I don't know about anything else...but there are some cravings I have that I just can't ignore.

Like pizza, for example. I've been DYING for pizza recently, but I know if I make a frozen pizza in the oven, or heaven forbid order out, I'll eat too much because there will be leftovers sitting around.

Instead, I'm having a Lean Cuisine french bread pepperoni pizza for lunch today. Not bad at 290 calories...

Or when I want something salty, instead of potato chips, I'll pack a 1 oz. serving of pretzels to snack on at work (bad on sodium, but good on calories and fat). Or something sweet...instead of a cookie, I'll eat some graham crackers to satisfy the sweet tooth.

Anyone else have a "bad food" substitute when the cravings get too intense?

I make my own pizzas with Trader Joes premade whole wheat pizza dough, a modest amount of cheese, chicken breast, and heaping tons of veggies. 1/4 of the pizza is healthy, full of whole grains and protein, and has a reasonable amount of calories for the meal. I just make sure I don't have no plan for the leftovers...typically we'll have half of the pizza between the two of us for dinner, and the other half the next day for lunch, but the dough also freezes well, so you could make a smaller pizza with only a serving of it and freeze the rest in single-serving bags. I make healthy burgers, too, and they fit into my calorie allowance. This weekend I had both pizza AND burgers, and stayed on plan, which was neat.

Generally, I just try to cook something from scratch that'll satisfy the craving in a healthy way. When I crave Mexican, I make fajitas or a fajita salad. If I want Chinese, I break out the wok. I even make baked goods (pumpkin chocolate chip cake!) to satisfy those cravings. The best part of this, for me, is that I can control the ingredients. For example, the pumpkin cake is made with whole wheat flour, canned pumpkin, Splenda, spices...healthy, whole ingredients that I'd eat anyway, even if I wasn't trying to beat a craving into submission.

Graham crackers with light cream cheese and a sprinkle of cinnamon tastes like cheesecake, I am told.

mandalinn, i've come to the conclusion you live too far away! i want you to cook for me!!!!!!!<<<whining<<<<

Oh, she'll have to stop at my house, first! I swear, Mandalinn, are you in the process of writing a cookbook? It would make me very happy.

Soulbliss...I'll have to try that and let you know. I'm a cheesecake ADDICT!!!!

Well, to make it more authentic, mix in sweetener of choice and chop a pecan half or two into the mix of light cream cheese with a splash of vanilla.

I've switched off from eating fast food every meal to eating healthy, and my cravings have been insane.

Like you, instead of ordering pizza, I'll stock up on lean cuisine pizzas for when my mouth starts salivating on over-drive from the thought of pizza.

For my switch from Wendy's double cheese burgers I've switched to veggie burgers on weight watchers buns with no-fat kraft singles: I think they're really tasty, and only come to 240 calories and 3.5 grams of fat!

For chips/fries/most potato-y things, I go for Crispy minis.

~When I am craving a calorie laden Starbucks drink, I make a cup of instant diet hot cocoa (25 calories) and put a few instant coffee crystals in it.


~When I am craving something like a milkshake, I have a wonderful fruit smoothie recipe:
handful frozen strawberries
1 banana
1/2c. apple juice
Blend and serve with a straw. You don't need ice-the frozen berries work with this! It is also worth 3 fruit servings!

Oooooh, yes to Aphil on the Starbucks subs...I keep vanilla, cinnamon and caramel sugar free syrups on hand in my house. When I want some coffee thing, a couple pumps of flavor into my cup and...instant flavored coffee drink. And cheap!

I also keep the syrups onhand to make calorie-free mixers for the days I do drink, and calorie-free sodas during the day.

I always keep Cliff energy bars at my house [the chocolate chip kind is my favorite] When i am craving a cookie this is what i go to instead. They are organic and taste like an oatmeal cookie with chocolate chips in them. YUMMY! Sometimes i make this my afternoon snack to give me that extra evergy boost. You can find them at walmart or ant grocery store usually in the nutrition/organic section. Luna Bars are also gret too. Kinda like a rice krispy treat with chocolate. both low in fat and good snacks