Guilty pleasures… the foods we crave, the foods we dream about… From creamy ice cream to salty potato chips. Weeding these things out is hard to do if you’re developing a healthier lifestyle for yourself. How do you overcome these cravings or lack of self control in the moment? For me, I just don’t keep the worst of the worst in my house at all. If it’s there, I’ll find an excuse to eat it. And the best part is that I know it’s there and it’s bad for me, so I’ll indulge in larger quantities and eat it faster just to get rid of it… awful, I know. So I just simply don’t bring it into my house. BUT I’ve come up with a few hacks to make the blow easier and still feel like you’re enjoying that yummy dessert or comfort snack!

Top 10 Hacks for your Guiltiest Pleasures 

Ice Cream   
It’s cold and luscious…  And totally unhealthy! We’ll talk about dairy and sugar in depth another time, but the two of those combined are truly The Devil — sorry to crush your dreams (even though you already know). So if you love ice cream, which I totally do for the record, what can you do that still gives you satisfaction without having a bowl after dinner every evening? Frozen fruit! Chopped, frozen, organic mango is my go-to. You can get a giant bag of it just about anywhere for a reasonable price: Whole Foods, Costco, Trader Joe’s, etc. Pull out your resealable bag from the freezer, load up a small bowl of frozen mango chunks, and let it sit for 5 or 10 minutes. This will allow it to thaw a tad to make it easier to eat, but it will still be frozen enough that you need to use a fork to eat it one piece at a time. There are a few benefits to this swap:

1. 1. It’s cold and very sweet. This fruit is packed with natural sugars, so it should cover your sweet tooth.
   2. Letting it sit out not only thaws it a bit, but the small torture of looking at it will give you that same ice cream craving and indulging will be that much sweeter (pun intended!).
   3. You’re even still practicing portion control! By filling a small bowl, you get satisfaction of a full bowl, but it’s not enough to make you sick. Plus eating one piece at a time slows down how fast you are eating, which will in turn fill you up faster.

Chocolate Pudding
In literally 5 minutes, you can create a healthy version of chocolate pudding, sans all the yucky dairy and artificial sugar! Some prefer an avocado base, and others prefer a sweet potato base. Both taste amazing, but I personally prefer sweet potato for a little extra thickness. Here are two decadent, delicious, quick and easy chocolate pudding recipes that you can make today: Sweet Potato Chocolate Pudding & Avocado Based Chocolate Pudding. 

Sweet potatoes in general are actually amazing, easy, healthy substitutes for a variety of recipes. Here are some ideas provided by Whole Foods Market Healthy Eating Program: Sweet Potato Recipes. 

For the Chocoholic
Can’t get rid of your chocolate obsession? Don’t! Just improve it! Milk chocolate, white chocolate –> OUT! Packed with dairy and sugar (see a pattern here?), it’s terrible for your waistline and your complexion. Dark chocolate is packed with antioxidants and is lower in artificial sugar. Work your way up slowly to a percentage you can tolerate; 70% and above is best. You can buy it with almonds, sea salt, candied ginger, you name it. Like all labels, check the back of the packaging. The least amount of ingredients the best; the more ingredients you can read and understand is also what you want to look for. Don’t get too much at a time. One or two bars only (remember, if you don’t keep it in your house, it can’t be inhaled!). Keep your one or two special bars in the pantry, break off one, maybe 2 squares at a time, put it in a napkin and wrap the package back up. Then only eat what you’ve pulled out, and do it far from your pantry. Again, portion control, and it will help satisfy your chocolaty obsession! Theo’s is my favorite lately; they have a huge variety to choose from, it’s organic and fair trade. (Pro tip: Order these online for better pricing).

Milkshakes
Milkshakes are a blast and easy to duplicate in a healthy but still delicious way. Try a protein shake instead. You can even start out your day with a decadent protein shake that you’d swear was dessert for breakfast! If you haven’t been able to tell, I’m a chocolate vs. vanilla girl. So my go-to is a chocolate protein powder (one or two scoops depending on the packaging), half or full frozen banana, one heaping tablespoon of almond butter and 4-8oz of unsweetened almond milk — voila! Healthy milkshake in two minutes tops!

There are a ton of protein powders on the market, so test a few out and figure out what appeals to your taste buds most. I find that powdered pea proteins provide the best taste and consistency, at least in chocolate flavor. And they’re dairy-free, which is even better for you. One of my ultimate favorites happens to be developed by a friend of mine, called No Udder Protein (cute, clever name AND it’s actually good stuff!). It’s smooth and not chalky, and it comes in chocolate or vanilla.

Potato Chips
I don’t know what it is about salty potato chips, but man those babies are addicting! And it’s especially hard to put down that bag of Lay’s once you’ve succumbed to picking up the bag in the first place. White potatoes become empty carbs and turn into sugar in your belly. So don’t give up the chips, just go about it in a smarter way. My solution: trick your brain. Did you know there are several healthier chip options? There are black bean chips, lentil chips, white bean chips, quinoa chips, plantain chips (you can even get sweet plantain chips!)… I could go on and on. All of these are better substitutes and will give you real fiber and protein. Again, check the labels first. Make sure there are less than 5 ingredients and that you can read them all.

