One of the biggest nutritional drawbacks of your major holiday dinners is gravy. Most of the foods you eat at these meals are relatively healthy - turkey, mashed potatoes (if care is taken to make without butter), salad, cranberry sauce and so on. It is the extras that tend to really increase the fat and calorie content; sour cream, bacon bits, stuffing and most importantly gravy.

Luckily, you can actually make a much lighter version of gravy that still tastes great but will not make near the dent in your diet.

The following is a chicken dish you can try that would serve as a great replacement for the more traditional turkey and gravy.

4 cloves of garlic

4 cups reduced fat sodium nonfat chicken broth

2 leeks, sliced

4 carrots, peeled and sliced

2 tbsp olive oil

4 3-oz chicken breasts

2 tsp chicken drippings

2 cups mushrooms

1 cup chopped spinach

First preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Next warp the cloves of garlic in foil and roast in the oven for 20 minutes until tender. Once this is done, then remove and chop into small pieces and set aside.

In a large saucepan over medium-high heat begin stirring chicken broth so it comes to a simmer. After this is finished add leaks and then cover and simmer for a further 20 minutes. Once this is done add the carrots and cook for a remaining 15 minutes. Taking a slotted spoon remove the vegetables from the broth and then set aside. Keep 2 cups of the broth for later.

Next season the chicken with salt and pepper and place the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and cook for about 3 minutes and then remove and transfer to a roasting pan, keeping oil in the saucepan. Cover the chicken with foil to keep warm.

Begin to heat the roasted garlic and mushrooms in the saucepan with the reserved oil until the mushrooms begin to wilt. At this point you will want to add the reserved chicken broth from above and then simmer for another 12 minutes. This should reduce the liquid down to about one cup total. Add the leeks and carrots to this and heat through. Finally transfer the chicken to serving places, arrange the vegetables beside it and then pour the 'gravy' on top. Serve alongside the chopped spinach.

The way that this recipe helps to eliminate the need for extra calories is by using the reduction technique. Using this you will not need to use a flour and butter thickening agent, nor will you need to add any heavy creams or high fat milks. Furthermore, replacing typical vegetable oil with olive oil helps to improve the quality of the fat that is seen in this recipe, upping your nutritional intake.

So, rather than sacrificing the quality of your diet progress for a big family meal, try this recipe instead. It will still be satisfying and will also likely take much less time to prepare, allowing you to enjoy the company of your guests even more.