Hi people! If you are anything like me, sometimes you want a particular kind of food, and you get a little cranky without it. For me, I crave chocolate, chinese food, and mexican food. Here are 3 fixes that get me through it:

Chocolate: Trader Joe's Very Chocolate Mini Meringues. They are about twice the size of a hershey's kiss, and you can have 13 of them for 110 cals! That's only 8.5 cals a piece! (kisses are about 25).

Mexican: Progresso's Southwestern-Style Vegetable 0 pt. Soup! It smells like an enchilada, and you can have the whole can for 120 cals!

Chinese: I buy Kikkoman's Broccoli Beef stir-fry seasoning mix and some fresh broccoli. Take 4 cups of fresh broc., sautee for 3-5 mins with a little water, mix 1/2 the pkg of seasoning with 1/3 cup water, add to the broc., and saute for a few more mins as the sauce thickens up a bit. Don't use any oil, like the package says! All of that is just 130 cals. For a delicious meal, add sugar snap peas, sliced onion, and water chestnuts to the mix.

I hope this helps some people out! You can have yummy foods, you just have to find the right ones!!!

Here are more ideas on how to indulge cravings:

Chocolate:

1 oz. of Bellagio Sipping Chocolate
1 cup of heated skim milk
add instant espresso, some vanilla flavoring and/or chili pepper to taste ... all help bring out the flavor of the cholocate
Top with Light Whipped cream (optional)
Calories w/out whipped cream is around 180. Calories with about an ounce of light whipped cream is around 230-250. Sip it slowly and enjoy the very rich cholcoate flavor ... much more flavor than regular hot chocolate

Dessert/anything sweet:

Get a single serving of sugar free strawberry jello and top with some light whipped cream OR dump jello into a bowl, add fresh strawberries and top with light whipped cream. Calories are approximately 60-100 depending on how much whipped cream you use.

Avocados: Hearty Dinner Salad (Meant to be your entire meal) w/out any dressing

Mixed Baby Greens or Romain (2-3 cups)
1/2 cup of tomatoes (diced, cherry or grap)
Half or whole Haas avocado diced
1 ounce Feta or Blue Cheese (optional)
Top with fresh ground black pepper and lemon juice (optional)
Calories w/ whole avocado and 1 ounce of cheese = approximately 425-450 calories. Yes avocados are fattening but it is full of good fat. I have incorporated them successfully into my diet. You won't miss the dressing with this salad.

I came across a recipe for baked egg rolls and modified it to omit the seafood. Much lower calorie and sodium than the fried version from your local chinese restaurant. Great with brown rice. I dip them in light ginger sesame dressing! Could also be modifed to be vegetarian...ENJOY!

Ingredients
1 tbsp. sesame oil
16 oz. bag of coleslaw mix
4 green onions, chopped (and/or edamame for added protein)
1 1/2 cup bean sprouts
1/3 cup chicken broth
1 tbsp. rice vinegar
2 tbsp. soy sauce
8.5 oz. chicken (about ½ lb cooked)
1 tbsp. cornstarch
Minced garlic (to taste)
Grated ginger (to taste)
Sesame seeds (optional)
20 egg roll wrappers


Directions
1. Preheat oven to 400 F.
2. Heat oil in a wok or large pan over medium-high heat. Add coleslaw, green onions, bean sprouts, chicken broth, soy sauce, and chicken. Stir-fry for about 2 minutes, until cabbage is wilted. Mix cornstarch with 1 tbsp. cold water and add. Stir for about 1 minute, until sauce is thickened. Drain excess liquid and let cool. Add sesame seeds to mixture (optional).
3. Spray a cookie sheet with cooking spray. Place 1/4 cup of the mixture on the middle of an eggroll wrapper, turned like a diamond.
4. Fold the bottom corner up, over the filling. Fold in the two sides, then roll upwards. Put a dab of water on the corner to help it stick. Place on the pan seam down.
5. Repeat until you run out of the mixture, about 20 rolls. Eggrolls can be close, but not touching. Brush with olive oil or spray with olive oil cooking spray and bake for 15 minutes, until golden brown. Serve with sweet & sour sauce or light sesame ginger dressing.

Notes:
These make *great* leftovers, warmed or cold. The wrapper becomes a little softer, and more like a fried eggroll. So, if you don't care for the crispy texture of the baked eggrolls, try them again the next day!
Also a great recipe to cook with the kids. Have everyone try wrapping a roll! Create a little assembly line and have them measure out the mixture as you wrap.

Nutritional Info w/o edamame.

Nutrition Facts

20 Servings

Amount Per Serving

Calories129.3 Total Fat1.4 g Saturated Fat0.2 g Polyunsaturated Fat0.6 g Monounsaturated Fat0.4 g Cholesterol9.9 mg Sodium328.5 mg Potassium137.7 mg Total Carbohydrate22.0 g Dietary Fiber1.4 g Sugars1.1 g Protein6.8 g Vitamin A21.0 % Vitamin B-121.0 % Vitamin B-65.4 % Vitamin C9.6 % Vitamin D0.0 % Vitamin E0.7 % Calcium2.9 % Copper3.4 % Folate9.5 % Iron7.6 % Magnesium3.6 % Manganese13.2 % Niacin16.8 % Pantothenic Acid 1.6 % Phosphorus 6.2 % Riboflavin8.8 % Selenium16.4 % Thiamin12.6 % Zinc2.7 %

*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.

These are some great ideas! Thanks.

Ya know...I've got to meander my way over to Trader Joes one day and get some of their goodies and other food stuff.

Miss Meringue also makes the same mini meringue cookies in chocolate, vanilla, or rainbow vanilla flavors. I found mine at Food Lion. Yum yum!