Lately I've been craving chips and cookies and all sorts of bad foods. I was hoping to get some "bad food" substitutions from everyone if possible.

I read the thread about using romaine lettuce instead of chips, which is an amazing idea! I'm def going to use that one. But what else?? Post away!!




One of my favorites is freezing Crystal Lite and water in ice cube trays and eat one when I need sweet something to munch on.

i also need new ideas. I have become really partial to nuts but too many of those throws my calorie limit out the window Celery with peanut butter is nice, but i have yet to find a nice low fat peanut butter, the ones i have tried have all tasted strangely sweet.

Swiss Miss Sugar Free 60 cal
Swiss Miss Diet with Calcium 25cal
Nestle Fat Free w/Marshmallows 40 cal
100 calorie snack packs
Pennys LowFat Desserts = www.pennyslowfatdesserts.com
Kashi products
Weight Watchers Icecream (SkinnyCow 140cal)

My favorite 'treat'= 1/2 whole grain tortilla (50 cal) 2 tbsp Peanut butter (180cal) and small amount of Honey. (25 cal) 255 cal

-Jello makes really yummy little snack packs that only have 60 calories
-Air popped popcorn is great! You can eat a bunch for few calories
-Light bread toasted with spray butter or FF cream cheese
-Coffee is virtually calorie free and filling
-Same with tea!
-Veggies with FF sour cream mixed with ranch powder

Good luck . I'm in the same boat. A lot of times I just end up going to bed early.

100 calorie packs work great for me!
also keeping fruit around.

Watermelon for chips. I don't know, for me... the sweet, cold, crunchyness of the watermelon makes me not even care about chips anymore, lol. Plus it fills you up because it contains so much water.

One of my favorite super easy recipes:

Take low cal cheese sticks and cut in half. Take some fiber one cereal and process in food processor(or magic bullet) to bread crumb consistency. Coat the cheesesticks with egg beaters, then coat with the fiber one. If you have the extra cals/points, drizzle some olive oil over them. Throw em in the oven and you have mozzarella cheese sticks. Sooo yummy.

The substitutions never quite work for me. I would either eat too many because it didn't satisfy my craving or give in and have the real thing AFTER having the substitution.

I find that just staying away from certain foods for a couple weeks makes the cravings subside. Also, if theres something you know you will eat, just have it occasionaly, in correct portions, and budget your calories for it.

For example, I know I'm going to go to In-n-Out. There's just no way that realistically I'm not going to go there ever again. So instead of denying myself than pigging out someday I have it maybe once a week but I only eat half the meal and either throw the rest out or bring it home. It keeps my calories in control while still being able to eat what I want.

So you said you want chips right? Why not get a bag (I find kettle chips more satisfying than the thing kind), portion them out in some ziplocks and have one serving with a nice sandwich for lunch? At 140 calories, one serving of chips is definitely doable.

I do this with my nemesis - sour cream and onion potato chips. Except instead of buying a large bag, I go to the corner store and buy 1 single serving bag. That way there's no way I can eat more than the 1 serving at a time. Unless, that is, I get back in the car and go back to the corner store and get another bag.

When I have a craving that I just CANNOT kill, that's what I'll do. And if i go 100 cals or so over for the day, then so be it.

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If I think of a food as a "substitution" for what I want, it doesn't satisfy at all. But generally, it isn't a specific food, I'm really wanting it's a taste/texture craving, and I can often pick a better choice to satisfy the craving.

We have a local health food grocery that has a salad bar, soups, sandwiches, and hot entrees. They do a kale chip, that I really want to try at home. They just wash the kale, spread it out to dry, and then spray it very lightly with a (non-aerosol) olive oil spray and sprinkle with sea salt and bake in the oven until crispy.

I've also made zuchini chips in the dehydrator. They have an initial crisp crunch, but they soften as you chew - so it's a bit weird, if you're expecting it to be like a chip. It's crispy-crunchy then becomes chewy texture was a bit odd at first, because I can't say I've experienced it with any other food.

http://www.hungry-girl.com/ That site has lots of amazing recepies for 'junk/party' foods. Its my go to when i want something fattening

When baking, I substitute unsweetened applesauce for oil. No one ever notices, and my cakes and cookies are never greasy or heavy.

You could make chocolate pudding using skim milk, hershey's cocoa, splenda, and cornstarch.

If you're one of those avoiding cornstarch and stuff like that, do what I do: make chocolate custard using eggs as the thickener.

I don't deny myself any foods. My motto for my "lifestyle" change is "all things in moderation." I just know that if I want something, like cheetos, nothing is going to satisfy my BUT those dang cheetos. So, I eat cheetos, weighed out on my scale to one exact serving size and I write it in my food log and count it as part of my daily calorie intake. If I don't have enough calories for my craving I wait it out. Eventually it will go away.

But, I do love some substitutions, like using romaine lettuce instead of a tortilla for wraps. Someone suggested using them as chips also for dips and salsa. I also eat a spoonful of lite cool whip if I crave ice cream. And I love sugar free jello. I drink a lot of tea also. When I need a sweet fix I drink Good Earth Original sweet and spicy tea & herb blend...its the bestest tea evah!!!

substitutes don't work for me either and in all honesty, much of the time, the substitutes are much more unhealthy than the real thing, they just have less calories.