Now that you have your amazing new bag of chips, take it one step further with homemade hummus (1 can garbanzo beans, 1 fresh garlic clove, juice of half lemon, 1 tablespoon EVOO, 1 tbsp tahini, salt and pepper to taste, blend — once you have that down, you can start to experiment by adding more things for flavor, like Kalamata olives) or salsa (chopped heirloom or grape tomatoes, half white/red onion, half green pepper, juice of 1 lime, lots of cilantro to your preference, salt and pepper to taste, mash and stir). Both are so simple to make at home, exclude preservatives and will fill up your tummy so you eat more of the dip and less of the chip!

Snack Attack 
Chips continue to be the guiltiest snack pleasure. But when you’re not dipping into hummus or salsa, you can enjoy other chip snacks by the handful. There are veggie chips, and you can even make your own kale chips (don’t spend money on the fancy $4 per ounce packages). For homemade kale chips, tear the leaves off the head (any type of kale will do, although black kale is highest in nutrients), and display them on a baking sheet. Gather more than you think you plan to eat because they shrink. But only gather what you plan to eat in one sitting because they don’t last well. Drizzle a very small amount of EVOO throughout the kale and sprinkle just a tiny bit of salt, pepper and garlic powder (feel free to experiment with different spices like rosemary or oregano). Pop in oven at 350 degrees for just 10 minutes, and you’ll wind up with a plate full of crispy, yummy kale chips!

Assorted nuts or homemade granola are other fun, easy snacks to look up and make at home based on what you have on hand and what types of nuts and/or dried fruit you prefer!

Pasta
I know, why did it take me so darn long to get to pasta!? That bowl full of carby deliciousness is irresistible. We eat it until we feel as though we might explode. Just like potato chips, did you know there are a TON of white pasta substitutes that are just as yummy? You don’t even need to trick yourself on this one; you can’t even tell the difference.

My ultimate favorite is spaghetti squash. In squash season, go to your regular grocery store and ask for a spaghetti squash. Ask the grocer to cut the squash long-ways down the middle because it has an extremely tough skin. Bring home, scoop out the seeds, place it face up on a baking sheet in your oven at 375/400 degrees for 30-40 minutes (until scoopable), let stand to cool for 10 minutes then scrape out the center with a fork. The inside of the squash peels out in stringy, pasta form! It’s as easy as that; now you have a pasta base! Then fill your bowl with spaghetti sauce, ground turkey, onions, peppers, mushrooms, or whatever you like with your pasta! Easy, healthy, delicious, done!

Not into spaghetti squash just yet? No worries, go online or to your local health food store, and you can find black bean pasta, quinoa pasta, lentil pasta and a ton of other white noodle substitutes. The consistency is great and they even enhance the flavor of your dish! (Pro tip: Black beans are PACKED with protein and fiber, so if you are not used to eating beans regularly, maybe don’t start out with a full bowl of black bean pasta. Work your way up, so your system learns to properly digest it.)

Pizza
Pizza is that one cheat I’ll never give up, but I only cheat with REAL pizza about once a quarter or so. It tastes so good, but it’s so not good for you (as we all sadly know). Try out cauliflower pizza instead! It’s a blast to make at home — granted, it takes a few tries to perfect it. And it’s actually quite delicious. Try out this recipe for cauliflower pizza, or feel free to Google your own. Keep in mind, though, this is still packed with cheese, so you can use a cheese substitute if you’re lactose intolerant or truly vegan. I’m okay to give you this one if you are 😉 Plus, I haven’t found a cheese substitute that I’m in love with since I’m not allergic to it.

Cauliflower is another amazing, versatile veggie, like sweet potatoes, so you can find other fun recipes besides pizza crust — like cauliflower fried rice.

French Fries
You’re probably expecting me to say sweet potato fries, which I’m going to, but I’m going to open up your mind a bit more than the restaurant swap… You can, and should, do this with a variety of root veggies, and they’re enjoyable cold or right out of the oven. Cut your sweet potatoes (and/or carrots, parsnips, beets, etc.) thin and long. Throw them in a large mixing bowl and drizzle EVOO, then sprinkle salt, pepper and fresh rosemary. Spread out on a baking sheet, and pop in the oven at 350 degrees for approximately 30 minutes, or until crispy but not burnt. You can even broil for 3 minutes at the end for an extra crisp. It’s a healthy French fry substitute that you can eat as a snack or with dinner. You can even dice them up after cooking, and throw it in an omelet.

Soda
Ignore the joyous Coca Cola commercials! If you’re going to make one change, throw the soda away; I beg you. It’s only sugar and chemicals. What you need is water, water, water. But if you’re not used to solely drinking tons of water, get sparkling, flavored water like La Croix. Or add lemon/lime to your water for flavor.

One of my closest friends recently had this very dilemma. She was a coffee and diet soda girl. She never drank water, but she began to force herself for her health… Then she discovered essential oils. This changed her entire view of water and now truly enjoys it, while being hydrated for real. And her skin is literally glowing from being properly hydrated now!

 

At the least, give one or two of these guilty pleasure substitutes a try. I apply nearly all of these in my regular routine, and the payoff is beyond worth it.

Looking for more amazing recipes? Download the Yummly App, and be prepared to be amazed! I use it weekly if not more often!