If you are a chocoholic, you know how hard it is to resist chocolate. The creamy sweetness is enough to satisfy most appetites. But when you are looking for guilt-free ways to enjoy the sweet stuff, what can you do?
Do Not Deprive Yourself
Depriving yourself completely of chocolate by going cold turkey and then expecting the cravings to simply go away just won’t work, at least not in the long term. When you make chocolate completely out of bounds, you will still need to deal with the cravings. While some people find healthier substitutes, it is also worth considering the benefits of eating chocolate as an occasional treat. Depriving yourself altogether will not change your mindset or make you start craving apples over chocolate fudge cake. I know! I am a chocoholic.
Make Your Own Chocolate Treats
If you enjoy baking, then pick up some healthier chocolate recipes that you can try from the comfort of your own kitchen. Start with a good quality high cocoa content brand of baking chocolate and add your own fillings.
Plain oatmeal, unsweetened coconut, slivered almonds, walnuts, dried fruit, natural peanut butter or raw honey are all good ingredients to use that can help you create some great-tasting chocolate treats, but with far fewer calories, saturated fat and sugar of commercial brands of chocolate. Divide the mixture into small muffin pans or cups, so that you have a small serving to nibble on when you crave chocolate.
Reduce Your Portion Sizes
Do you normally gorge on two or three super-sized chocolate bars each day? Such snacking habits pack an incredible amount of saturated fat and sugar into your system and do not do your waistline any good. Fortunately, you can still enjoy chocolate, but without loading up on stacks of chocolate each day.
Instead of buying super-sized bars of chocolate, buy fun sizes that you give to your children and limit yourself to just one or two each day. Rather than eating chocolate as an in between meal snack, wait until after you have eaten a meal, to have some chocolate.
When giving up chocolate is just not an option in your household, remember that there are other ways to enjoy the sweet stuff. Start off by not depriving yourself, as this can make you crave chocolate all the more and gorge on it when you finally do have some. Get creative and start making your own healthy chocolate treats and reduce your portion sizes. If you keep chocolate in its proper place and enjoy it in moderation, you will soon find that you develop a more balanced view of chocolate.
More from this contributor:
How to Melt Chocolate Using the Bain-marie Method.
How to Wean Yourself Off Chocolate.
Tasty Ways to Improve Chocolate Ice Cream.