

At Lunar New Year, many find themselves eating too much of the wrong types of food.

Complement poon choi with a bowl of rice | FOR STYLE ONE TIME USE ONLY

Tray of Togtherness | FOR STYLE ONE TIME USE ONLY

Chinese New Year food | FOR STYLE ONE TIME USE ONLY

Dumplings for Chinese New Year | FOR STYLE ONE TIME USE ONLY

Turnip cake | FOR STYLE ONE TIME USE ONLY

The Tray of Togetherness | FOR STYLE ONE TIME USE ONLY

Kylie Jenner dresses her daughter to wow — so what will your kids wear this Lunar New Year?

Kylie Jenner said her daughter Stormi, pictured in Burberry, would be ‘the best dressed kid you’ve ever seen’. Photo: Instagram @kyliejenner

Dior's gold bag is perfect for your child to keep their Lai see.

Magazines

Style

News & Trends

Leisure

It’s a question of making wise choices and not overindulging when confronted by the sheer volume of foods, says registered dietitian


Chinese culture

How to enjoy the Lunar New Year feasts without putting on weight

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}It’s a question of making wise choices and not overindulging when confronted by the sheer volume of foods, says registered dietitian

It’s a question of making wise choices and not overindulging when confronted by the sheer volume of foods, says registered dietitian