Dried Fruit to Get Rid of Chocolate Cravings

I have a lot of posts devoted to chocolate substitutes. But sometimes they just don't cut it. And then you have that piece of dark/milk/white chocolate that you are craving so badly. And you allow yourself 'x' many pieces. Which is totally fine by the way. That should end your cravings right? You had what you wanted right? Alas, the world is not a fair place and rarely does only a little bit of something as good as chocolate satisfy us. I believe this is part of the great punishment bestowed upon Adam and Eve back in the garden of Eden..... Anyway, I randomly found a cool fix to this unending chocolate craving. It gets rid of the chocolate aftertaste in your mouth. Of course you could just brush your teeth, but that does look kinda weird in public haha

After you eat your chocolate, have a piece of dried fruit. I find that granny smith dried apple rings work wonderfully at making the idea of eating more chocolate absoluelt repungent. And it only takes one to work. (I think they are about 10 calories each- feel free to correct me). Dried Apricots also work well- I actually just had some to get rid of the dark chocolate taste in my mouth! The sugary taste completely distracts the taste buds and allows the mind to forget about ever wanting more chocolate (well, most of the time!) Prunes/ dried plums don't really work that well and I haven't tried any other dried fruit, but I would imagine raisins would NOT work well (trail mix anyone- raisins are always paired WITH chocolate!)

Of course, gum is always another option, but you know, I'd be boring if I wrote a post about that. So this is my creative solution. Try it and let me know if it works.

Crunchy Tuna Salad with Fiber One

In my opinion, tuna salad was made to crunch. My mom always prepared it with mayo and tons (I mean tons!) of chopped celery and onions on a sesame roll. Besides from the resulting bad breath it was great. Now out of the comforts of my childhood innocence about how many calories that sandwich contained, I've omitted the mayo and the roll, and I prefer my tuna in salads as opposed to 'tuna salad'. (To clarify, I mix tuna in a salad of mixed greens, mushrooms, tomatoes, etc). But much to my dismay, I am a horrible celery chopper. Maybe that trait skips a generation? It takes me forever, and the pieces are either too big or are too measley to add significant crunch. When I take the time and make a tuna salad for dinner I take the time to struggle through my disability (haha) but more often than not I am faced with two problems: 1. who has time all that often? 2. And many times I make the salad ahead of time, bring it to work for lunch, and add the tuna there from one of those handy dandy no-fridge-necessary packets- you can't chop celery there (it would take up my whole lunch break!) and even if you have celery in the actual salad, it doesn't really take to mixing with the tuna all that well.

Many times I sucked it up and somewhat unhappily ate my unsatisfying mushy salad (you know tuna with greens and tomatoes etc. Well, I'm sort of lying, crunchy vegs are in there such as broccoli and peppers, but it in no way makes the overall salad crunchy.) When foods don't have a certain crunch factor, I don't feel like I've eaten as much and don't feel full.

And then one day I had brought fiber one for a snack, and I decided to mix in the fiber one with my salad when I added the tuna. WOAH MAMA my problems were solved! I added 1/2 c fiber one (it was a large salad haha) and it added crunch to every bite! Plus, it added an very interesting taste that in my opinion makes the tuna taste slightly less overpowering allowing it to complement the taste of the vegetables better. The extra boost of fiber also keeps me fuller longer. And the best, best part of all is that it solves all of my problems! It's quick and easy, I can easily add it to salads at work, and I can repress the fact that I will never be able to chop celery. Since the fiber one is easily transportable in a little baggie college students can even bring it with them down to the dining hall and add it to a salad made there.

I usually only add 1/4 c of fiber one (30 calories, 7 g of fiber) for every 3 oz or so of tuna and you can either mix it all in the beginning or what I like to do is mix in half at the beginning and then half a little bit later in the eating process. It's important to add it right before eating otherwise, like most carb things, will get soggy. For all those vegans, people who don't like tuna, etc., do not fret: you can use fiber one to top any salad! Hope this makes some of you a delicious salad!

