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jensauce
jensauce Posts: 150 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I just discovered a somewhat healthy way to curb my chocolate cravings. I've been using it for the last week and a half with great success (I've avoided chocolate all together).
1/4 of raisins.

Lots of sugar still but it has got to be better than chocolate, right?

:)
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Replies

  • queenliz99
    queenliz99 Posts: 15,317 Member
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    Chocolate covered raisins, even better!!
  • jensauce
    jensauce Posts: 150 Member
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    queenliz99 wrote: »
    Chocolate covered raisins, even better!!

    Lol!
  • usmcmp
    usmcmp Posts: 21,220 Member
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    Or you could have a small piece of chocolate. Chocolate isn't bad for you and raisins have added sugars.
  • arditarose
    arditarose Posts: 15,575 Member
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    I'm sorry but that doesn't seem like a great substitute. You could have a little dark chocolate, or mix some cocoa powder in greek yogurt, a couple servings of chocolate frozen yogurt...
  • lorrpb
    lorrpb Posts: 11,464 Member
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    Chocolate with at least 70% cacao has health benefits. Small portions, not a whole bar. It's very satisfying.
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 24,937 Member
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    I've been eating one McVities chocolate digestive biscuit about 4 or 5 days a week for a little while now. I really like them, and the little bit of chocolate is just right. :)

    http://www.mcvities.co.uk/products/chocolate-digestives
  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,565 Member
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    I like raisins, but if I want chocolate I'm going to have chocolate. One square of the bag I buy is 60 calories.
  • Optimistical1
    Optimistical1 Posts: 210 Member
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    Plain Greek yogurt in place of sour cream, helps meet my protein macros and I can't taste a difference.

    When I'm in the mood for cookies, I look up a recipe using blanched almond flour and honey instead of flour and sugar for extra nutrients. Different texture, but my family enjoys it all the same.

    Light unsweetened almond milk(40 calories) in place of organic 1% milk (which is 110 calories) mixed in with my protein shake.

    Turkey bacon and turkey pepperoni instead of regular bacon and pepperoni, less calories.

    Hebrew Natuonal reduced fat turkey hot dogs, only 45 calories, instead of regular hotdogs.

    Almond oil over canola, Brown rice instead of white.

    Those are just a few of the many lower calorie/healthier substitutions I use. I'd love to hear substitutions that other people use.
  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
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    usmcmp wrote: »
    Or you could have a small piece of chocolate. Chocolate isn't bad for you and raisins have added sugars.

    No added sugars in raisins. They are simply dried grapes.

    I will be using turnip instead of potato this week though both are good. The turnip I believe will come out with more fiber.
  • rachelpauline93
    rachelpauline93 Posts: 40 Member
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    I just made cauliflower rice tonight instead of using my regular brown rice. 1 cup was about 27 calories, just a few net carbs and very filling!
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 24,937 Member
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    Optimistical1 wrote: »
    Those are just a few of the many lower calorie/healthier substitutions I use. I'd love to hear substitutions that other people use.

    I found I felt really hungry, and in particular, was craving potato chips after work. For me, if I'm craving potato chips, I'm not going to have 6 or 8 of them and then put the package away ... I'm going to eat the whole package. :grin:

    So I gave it some thought and checked my nutrient levels, and it turns out, my sodium levels tend to be really low. I eat a lot of fruit, veg, brown rice, chicken and yogurt ... and not a whole lot of salt.

    Therefore, after work when I felt really hungry, I started eating 100 grams of cottage cheese with either a dill pickle or sliced cucumbers, well-salted. That did it! Potato chip craving gone. I've gone on to add a few other raw veggies after work plus ... from time to time ... well-salted radishes, and/or lightly-salted snow peas or raw cabbage. Whatever we happen to have in the fridge, and whatever I'm in the mood for. But it all adds up to about 100 calories for an after-work snack rather than the hundreds of calories a bag of chips would be. Cottage cheese and raw veggies are probably also healthier than a bag of chips.



  • melonaulait
    melonaulait Posts: 769 Member
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    I'm all about substitutes, but there aren't many substitutes for chocolate... But at least I enjoy dark chocolate just as well.
  • unigirl143
    unigirl143 Posts: 126 Member
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    I like substituting ground turkey in chili instead of beef. Also I have become a big fan of turkey pepperoni instead of the high fat pepperoni.
  • amusedmonkey
    amusedmonkey Posts: 10,330 Member
    edited December 2015
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    jensauce wrote: »
    I just discovered a somewhat healthy way to curb my chocolate cravings. I've been using it for the last week and a half with great success (I've avoided chocolate all together).
    1/4 of raisins.

