Dieting Deliciously

Ever hear the phrase, “You gotta eat healthy,” or “Girl, you need to watch what you eat?” Some people may even tell you straight up, “You need to go on a diet!" Funny how these same people, who think they’re trying to help you, fail to feed you with words that actually help. From a person like me who LOVES food, trust me when I say, it’s more helpful to know how to lose weight or how to monitor your food intake. Many people think that the trick to weight management is to completely remove your favorite fast food meals from your diet. While this may be true to a certain extent, I would say that the real trick is learning how to enjoy healthy versions of your favorite junk food meals.

Breakfast

Krispy Kreme, McDonald’s, cafeteria coffee cake…and the list goes on. I’ve had it all and I can’t lie, donuts and sausage biscuits are good. But the feeling isn’t worth it when your health is at stake and your skinny jeans won’t zip up. We’ve all been there! So here is a healthy breakfast alternative that are tasty, satisfying and keep you looking and feeling good, good, good.


Apple Sauce Sour Cream Cake

These are super easy to make and are much better for you than regular coffee cake. The recipe includes apple sauce, rather than oil, to keep the cake moist and yummy. This is one of my favorite Weight Watchers recipes.

Lunch

Its lunchtime and your stomach needs a grease fix. Half your friends decide on pizza and the other half go to the vending machines. All you know is you shouldn’t have either. I agree, it sucks to be in this position. But, look at the bright side. At least you get to eat something different. Why crave the same pizza that's been there and will be there until you graduate? You can spare a slice.

How about a salad? I know it sounds gross compared to what you really want, but come on…even McDonald’s has salads. The cool thing about salads is that you can load them with a lot of healthy surprises. Start off with a bed of lettuce and add black beans (which are a great source of fiber), tomatoes, corn, bell pepper and your favorite light salad dressing. Then go ahead and add a serving size of chicken, ground turkey, or any lean meat of your choice, and you’re good to go. Soon enough, those pizza cravings will turn into these yummy salad cravings. And watch, you’ll be surprised at how long this meal keeps you satisfied. So you can forget about stopping by the vending machine before you hop on the bus to go home.

Dinner

Here’s the fun thing about learning to monitor your food. Instead of eating fast food for breakfast and giving in to that tempting pizza, you get to indulge a bit. It's dinner time and you wanna feel nice and full before you start the television festivities. A burger and fries sounds like it’ll do the trick, but only if you make it the right way. Take it layer by layer.

Instead of a regular hamburger bun, find a whole grain or whole wheat bun. Then instead of using a ground beef patty, opt for ground turkey. Everybody knows turkey meat requires a bit more seasoning so be prepared and get your favorite spices together. If you like mayonnaise, get acquainted with Smart Balance mayonnaise substitute. It tastes like regular mayo, but it doesn’t have all the fat. Now that you’ve got the burger basics down, add lettuce, tomatoes, ketchup, avocado, pickles, etc. Just by finding alternates for the bread meat and mayo, you’re able to enjoy a great turkey burger without all the fat. See more healthy burger recipes.

Every burger needs fries…and yours does too! Of course there’s a trick for this junk food favorite. Ever heard of sweet potatoes fries? They’re really good and probably the best substitute, especially if French fries are your weak spot. Enjoy Ellie Krieger’s sweet potato fries recipe.

See how making choices can pay off. You can still have your favorite foods, just with a new twist. Experiment, get in the kitchen and start making a difference with how you look and feel.

Bon appétit!

Kyle Holland
Brownstone Team