Hot Chocolate Update

A new discovery: if you add 1/2 pck of splenda to the previously mentioned Diet Hot Chocolate packet, it brings out the chocolate taste. A conundrum I know, as it seems weird that sugar would make it more chocolatey, but alas it does. The only slight disadvantage to this is that along with more chocolate, you also get more aftertaste. And it's not a good one. With the splenda it tastes, well, like artificial flavoring. So personally, I would opt for the packet of hot chocolate as it is even with it's slightly less chocolate taste because then afterwards I feel like I had chocolate, not chemicals, but I figured I'd share this little taste-bud adventure with you and let you make your own judgements!

Chocolate Yogurt

Speaking of chocolate cravings I figured I post another use for cocoa powder- making your own chocolate yogurt. Stonyfield makes a Chococlate Underground flavor for 170 calories and something like 34 g of sugar. In my opinion, that's a lot of sugar. Plus stonyfield isn't always that um friendly on the wallet. I had just bought Unsweetened Cocao Powder from Trader Joe's and was eager to experiment with it. For 3 tbsps it's 110 cal, 7g of protein, 3 g of fat, and this is from memory but I think it had only 2 g of sugar.

Well, the first creation was my very own chocolate yogurt! I used a plain non-fat yogurt (80 cal), 2 splenda, and 1/2 tbsp of cocoa. That makes the total approx 100 calories. Let me just say that the cocoa powder worked well! It was really chocolate tasting. At first I didn't mix it well enough (see right- you can see the specks of cocoa) and it didn't exactly look all that appetizing ... but then I moved it to a bowl and mixed it better (see below)



It wasn't as thick as the stonyfield yogurt, but I suppose you could use greek yogurt for a very thick consistancy, or even a 1 or 2 % yogurt. But I thought this was a great substitute for the high sugar (and higher cal) chocolate yogurts that are in the market. It had a rich chocolate taste- was very real tasting, meaning you could tell it wasn't artificial. And it wasn't very sweet. If this isn't sweet enough for you, the powder tastes awesome with ff vanilla yogurt! Back to the plain yog version, I would have to say it tastes like a natural snack... like for some of these other creations you could give to anyone and they wouldn't expect it was healthy or diet or whatever, but this tastes like a dieter version of chcolate yogurt. In sum, I think it is quite tasty but you have to know not to expect some very rich decadent treat- it tastes like just like yogurt that is chocolate.

I plan on trying it with more cocoa (1 tbsp) to see how that tastes. Perhaps that will make it richer tasting. I'll keep you updated!



(And as an added bonus: you can then freeze this chocolate yogurt for a cold chocolate "fro-yo"!)

SwissMiss Hot Chocolate

Hey guys. Sorry for a lack of posts this week. I've just been feeling so frustrated! I constantly am fighting with myself whether I should be counting calories or simply trusting my instinct. When I count calories I tend to get obsessed and I start thinking 24/7 about food and my next meal and whether I have enough calories, etc. So I am much happier mentally when I don't count. But it's so much easier to have a guide- to have a limit, to have restrictions. Something that tells you "No, don't eat that because you are almost over your calorie limit" is much easier to adhere to than "No, don't eat that, you really shouldn't". I mean, everywhere you look there are articles telling you about all the non-hunger cues that cause people to eat- so then how do I know when is the correct time to trust my instinct and when it is being tricked? Sorry for the rant... back to food :)

Unfortunately, during this um, 'bout', I have been craving some not so good-for-you foods. An item that has gotten me through some intense desires to keep eating has been Hot Chocolate! Or more particularly Swiss Miss Diet hot chocolate. One pack has only 25 calories, 4g of carbs, 1g of fiber, 2 g of sugar, and 2 g of protein (and a bonus of 30% Calcium). While it is not the most intense chocolatey thing in the world, it is pretty good- it tastes like hot chocolate. And it has a great cocoa aroma- I can even picture myself in a ski lodge in front of the fire place! I recommend only using the 3/4c or less of water recommended because if you use more it really does get watery. You can also use milk to add richness. I haven't tried this but if you like a really intense cocoa flavor, you could try adding a tsp of unsweetened cocoa powder (adds not that many calories and some protein). The SwissMiss Diet hot choco also tastes great with fat free whipped cream. It's been on sale at a lot of places lately at 2 for $4.00. I find that this is a great way to satisfy the chocolate taste I crave (you know when you get that taste in your mouth?) and is good at stopping me from binging on chocolate.

