are 'healthy alternatives' really okay?

As long as you know what's going into it and it is actually healthy, yes.

Agreed!

Yes, healthy alternatives are great, just be careful that they really are healthy. Lower calories does not mean healthier. Beware of artificial sweeteners and things like that which are just chemicals. Eat organic, make your own food, and you'll be healthy and fit in no time.

Look up thegraciouspantry.com that's where I get alot of my recipes.
They are still good, way healthy, and most of them are low-cal. Some of them you have to add more spices into, but that's a personal preference. At least it's a great starting off point, and that site has recipes for almost everything. It's my go-to recipe site.

I found that when I went out and replaced all of my usual meals with "healthy alternatives" all at once my body rebelled. Actually, I think I might have gained a bit of weight when I did it. If you're going to go for healthy alternatives, change over a little bit at a time and let your body adjust (it will depend a lot on how well/or poorly you ate before).

There are two super important things for you to remember with this:
1. Do what feels right for YOU. Not for me or for your neighbour or a TV host. If you eat a "healthy alternative" and it makes you sick, don't keep eating it no matter how healthy it may be. Right? For me, this is celery. It literally makes me sick.
2. Do it all in moderation. You don't have to eat super clean and work out like a maniac to get healthy. If you feel like eating chips one night, and your calories allow it, eat them! Don't feel guilty because you ate something that tasted good, but wasn't necessarily good for your waist line (I'm not getting into emotional eating here). Just make a different, healthier choice the next time.

Visit hungryhealthyhappy.com. Danni has a wicked blog with all kinds of suggestions for recipes, exercises, and other health-related things. She was my inspiration to start getting healthier.

yeah i would have to agree the if the ingredients are good then that should be the most weighted factor

A lot of hungrygirl recipes rely on frakenfood.
Like egg beaters, laughing cow wedges, low fat this, low carb this

I've seen some of the Rocco ones. But don't know too much

skinnytaste.com has a lot of healthy recipes made will REAL, WHOLE food, she does use substitutions like part-skim cheese, skim milk, etc. But her recipes aren't entirely processed.

Blogs I follow:
emilybites.com
ibreatheimhungry.com
skinnytaste.com
canyoustayfordinner.com

^those have healthier versions of foods you may love, made with real ingredients.

yeah I was referring to simple switches most of the time

like turkey pepperoni instead of the original
lean white meats like chicken tenderloins instead of the high fat meats
but other foods don't need to be changed at all
sardines are great for you, sustainable, very low in mercury risk, cheap, full of healthy fats, super filling....
once you learn how to make the food yourself, you can save yourself so much calories/fat/sugar,
foods you ate before taste too salty and sweet.

chopped jalopenoes, onions, bell peppers, optional garlic, sauteed in a little fat of your choice,
tastes delicious, if you leave the seeds out, not super spicy, and adds tons of flavor to so many things
and it only take few mins to cook
if you use frozen prediced bell peppers and onions, just chop up the jalopeno and there you go
dinner is ready to go in the pan.

does this sound like diet food? make caribbean jerk grilled chicken/ with the above mixture and sprinkle of shredded coconut.yum!

I think they're fine so long as you know what you're getting when you make it. If you feel like eating a sandwich, you can chose to enjoy a turkey bacon, tomato and spinach sandwich on grain bread (instead of your standard BLT). However, I don't think they can do the job of tackling a serious craving. If you're at the point where you'd sell your firstborn for a plate of spaghetti and meatballs, no amount of spaghetti squash and quinoa burgers will do the trick. But on another night, that combo might just be the ticket to a great dinner.

So "healthy alternatives" are great...as long as they are enjoyed for what they are: healthy meals. Not "in place" of what you really want.

even spaghetti and meatballs can be made healthier. make the meatballs with ground chicken, or even see if lentil meatballs
covered in sauce, might work for you on occasion. simply adding veggies to the typical marinara sauce and not using very much oil or using none, makes it a lighter version. there's degrees to everything. and what didn't work for you last month, might be just fine today. our tastes change. we get used to eating veggies, less salt. and so on.

and if what you must have is the original deep dish chicago pizza, then you'll need to balance that with activity or have a very small amount. it really depends on the type of craving. majority of the time when I'm more hormonal, i'm just hungry for everything. anything I see, just anything. so that's all the healthy fruits and veggies and all the chips and junk too.

craving a specific flavor just on a whim I feel like making this for dinner is different.
oh lets make a similar version of chinese food to what we usually order
or a healthy order of an actual chinese recipe. that can be done, and be full of flavor,
while costing significantly less, and have less salt.