Sweets & Treats

It's no secret that I have a sweet tooth.  I LOVE almost everything that falls into the dessert category.  It's one of my hang ups that I have to watch myself for.  I have gotten a lot better over the last year and I avoid bringing that kind of stuff into my home but every now and again a girl's got to give herself a break.  I am very happy with the progress that I have made and I've even noticed that some of the treats I used to really enjoy I don't care for anymore.

So how does one meet a craving without blowing all the effort?  For me it's simple - I keep things in the home that meet the craving but also have nutritional value to them.  I try my best to eat lot's of fruit (and veggies).  Sometimes the natural sugar in fruit is all I need.

However in those weaker moments I like to have on hand some great snacks that taste great, meet the craving and actually have some health and nutritional value.  Now I did say some, I'm not perfect here and I'm not about to deprive myself and lose control down the road. Here are the items you will find in my pantry:

For my sweet tooth I like to have dark chocolate on hand.  I have read many articles on the benefits of having dark chocolate and it tastes great.  I also enjoy the GOGO Quinoa cookies from Costco.  These are yummy and actually contain some good for you nutrients.  Some other favourites  are the Pepperidge Farms Baked Sweet Crisps (which by the way you can get for $2 a bag when on sale) and Kashi granola bars that come in a variety of good for you flavours. You can eat 20 Pepperidge Farms crisps for only 90 calories, 3 grams of fat and 5 grams of sugar. And the good for you part is that they are made with a blend of whole grains.  Not too bad, but remember portion control is very important.  It's easy to get carried away and not pay attention but the key is to pay attention as I wrote about in my last post.

I also enjoy freezing grapes in the summer and making my own homemade ice cream with frozen bananas.  (Just freeze a sliced banana then toss in a blender with other fruit, peanut butter or a little chocolate).  I also enjoy doing my own baking so I know what is going into my goodies.  I use of coconut oil, coconut sugar, apple sauce, agave nectar and whole wheat flour in my baked goods and yes - the treats taste great!





For those of you who may crave salt over sugar, some of my favourites are the Pepperidge Farms Baked chips - these taste great with guacamole, Popchips (again you can get for $2 a bag on sale and come in a variety of flavours) and Wild Roots Wild Chips in the kale and chia flavour from Costco.  When craving a little crunch and salt these do the tick.  Again paying attention to the serving size is important.  Even when snacking on healthier alternatives going overboard will still add on the calories.

If you haven't already discovered some of these treats and goodies I hope you give them a try and let me know what you snack on to meet your sweet and salty cravings?  I would love to know!

Until then, stay fab!