Nestle also makes a carb select fat free with calcium hot chocolate for 25 cal a packet and what looks like essentially the same product in a large canister called only fat free with calcium. There's also a rich fatfree version sold in a canister as well. I am intrigued to try the carb select fat free with mini marshmellows by nestle that has 35 cal a packet. If any of you try it- let me know how it is!

And since I mentioned cocoa powder, I'm sure you can make a kickass hot cocoa with just that and milk and sweetener (perhaps I'll experiment soon?) but for now the travel packs really come in handy!

Tuna Sandwich sans Bread

This is my favorite portable lunch recipe. Usually when you make a tuna sandwich in the morning, by the afternoon the bread is a little soggy. This completely takes care of that problem! Plus, if you're watching carb or calorie intake, it instantly lowers it! Instead of bread, use half a red pepper and stuff the tuna in. Prepare the tuna how you normally would (with whatever condiments you use) and pack it in. You can eat it like a regular sandwich. Tada! A no-mess, easily portable, non soggy "sandwich"! The best part is that you can make it the night before and it will be great the next day (I usually wrap it in aluminum foil). And half a red pepper is only about 20 calories! To make it more sandwich-like you can top it with some lettuce, sliced tomatos, or even a slice of cheese. My favorite combo is:

• 1/2 red pepper
• 2.5 oz tuna prepared with mustard
• topped with a thin layer of lettuce
• 1/2 a slice of muenster cheese

Although I am generally not usually a fan of cheese on my sandwiches, I found that muenster gives it a lot of oomph. I've also used jarlsburg. Now, I realize the cheese does add more calories (~60) and fat, but it still only brings the above recipe to about 180 calories! And it takes a while to eat because the pepper is so crunchy you can't just gobble it quickly. If you want you can use the other half of red pepper and make another sandwich and your lunch would still be only a bit more than 350 calories. Or you can use the whole slice of cheese on one half. What I don't recommend is low-fat cheese: it deosn't add much flavor (I tried it with light jarlsburg YELCH).

I've used this creation for years and I have yet to get tired of it. I just love that for lunch I can eat this "sandwich" in addition to an array of other items (ie yogurt, veggies, almonds, etc) and although it is an extremely filling meal, it is not that many calories!

Peaches n' Cream

I think it's time for a fun dessert-ish post. Now, this is a very very simple combination, but just tastes heavenly. All it is, is peach yogurt, crushed honey graham crackers, and sliced almonds. It tastes creamy and peachy, but the graham cracker adds a little crunch and pie-crust taste. And then the almonds just add some more flavor. Depending on what brands you use, it could be only 60 +70 (for a half sheet of graham) + 33 (1 tbsp sliced almonds crushed) = 163 calories. For a treat that tastes this good, I think that's a good number! However, if that is too many calories for you, use wheat germ instead of graham crackers (I liked 1 tbsp of honey crunch wheat germ = 35 cal), or you can omit the almonds. or not use as much yogurt. I used to make this using only 3 oz of yogurt but the same amount of almonds and graham crackers/ wheat germ and it was just as filling and satisfying- I guess it depends on how hungry you are!

And clearly, you can make this with other flavors of yogurt. I would imagine vanilla, blueberry, strawberry, and strawberry-banana would taste great! It's the graham cracker or wheat germ that's key here for the "dessert" taste!

1000 Baby!

Wooooooooot. Over 1000 unique visitors in only two weeks! Thanks to everyone for visiting the site, giving feedback, and then returning again to read more. Hopefully I will continue to meet and or exceed your expectations and keep you coming back for a long time! And I'll keep on experimenting! Next mission: recreating a snickers bar......

