As we enter the new year, we are once again seeing people with weight loss as part of their New Year's resolution. While there's nothing wrong with that, one of the main reasons that people have a hard time maintaining it is because they crave a lot of their traditional food. They think that a new diet means they can't have their usual favorites, but that couldn't be further from the truth. Traditional food can fit just as well with any fad diet if you just make a few adjustments.

If you want to know how traditional food can fit your new diet, then here are a few examples to give you an idea.

Biscuits and Gravy

A classic southern dish, biscuits and gravy is known to have a lot of calories and fat. However, you can change it up in order to fit a Keto diet.

For the biscuits itself, a lot of people replace the flour with almond flour. This has fewer calories and a lot more nutrients compared to your regular white flour. Aside from that, people also add a variety of cheeses to their biscuits to give them some extra flavor, and it also makes them light and fluffy.

As for the gravy, flour is what is normally used as a thickener. A good keto alternative that you can use is xanthan gum. This is a great gluten-free option that can also replace corn starch. It can help bind your gravy. For those that can't handle dairy very well, you can also replace it with coconut cream

Macaroni Salad

One of the biggest issues people have with macaroni salad is its high calories and fat content. This is mostly thanks to the amount of mayonnaise in it. Luckily, there are a ton of alternatives that have healthier fats that don't compromise its creaminess.

You can add some more protein such as chicken breasts to make chicken macaroni salad. Boiled and lightly seasoned chicken is the best option. Roasted can also be an option, but the taste might not mix very well with the macaroni.

Greek yogurt can also replace the mayo. Pair it with some lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, and honey. If you are vegan, then you can mash up some avocado and add the ingredients mentioned before to add some flavor. This is a great option because not only is it vegan, but it's also sugar-free. Honey can also be replaced with some agave.

Meatloaf

Normally, meatloaf is made with a lot of fatty meats, but this can greatly increase your cholesterol levels and can ruin your weight loss plans. One kind of diet that is said to resolve these issues is theWhole30 Paleo diet. It's known as a stricter version of the normal Paleo diet. Using lean and grass-fed beef is one way that you can do this.

Traditional meatloaf usually has breadcrumbs or oats as well to keep the moisture in. If you want to cut the carbs, then you can use almond or coconut flour as an alternative. Milk can also be removed and replaced with more water-rich vegetables. Carrots and celery are good options for this because they can help keep it from drying out.

Although contrary to its name, vegan meatloaf is also something that you can do. With this, you have to get familiar with your beans and your seeds. Adding black beans, chickpeas, and flax seeds are a great replacement for meat. Mash them together with a potato masher, and this is what will give shape to your meatloaf. A food processor would be helpful in this case as well.

Chicken and Waffles

A common breakfast choice is the class chicken and waffles, but friend chicken plus sweet syrup will definitely not pair well if most diets. Chicken actually has a lot of different ways that it can become crunchy without frying.

When making chicken, you can replace the flour with its more low-carb alternative, almond flour. The cooking method can also help reduce the fat and calories. Baking helps release all of its excess fats while cooking it evenly. If you have a turbo or air fryer at home, you can actually get the same effect as frying without the oil. In fact, studies found that air frying can reduce its calories by 80 percent.

As for the waffles, there are a lot of great recipes that make use of cream cheese and vegetables. Some add shredded carrots and bananas to waffles. You can also substitute the flour with gluten-free flour. For those that are trying to reduce sugar, then you can make spiced pumpkin waffles that have pureed pumpkin with cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice.