Healthy alternatives to junk food

homemade veggie pizza is good

I make mine with flour and yeast. There are people that like the cauliflower crust but I just can't. I make my pizza fit in my calorie allotment for the day.

I use a quinoa crust for my pizza its bizzar and I swear I never thought it would work but for thin crust pizza it works great and i dont have to worry about my ibs acting up so its win win https://deliciousdietitianduo.wordpress.com/2014/09/24/one-ingredient-pizza-crust-gluten-egg-and-grain-free/
Generally though I stick to just trying to portion control my favorite snacks (healthy or not) and focus on whole foods for meals. Lost of soups, stir frys and one pot meals full of veggies and lean meats. I use this recipe when I'm looking for something sweet (I make a simple no sugar berry sauce on top) and my protein is low http://mycrazylife-lauren.blogspot.ca/2013/03/pinterest-pancakes.html

I'm not a huge fan of chicken, myself. I tend to go for ground turkey or leaner cuts of ground beef. And a variety of frozen veggies. Whatever's on sale. And whatever fresh fruits & veggies are on sale. I believe I'd go nuts subsisting on chicken & spinach forever.

I make a lot of chilis, soups, & stews in the winter. Also tacos, stir fry, Buddha bowls.

You can find many ideas for healthier and/or lower calorie versions of fast food and comfort food on the hungry girl webpage.

I love spicy mince in baked sweet potato - I prick the sweet potato all over and rub seasoning like Paprika on it and put directly on to oven rack - maybe put a tray under the rack to catch any drips. Usually takes abut 45 mins. For the mince, I make sure I use lean mince under 5% fat, and I normally drain off any fat that comes off when I brown the mince. I then add Garlic (you can use garlic puree) a chopped onion, a grated carrot a tin of chopped tomatoes, a red pepper, and season with paprika and chilli powder to a temp you like. I sometimes add a beef stock cube - just crumbled in no water. I personally use a slow cooker because I like my mince nice and soft, but you can just do it on the hob as you would normally of course. If you like them, you can add kidney beans near the end of cooking - my partner doesn't like them so we leave them out. Then just cut open the potato and layer with the mince. It feels like proper comfort food, and is all made from scratch

I'm lazy so I use a 70-100 calorie pita or tortilla to make a pizza crust, or I used to use flatout light back 10 years.

I like flavor profiles. Add hot sauce and blue cheese and you have buffalo. Powdered pb + sugar/sweetener of choice + soy sauce/tamari/coconut aminos and you have peanut sauce. Ricotta and marinara, maybe turkey sausage or turkey pepperoni and you have lasagna, ketchup lean meat bacon and cheese and you have bacon cheeseburgers. BBQ sauce, enchilada sauce, jerk sauce, etc. Possibilities are endless.

So with these flavors I'll make a tortilla/pita/flatbread pizza, frittata, baked meatballs, stuffed spaghetti squash, stuffed peppers, zucchini boats, eggplant boats, vegetable noodles, wraps, and so on. I just take flavors I like and apply them to pretty much anything.

beef, lean cuts of pork, fish and shellfish, potatoes, sweet potatoes, quinoa, grits, lentils, legumes, oats, whole grain breads, sour dough breads, a wide variety of fruits and vegetables prepared in a variety of ways, soups, stews, casseroles, and sauces, eggs, etc...and then treat yourself once in awhile to some pizza or fish 'n chips or nachos or whatever floats your boat.

there's more to good nutrition, not to mention sanity, than chicken breast, rice, and spinach.

house101292 wrote: »

I want alternatives that are like a potato chip or a candy bar. The snacks that I crave. What do all of you eat that satisfies those cravings?

i eat the chips or the candy bar as long as it fits in my daily allotment.

house101292 wrote: »

I want alternatives that are like a potato chip or a candy bar. The snacks that I crave. What do all of you eat that satisfies those cravings?

I've used a handful of peanuts with a couple dark chocolate chips - limited though. My biggest craving is salty snacks so I go for lighter versions - like puffed chips or popcorn with a little parm cheese or lemon pepper (sounds weird, but it's good).

I love stir fry over cauliflower rice. I don't eat rice or pasta, so I tend to make plain meatballs or chicken or fish, and then dip or reheat with Bolthouse Yogurt dressings.