Make your own Fruit Yogurt

As much as I love my " fro yo", sometimes Dannon Light n' Fit is just too artificial tasting for my likes. Enter Fage 0% Greek Yogurt. Honestly, it intimidated the crap out of me for a while. And then (while working the dairy case at Trader Joe's) I examined the nutritional facts: 80 cal, 13 g of protein, 0 g fat, and only 6 g of sugar. Holy Crap!! I just had to try it... and my first reaction was "YUCK". This tastes like.... sour milk. But I did love the thick consistancy so I didn't give up just yet. I remembered hearing someone say they added some artifical sweetener, so I added a packet of splenda... and voila! much better. However, it still wasn't high on the "yummy" rankings. Well, after a few combinations, I found one that is delicious: adding some frozen fruit (blueberries work well, but so do raspberries, or even mixed berries) in addition to the splenda. I let it sit for about 5 - 10 min and stir again- this lets the fruit melt a little and add some "color" to the yogurt. Ta da! it's your very own fruit yogurt but with very little extra sugar added! Sometimes I add another packet of Splenda (I swear, I'm trying to kick the splenda habit! I'm getting a little bit better :)) You can buy bags of frozen fruit at most grocery stores and they are somewhere between 50-80 calories for about 1/3 of the whole bag. It obviously depends on which fruit you use. MMMM, I really want some greek yogurt now!

(This works just as well with any fat-free plain yogurt... it just gives you a thinner consistency- but that's sometimes what you are in the mood for)

Crystal Light Soda

"Water is sooooo goood for you...." say all the websites. Yeah, I can't argue-they're right, and as much I try to drink only pure water, I sometimes find it hard to motivate myself to drink it. I recently discovered flavor waters which I like a lot. But the way I used to hydrate myself was with crystal light (any brand of low cal drink mix would work well). I think it tastes goood! My favorite is the Ruby Red Grapefruit Sunrise flavor. And unfortunately, sugar alcohols don't always agree with me (aka stomach bloating and discomfort) especially when I drink the whole mixture (8 glasses). A way I use to lessen the effect while still being able to drink it is after preparing the mix with water, I drink glasses of half seltzer and half crystal light. (Seltzer is carbonated water or club soda). This way, I for the same 8 glasses I only get half the sugar alcohols I was getting and all of the flavor! And if you are a soda fan, I imagine this would a good sort of substitute. This 'trick' clearly isn't for everyone since some people also have problems with carbonation, and I'm sorry I don't have an idea that would work for everyone- but I'll keep experimenting and hopefully find something. And if anyone has any other ways they use crystal light or any other low cal drink mixes I would love to hear it!

Failed Oatmeal Pudding Experiment

In response to n2fitness's comments about trying the peanut butter and pudding over oatmeal, I investigated a similar creation myself. I had sf chocolate pudding powder and tried that with oatmeal. It wasn't good. It was edible certainly and didn't taste bad per say, but it definitely was not an "indulgent creation". Maybe using already made pudding will work better? Let me know if you try it....

Cottage Cheese Power Snack

To avoid getting stuck in a peanut butter theme, this post is about cottage cheese. It's not nearly as exciting as ooy gooey chocolate and pb, but oh well. (don't worry though, I have plenty of more pb ideas left to share!) Anyways, this idea isn't all that innovative, but I find the combination delightful. It's simply cottage cheese with fiber one. It's crunchy yet creamy, that blandish dairy flavor yet sweetened, protein yet fiberific. (haha). They just work reallllly well together. I usually use 1/2 c 1% cottage cheese with 1/8 c fiber one (or 1/4 c if I'm in the mood for it) It's a quick 100 calorie snack with 13 g of protein and 3.5 g of fiber. I also like cheerios mixed in, but I think the flavors don't complement each other as well and the cheerios get soggy. I've also tried Kashi Go Lean, which although I absolutely love in yogurt, didn't enjoy as much in cottage cheese. But I guess that's all personal preference. Oh, and I have tried melting peanut butter and mixing it in with the cottage cheese...let's just say it was interesting. I ate it and it was alright, but it certainly wasn't delicious-- it was actually a little odd. Anyway, there's the lowdown on my not-so-exciting but actually-really-yummy cottage cheese snack.