Tasty yet healthy substitutes for your favorite guilty pleasures are a key to effortless weight loss and better diet all at the same time. But that’s not the best piece of news for today! The really and truly amazing detail is that you do not have to give tasty stuff away or dream of pork chops and chocolate fudge by night because you’ve just had another full day of eating stuff that tastes like wet cardboard. What? Don’t believe me? Well, try any tasty yet healthy substitutes off this list and, if you’re still not happy, the next round of wet cardboard is on me.
Just as addictive as Cheetos but so much healthier, unsalted raw nuts are one of those tasty yet healthy substitutes you’ll have no problem switching to. They are easy to oven-roast at home should your stomach prove to be a bit on the sensitive side, plus you’re getting a healthy, natural snack rich in all of those good things your body needs. Nuts are not a low cal snack, mind you! Furthermore, I bet they are as high in calories as any cheese-smelling, yellow puffs you prefer! The difference here is the fact that, with nuts, you’re not getting a crazy amount of empty, bad calories, but stuff your body will be more than happy to process and put into a good use.
Whether store-bought or home-made, oven baked potato chips are definitely a much healthier alternative to our favorite, super-greasy, fried snack. But don’t trust me – check it out yourself! Compare the energy values found on the back of oven baked potato chip bag with the same info about their fried cousins and you’ll see the difference.
Jell-O or any other brand of jelly is a good choice for a quick, fat free snack. Because, let’s face it – a dessert with zero fat is always a welcome one! The only problem is the sugar which, if you look really closely, is basically the only thing this dessert is made of. The solution is pretty simple – make it healthier by making it yourself. It’s super easy, really cheap plus you can use natural, unsweetened, 100% fruit juice as a base and even add a natural sweetener (such as Stevia, for example) if you like your jelly dessert super sweet. Now there's a guilt-free treat!
A good source of potassium, calcium, phosphorus, magnesium and selenium, super delicious and surprisingly low in calories – mustard is, without a doubt, a great replacement for mayo! Mix it with low fat yoghurt for an out of this world salad dressing, use it to add flavor to your sandwiches and food and you’ll never crave mayonnaise again.
Saying no to chocolate is not an easy thing to do and, I swear to you, I have a feeling the universe is conspiring against me every time I decide to lay off it! A pretty good way to deal with the cravings is to always have a bar of chocolate on standby, but not any kind of chocolate, you see – a bar (or box) of dark chocolate is what I have in mind. Dark chocolate is actually healthy and even good for weight loss and, with all of those interesting, highly tempting varieties available out there, you just can’t dismiss this idea with a simple “Oh, but I don’t like dark chocolate.”
A great alternative for many fattening sandwich fillings, dips and appetizers, a homemade pate is the simplest thing to make and the easiest one to turn into a healthy snack. Simply open a can of tuna (choose brine instead of oil), drain, toss it into a blender and blend until smooth. Add a few drops of olive oil and voila – all done. Now let’s try chicken. Boil a small piece of chicken breast, tear it in small pieces and blend. Season to taste, a drop of two of olive oil and a half a teaspoon of mustard to make it smoother and you’ve got yourself the tastiest thing that ever belonged on a cracker without a shred of guilt for actually enjoying your food.
Absolutely delicious and perfect for effortless weight loss, frozen yoghurt is the best ice cream alternative one could come up with. I find it more refreshing too and the fact that you can DIY it to make it low in both fats and sugars doesn’t hurt either. Give it a try – blend any deep frozen fruit you currently have in the freezer with low fat yoghurt and enjoy it either as a chunky, cold drink or pour into ice cream molds and place in the freezer for a couple of hours.
Speaking of great, low-fat summer desserts – have you ever tried Granitas? Now there’s some seriously cold stuff…sweet, too! Absolutely no fats in it, which instantly makes a Granita better than any other dessert on the menu, but if you wish to cut down on sugars too, you can do so by blending fruit and ice together until you get a smooth, icy drink. Drink immediately or pour into a large dish, refreeze then scrape out and serve. Voila – your healthy, 100% fruit Granita has been turned into a sorbet.
So, lovelies? What’s the verdict? Are these great or what? Why give up all the pleasure great food can provide when you can make small adjustments and get the most of it! Don’t you agree?