Healthy Alternatives to Unhealthy Treats
Despite knowing how bad they are for us, we can't help but love all those unhealthy, snacky foods. But what if there was a way to get the same happy feeling on treating yourself, without the after guilt?
I have come up with a few ideas for healthy alternatives to our unhealthy foes.
Pizza
The average whole pizza dough weighs in at about 1000 calories. This is a huge amount, even before any toppings are added. My suggestion, if you want pizza is to opt for a different base.
Instead of hitting that dough, choose a flat bread base - at around 170 calories a tortilla. Alternatively, if you prefer more depth to your bottom, toast some sandwich thins - only 100 cals per slice. You could have 10 of these compared to one pizza dough base for the same calorie intake!
Make your own tomato sauce from tinned tomatoes, a little sugar, seasoning and onions and spread across your tortilla/thin.
Sprinkle on a little cheese and coat with your normal, favourite toppings.
Put this delicacy under the grill and wait for the cheese to bubble.
Overall, this is a much better and healthier way to have your pizza. It creates the same comforting happiness, without the ridiculous calorie consumption.
Chicken Nuggets
As kids, we can all remember devouring into a plate full of chicken nuggets. However, as adults, this has become a less legitimate thing to do as we know that they are made from poor quality chicken deep fried in unhealthy batter and oil.
However, my option allows you to indulge in your favourite childhood treats in a healthy way.
1. Buy some chicken breasts from the supermarket and using a rolling pin, bash them until thin (alternatively buy chicken/turkey steaks).
1. Buy some chicken breasts from the supermarket and using a rolling pin, bash them until thin (alternatively buy chicken/turkey steaks).
2. Put bread slices into a blender until they become crumbs
3. Coat the chicken in egg
3. Roll the coated chicken in the crumbs until they stick
4. Using a light amount of oil, fry the chicken until golden brown on the outside and then place in the oven until fully cooked inside.
And there you have it - healthier, adult chicken nuggets.
Burgers
There is nothing better than sinking your teeth into a beautifully juicy beef burger filled with salad and ketchup. This feeling is even better when you know your burger isn't filled with unhealthy fat and grease.
Swap the beef mince for 7% turkey fat, add seasoning as you please and mould into patties ready to fry.
You can add onions, spices, sauces - anything you want - to the mixture in order to create a beautiful taste without the added fat or calories.Have it carbless, or with the bread for an extra special, but healthy, treat
Apple Pie
Apple crumble is a classic summer dish that we could not live without. However, the topping is filled with high levels of butter, flour, and sugar. My option will not make it much less calorific, but will change where the calories are coming from. Instead of a pie, go for a crumble and and choose oats over flour to top the dish.Peel and chop apples and put in the microwave to gently cook. Try not to add sugar at this stage to keep that sharp, healthy taste within the fruit.
Cover the apples with this topping and bake in the oven until golden brown
Replacing the flour with oats and nuts will add healthy fats and slow release carbs to the dish. This is a much better way to get your calories, rather than from white flour. The lack of sugar within the fruit is a healthier option as well. Brownies
We all love a good old melt in the mouth brownie, but we also all know that they are extremely bad for us. Instead of indulging in this sugary, buttery, moist treat, give your own energy bars a go.
It is totally up to you what you put in them but here are some of my suggestions
Try blending these together and then forming into a shape of your choice - ball/rectangle etc
Dates, Cocoa powder, cashew nuts and raisins
Coconut, cashew nuts, dates, peanut butter
Oats, peanut butter
Oats, peanut butter, cocoa powder,
Dates, cranberries, almonds
Coconut, mixed nuts, dates
The options are endless but these treats don't require any added sugar as the sweetness from the raisins/dates/cranberries are enough. Also, the stickiness of the dates/peanut butter holds all the ingredients together in a delicious energy ball/brownie substitute.
Chips
The all important question - Daddy or chips? My answer; daddy. But the answer to daddy or sweet potato chips, is a lot harder for me!
Sweet potatoes are a healthier alternative to the regular white potato. You can do pretty much anything with them, including making your own chips. Chop them up into chip shaped pieces and coat in some oil. Sprinkle salt, pepper and paprika for an extra kick and cook in the oven until soft.
These are my favourite carb to have with a meal and are a great substitute for deep fried potato chips!
Ice cream
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One of man's greatest sins is eating a whole tub of Ben and Jerry's sitting in front of the TV. Well now you don't have to. Instead, choose a bowl of yoghurt and add fruit compote, honey, granola - whatever makes you feel happy, just without the high saturated fat content! Soda
Coke, Lemonade, Fanta etc are just such a waste of calories in my opinion and their sugar content is quite unbelievable. If only consumed occasionally, diet soda is a better choice, but in the long run, these aren't much better for your health. Instead, try adding a little bit of fruit juice/cordial (lime, elderflower etc) to a glass of fizzy water and get the same taste sensation, without the huge volume of calories. Just what you need to refresh your palette on a nice, summers day! I hope these have given you a good idea of how you can still treat yourself to nice food, just without consuming quite so many calories and fat.
Please get in touch if you have any special healthy treat substitutes - I'd love to hear about them and add them to this list.
Also, stay tuned for my next post about how to increase your metabolism, coming later this week!