A Few of My Favorite Things- Sweet Treats Edition!

Weekly treat=2 scoops of Graeters- YUM!

I cannot count the number of times people have said to me that they would never be able to be successful on a health or weight loss journey because they like chocolate/dessert/etc… too much.   I am here to tell you that I lost over 118 lbs this past year- and I never gave up any of those things!  When I started this journey, I wanted it to be a life change and something that I could sustain for the rest of my life- and in my mind a life without chocolate is not worth living:)   I have always had a sweet tooth and that has not changed- what has changed is that I no longer satisfy those cravings by eating humongous servings of chemical fake treats.   Before I tell you some of my favorite sweet treats, here are the two main rules I use when incorporating “treats” in my daily life: (1) Treats are treats- not a meal and not a source of nutrition- and so except for my weekly Graeters visit I only allot approximately 200 calories a day for a sweet treat/dessert (while I do count fruit in my total daily calorie allowance I do not count fruit as part of my 200 calorie allotment unless I’m using it as dessert)  and (2) Organic real food treats are ok; chemical, high fructose corn syrup foods are poison (I stole this from Jillian Michaels) and poison is not a treat, poison kills you. 

Here are a few of my go-to favorites when I need the sweet tooth satisfied:

•  Paul Newman’s Organic Peanut Butter Cups: Seriously, these things are amazing.  You get three cups in a pack and I usually get them at Krogers for about $1.10.  After having these, you will never be able to eat a Reese’s cup again without tasting the chemicals.
• Trader Joe’s Super Dark Chocolate Truffle Bars: I have 4 squares of this almost every day for my nightly dessert.  I have found that it takes me a lot longer to eat dark chocolate than it does milk chocolate,  which means that I am way more satisfied by the time I am done.  When I have milk chocolate, I gulp it down and then immediately want more than the 4 sections I just ate.  Plus, dark chocolate has some great health benefits that milk chocolate does not have.
• Graeter’s ice cream: I love, love, LOVE ice cream.  In fact, I used to buy half gallons of it and have huge bowls of it every night.  I have found that if I have it in my house, I will eat it and so instead of having that temptation, once a week (usually on the day of my long run) I will go to Graeter’s and have 2 scoops (my favorites are chocolate chip cookie dough and double chocolate chip).  I love going to Graeter’s because they do not have corn syrup in their ice cream and they also use milk from cows that are not treated with bovine growth hormones- and not to mention it is delicious!
•  Bananas: I love making Lexy’s banana ice cream or slicing a banana and eating it with a tbsp. of almond butter.
• Organic Greek yogurt: with honey or in a smoothie with berries
• Fruit: once you start buying organic fruit, you will realize how much of a delicious sweet treat fruit actually is! Right now I am really enjoying the summer fruits- cherries, strawberries, and melon.
• Frozen Grapes
•  Almond Butter: sometimes a tbsp. of almond butter is just the trick to get rid of that sugar craving!
• Sweet Potato Chips with cinnamon: the cinnamon brings out the natural sweetness of the sweet potato and offers a ton of health benefits as well!



I totally need this water bottle!

•  Iced Coffee: Now instead of filling my coffee with fake chemical creamer, I use a splash of vanilla almond milk.  I pour it over ice and it is such a sweet, refreshing treat! Also, I no longer get the calorie laden Frappuccinos or mochas at Starbucks (which used to cost me almost $5.00 and were full of calories)- instead, I just order an iced coffee with organic soy milk which is under $3.00 and does not require any extra sugar or sweeteners!

- What are some of your favorite sweet treats?