Favorite Cheat under 250 calories

BethMarieVA

Everyone has that one snack they love...I am a firm believer that you need to splurge and eat the foods you love in order to stick to a weight loss goal. On days I want to "cheat" with a "bad" snack, I will change up the rest of the day to compensate so that I don't feel like I ruined the entire day.

SO, my question to you all is, what is your favorite snack or sweet that you go to when you want to satisfy that craving? I am looking for anything under 250 calories, sweet or salty.

Thanks in advance for your ideas! I truly believe getting tips and ideas from others is a great way to keep your journey going!

kshama2001

I regularly have 35 - 70 calories of Ghirardelli chocolate chips or a square.

However, I don't consider it a cheat. I focus on getting in my protein and fiber, naturally get enough fat, and then fill in carbs however I like.

quiksylver296

Chocolate, usually. But like @kshama2001, I don't cheat. I eat what I like and I like chocolate.

kimny72

I try to save 150-200 calories for an evening snack, so I guess it's not really a cheat since it's an every day thing.

But I use it for whatever the heck I want, usually ice cream or Oreos or kids cereal, or if I'm in a salty mood some pretzels or cheddar rice crisps or popcorn.

I also eat one or two Dove Dark Chocolate Promises pretty much every day.

I don't think any of those are "bad" though - they fit in my calories and I get all the nutrition and macros I need from the rest of my food for the day, so even if they take me a smidge over my calories for the day, they certainly haven't ruined anything

kimothyschma

Hot chocolate with marshmallow fluff! It usually fits into my calories, but if I'm at my limit and I still feel really unsatisfied, this is what I have.

Beka3695

Blue bunny mini ice cream cones!! 140-160 calories, depending on flavor. Also, I make Mojitos for 90 calories!!! Those are my weekend treats!

I agree with above, not a cheat, but IIFYM!

Jruzer

I'd hardly call anything under 250 kcal a cheat, personally. And there's no way it's a cheat if I make room for it in my budget.

In the spirit of the thing, though, I just discovered these. I love mochi, so I think I gave out an involuntary grunt of happiness when I saw them. 110 kcal each.

apullum

For 250 calories or less, I could have half of nearly any high quality chocolate bar. That's my usual dessert.

slbbw

I make room for ultra dark chocolate regularly. For an occasional splurge I will go for Trader Joes mini frozen desserts, including vanilla bon bons, mini mint mouthfuls mini mochi etc. There are several types usually and hey tend to fall in the 40-80 calorie range. So one of those if I feel like indulging is usually where I go. Sometimes it is a glass of wine around 125 calories.

puffbrat

I don't consider it a cheat, but for 250 calories I will happily eat cookies. How many depends on which cookies and how many calories each.

missysippy930

I have treats every day. It’s not necessary to cheat, I work it into my calories.
Daily, I have Dove dark chocolate promises. Depending on the variety, 38-44 calories.

RelCanonical

I stick my tongue in a bowl of sprinkles. Seriously. But I don't considering it cheating. I'm proud of my sprinkles and they're proud of me.

chuckamaniac

snickers

ktekc

i love outshine bars

LyndaBSS

I don't have a single thing I have as a cheat. I do balance my calories in a particular day so that I can make things like sautéed calamari, where I'd use more butter than usual.

LAT1963

a glass of whole milk (150 cals/cup) and a square of Ghirardelli 86% dark chocolate (60 cals).

neugebauer52

Foot massage and I bring her a small bar of chocolate.

AnnPT77

250 calories would be sufficient for about 20 ounces of a pretty good session IPA, or a larger amount of an even better-tasting but higher-ABV one.

An individual cup of Edy's Slow-churned Caramel Delight ice cream would also fit, with enough calories left to add some unsweetened coconut or some dry-roasted peanuts.

There are other options, but that's a couple.

Not a cheat, though: Just food.

busyPK

When I have that many calories to work with I enjoy nutella and pretzels. 1-1.5T nutella and a serving of pretzels and eat them slowly.

missysippy930

busyPK wrote: »

When I have that many calories to work with I enjoy nutella and pretzels. 1-1.5T nutella and a serving of pretzels and eat them slowly.

Nutella is best served by the spoonful....or just on your finger😇

callsitlikeiseeit

i have chocolate in some amount, pretty much every day. what it is, varies.

i dont cheat. i make what i want to eat, fit. or be over. life goes on. LOL

lynn_glenmont

For those few calories, I wouldn't consider it a splurge, but I have one savory and one sweet suggestion:

savory -- I mix cheddar cheese powder (I use King Arthur Flour vermont cheddar cheese powder, but it's similar to the cheese powder people put on popcorn) with plain greek yogurt, to get a very satisfying cheese "pudding" that I eat with a spoon. Bonus -- it provides a protein boost while tasting cheesier to me than most commercial cheese-flavored snacks. The amount I have typically runs just under 200 kcal. YMMV.

sweet -- I mix dark chocolate cocoa mix (the sweetened stuff that you can use to make a hot chocolate beverage) with a far smaller amount of milk than the directions would call for, so that the consistency is similar to brownie batter. Again, the amount I have typically runs just under 200 kcal. It's very much like eating raw brownie batter, without the worry of raw egg or raw flour. I'm probably going to have to start mixing up my own cocoa mix, since it's easier to source fair trade plain powdered cocoa than fair trade cocoa mix, and I'm trying not to support businesses built on trafficked child slave labor. (Sorry to be a bummer.)

gdb11st

Since you don’t mind a lil salt in your cheat food, sprinkle some on an avocado and enjoy. And still be healthy.

lalalacroix

I have a low cal snack most nights. I like nuts, trail mix, dark chocolate, wheat thins, fruit and popcorn.

None of these are a cheat to me and i don't consider anything I eat bad.

Also eating something small before bed helps me sleep better.

Hannahwalksfar

Helga’slight rye toast with raspberry jam. Or the bar counter raspberry truffle bar

NoHookUpZone

At 250 calories, I have discovered an addiction to mint Cliff bars

GrizzledSquirrel

RelCanonical wrote: »

I stick my tongue in a bowl of sprinkles. Seriously. But I don't considering it cheating. I'm proud of my sprinkles and they're proud of me.

Genius.
Remind me to refuse sprinkles on my ice cream when round yours though.

Taytaylynn92

Chips and salsa always!!!!!

nighthawk584

Halo Ice Cream ... I love the peaches and cream.

acpgee

If you crave something savoury and crunchy (like a chip), some carby snacks sold for deep frying at home can be puffed and crisped in the microwave.

Poppadoms are about 38 kcal per disc. Do those 1 minute in the microwave on high and mix some mango chutney with low fat yoghurt to make a dipping sauce.

Similarly 6 asian tapioca prawn crackers (20g) are about 66 kcal when microwaved. They go for 30-40 seconds but scorch more easily than poppadoms.

Those Vietnamese rice papers sold for making summer rolls when softened in water also crisp up in the microwave. You will need to brush some soy sauce onto them as they are unsalted. You'll have to experiment with timing as I don't remember how long I used to zap them for.

Here is a picture of my last poppadom as sold, and after microwaving a minute.

msweezybear66

Chocolate. I fit some Dove Dark Chocolate into my diary every day so it’s not really cheating but my butt doesn’t know that ...