From Lisa Bullock
There are times when despite all your best intentions, sugar cravings hit and hit hard! Rather than giving in; blowing your diet for the day, week and month, try some or all of these sweet snacks (preferably not all at once!)
Chocolate has to come head of the list! What chocoholic hasn’t watched Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory and had a little wistful moment? Homer said it best.
Research now tells us that dark chocolate is good for our hearts, our brain function and mood, as well as hitting sweet cravings – just make sure the brand you choose contains more than 80% cocoa and keep it to a SMALL amount. 2-3 squares will give a quick hit and provide less than 100 calories.
Staying with the chocolate theme – 5 strawberries dipped in 2 squares of melted dark chocolate YUMMO!
And let’s go nuts! What about 1/2 a frozen banana dipped in melted chocolate (yep, 2 squares, that’s it!) and a few crushed nuts for crunch!
And when you just NEED that smooth, rich, chocolatey, chewy texture that can only come from fudge….. all is not lost – Fat Fighting Fudge Bites will save the day!
(The Dessert Angel – Heavenly Recipes Guide)
Last year I was on holiday in the tropical north of Australia and came upon a hippy village with various food stalls. One stall holder offered us a taste of mixed fruits that had been blended, frozen and could be spooned straight from the cup like a sundae. LORDY ME!!!!!!!! To die for! Sadly, this sweet treat went by the less than appetising name of Fruit Poo! Looks like gelato, tastes likes gelato without any of the sugar or the excessive calories!
While we’re talking about fruit – you could try:
- a small bowl of raspberries
- a small bunch of grapes – frozen balls of sweetness – nom nom
- blend 1/2 banana, 4 strawberries, some ice, 1/4 cup greek yoghurt with cinnamon and a tspn honey
- 2 small kiwi fruit
- a bowl of luscious, chilled watermelon balls
- 3 tablespoons dried tart cherries or cranberries
- 1 cup blueberries
- ½ cup natural fat free fruit yoghurt
- Apple “pie” with raisins, walnuts, cinnamon and greek yoghurt
(pic thanks to Diana at Real Healthy Recipes)
You can put your creative hat on and come up with new sweet snack recipes for yourself, I personally would rather go to the experts – you can find more healthy and delicious recipes HERE.
Lisa Bullock is a Personal Trainer based in Melbourne, Australia. She’s run her successful fitness business for over 15 years and has trained over a 1000 clients helping them reach their health, fitness and wellness goals. Married for 27 years and mother to a daughter (22) and son (19), she is a proud proponent of the philosophy “keep on keeping on”. She believes that consistency is key to achieving goals. Lisa loves weight training with a passion; she’s boxed for over 12 years and sees no reason to stop soon! She’s faced her own health and weight issues and come out fighting. “I believe in training for the long haul” she claims, “I fully expect to be doing handstand push ups when I’m 60!.”