    Lots of sugar still but it has got to be better than chocolate, right?

    :)

    Better in terms of what? Chocolate is actually very healthy, especially dark chocolate. Without going into detail about its antioxidant properties, it's the perfect companion for exercise because it contains minerals that help keep your electrolytes balanced.

    Now my personal substitutes: whenever I make pasta I replace about 1/3 of the pasta with zucchini "pasta", I use whole milk instead of cream in chai tea, replaced most of my sugar with sweetener and most of my rice with bulgur, buckwheat or freekeh (I have no idea why I didn't make the switch earlier, every single one of these is superior to rice in flavor.)
  • tomatoey
    tomatoey Posts: 5,446 Member
    edited December 2015
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    If you eat too much chocolate and you like raisins, I think that's a great idea. I can see the flavour connection. Dates, prunes, and figs are sort of in a similar taste family to me, too (although watch out for too many prunes! Dangerous stuff!) And coffee. But have some chocolate now and then though, it's great for iron, too (if dark chocolate).

    I'm trying to eat more kinds of meat than just beef, which is what I feel like eating most evenings, that feels like a substitution, I guess.
  • jensauce
    jensauce Posts: 150 Member
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    arditarose wrote: »
    I'm sorry but that doesn't seem like a great substitute. You could have a little dark chocolate, or mix some cocoa powder in greek yogurt, a couple servings of chocolate frozen yogurt...

    I have tried that but usually if I eat anything chocolaty I usually end up binging ...hardcore. lol.

    With the raisins I limit it to 1/4 serving every time.

    Do you have any other suggestions? Thanks for the constructive criticism! :)
  • arditarose
    arditarose Posts: 15,575 Member
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    jensauce wrote: »
    arditarose wrote: »
    I'm sorry but that doesn't seem like a great substitute. You could have a little dark chocolate, or mix some cocoa powder in greek yogurt, a couple servings of chocolate frozen yogurt...

    I have tried that but usually if I eat anything chocolaty I usually end up binging ...hardcore. lol.

    With the raisins I limit it to 1/4 serving every time.

    Do you have any other suggestions? Thanks for the constructive criticism! :)

    I know. I have a couple of things that get me binge-y too. Recently I found these 100 calorie packs of keebler elf fudge cookies. I've been eating them as is or throwing them in greek yogurt/low calorie ice cream. I'm a high volume eater so I don't give too many suggestions out because my favorites are often poo-pooed on these threads.

  • jensauce
    jensauce Posts: 150 Member
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    jgnatca wrote: »
    usmcmp wrote: »
    Or you could have a small piece of chocolate. Chocolate isn't bad for you and raisins have added sugars.

    No added sugars in raisins. They are simply dried grapes.

    I will be using turnip instead of potato this week though both are good. The turnip I believe will come out with more fiber.

    Turnips get a bad rap. I love them! Just coat turnips, carrots, and onions in olive oil, bake for 20 to 40 minutes or so ( depending on the size of your chops) at 350 degrees and it's an amazing and easy side dish :) imho
  • jensauce
    jensauce Posts: 150 Member
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    rachelpauline93 wrote: »
    I just made cauliflower rice tonight instead of using my regular brown rice. 1 cup was about 27 calories, just a few net carbs and very filling!

    That sounds delicious! I am going to try that! Thanks for your tip! :)
  • jensauce
    jensauce Posts: 150 Member
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    rachelpauline93 wrote: »
    I just made cauliflower rice tonight instead of using my regular brown rice. 1 cup was about 27 calories, just a few net carbs and very filling!

    That sounds delicious! I am going to try that! Thanks for your tip! :)
    arditarose wrote: »
    jensauce wrote: »
    arditarose wrote: »
    I'm sorry but that doesn't seem like a great substitute. You could have a little dark chocolate, or mix some cocoa powder in greek yogurt, a couple servings of chocolate frozen yogurt...

    I have tried that but usually if I eat anything chocolaty I usually end up binging ...hardcore. lol.

    With the raisins I limit it to 1/4 serving every time.

    Do you have any other suggestions? Thanks for the constructive criticism! :)

    I know. I have a couple of things that get me binge-y too. Recently I found these 100 calorie packs of keebler elf fudge cookies. I've been eating them as is or throwing them in greek yogurt/low calorie ice cream. I'm a high volume eater so I don't give too many suggestions out because my favorites are often poo-pooed on these threads.

    Well I welcome them, so feel free to PM me, I won't judge :wink:

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