Just wondering if anyone has found ways to replace things they love with healthier substitutes.

I love Peanut butter, but it's not worth fitting into my plan for the amount I can have. Someone mentioned PB2 on a thread and I decided to order some and I love the stuff!

I get Vitatops to take care of my chocolate cravings.

I'd love some more ideas on replacements people use. The wider my range of acceptable foods the easier it is to stay on plan in the long run. =)

I eat Skinnycow truffle ice cream bars to kick my sweet tooth (the french vanilla are the bomb) and they are 100 calories.

I eat Flatout bread to make pizzas instead of the regular tortilla wraps which sometimes have 220 calories per tortilla (Flatout lite-italians only have 90).

I use all-natural peanut butter right now, so I am used to the no-sugar taste of it. Does PB2 taste like natural peanut butter? Is the consistency the same? I'm a big texture person, so I'm kind of hesitant to try it...

The consistency of PB2 is not the same, but it is AMAZING in protein shakes and to sprinkle over oatmeal, etc.

Also... I replace milk with almond milk (40cals a cup)!

I've replaced ice cream with making my own version:

1-2 cups frozen fruit (strawberries, peaches blueberries, black berries - mix and match)
1/2 c. Soy milk (regular milk will totally work too)
sweetener of choice (I use Stevia in the Raw, about 1/4 cup)
1/2 tsp vanilla or coconut extract
pinch of salt (really brings out the fruit flavor)

Place everything in a food processor . Blend until combined and eat! This makes a huge double helping of ice cream (2 cups worth!!) for under 200 calories!

I also do this same process with what I call Pumpkin Pice Cream - prefreeze pumpkin puree in an ice cube tray. Add cinnamon, ginger and cloves to the rest of the ingredients and blend. This is amazing if you like pumpkin pie!

IMHO, I'm not a big fan on too many "replacement" foods. It is my belief that they simply make you crave the REAL STUFF more and lead to binging! Maybe just eating less of the version may be all that is needed? It would certainly be easier to stick to in the long run. Just my take though.

Besides those already posted, and I use all of them, I use the following:

• Shirtaki noodles (tofu)
• Boca crumbles
• Land O' Lakes light butter (50 calories compared to 100 with regular)
• Simply Scrumptous donuts
• Egg substitute
• Spaghetti squash

I know there's more cause I'm totally a substituter so when I think of them, I'll add them to the list.

I don't find this to be the case at all. I guess if I was substituting one Hersey kiss for a large slice of chocolate cake to satisfy a chocolate craving, that would be a problem. But the substitutions I use are within inches on flavors. I can barely, if at all, tell the difference in taste while getting to eat a lot more for the same or less calories. I works great for me.

Oh yes, I definitely agree with you on the healthier substitutions when COOKING and all the wonderful ways to reduce fat/calories while maintaining taste and consistency (have you seen my food thread lately?)!

What I was referring to is all the "fake" substitutions out there. I used to eat fake chocolate, fake cheese, fake meat, etc., etc. All that eventually did for me is cause me to either OVEREAT the fake stuff and MISS the real stuff so that when I finally had something REAL...I went nutz!

I've tried "fake" foods so I know what you mean Joyful. =)

I gotta say that ice cream idea sounds awesome, I'm definitely going to have to try that.

Manders, I tried the Shirtaki noodles and really didn't enjoy them. I love spaghetti squash though.

LLBold, I make a fruit dip with PB2. It's 2T of PB2, 1T of Cream Cheese, 1T of water and a pack of no calorie sweetener. It is so yummy! I have it with an apple almost everyday.

My ice cream replacement is frozen mashed ripe bananas. Seriously. One ingredient. Once they are pretty ripe, mix them in a food processor or blender until creamy and freeze. Delicious. I haven't eaten ice cream since I discovered this

I actually have a very good tolerance of "fake" foods/substitutions. I hardly ever miss the taste/texture of the real stuff. It means I eat lower quality foods/tastes sometimes, but I'm just not picky about it. I like PB2, I like all the fat free or low fat or sugar free variations of just about everything. I mean maybe if I was doing a taste one then taste the other comparison, I'd prefer the "real" thing, but for the most part, the substitutions satisfy me just fine.

- I like PB2 well enough. I hardly ever eat it (nor regular PB), but it definitely gets the job done when I want peanut butter.
- I like fat free mayo, dressing, cottage cheese, "cheese" slices, etc. I do love melty goodness of real cheese, but I'd rather have the fat free "cheese" slices than deal with the calories of real cheese.
- I can make a super yummy mocha ice coffee for about 50 calories with a bit of splenda, sugar free choco syrup, and a bit of skim milk. I'll never want another Starbucks coffee again because I can make one that I enjoy just as much with much less calories.
- I have 100% honestly come to prefer the texture/taste of spaghetti squash over pasta. I still like pasta, and sp squash is definitely different than pasta, but I prefer the slight crunch of the squash.
- I absolutely prefer diet sodas over regular sodas (though I rarely drink either).
- This isn't really a substitution, but I get 40-calorie wheat bread and enjoy sandwiches just as much on regular bread.

I do subject myself to eating more processed food and artificially flavored stuff by eating these "fake" substitutions. Like my fat free processed "cheese food" singles, haha. But I consider myself to be lucky to be so satisfied with these substitutions. And I haven't ever found that I need to overeat the fakes because I crave the real stuff (I overeat for other reasons, but that's not one of them). On the contrary, I'd MUCH rather have a larger amount of the "fake" food and more frequently than a tiny bit of the real stuff. That would just be torture and leave me hungry, lol.

Gotcha! I haven't had fake chocolate or cheese but I do use Boca a lot and really enjoy it. I was on a kick for a long time of having meatballs with my pasta but before that, it was always just marinara. I grew up in a non-meat sauce house. So I don't really have much to compare that too. But like the taste, nutritional and texture value adding them to my sauce gives me. I have used their breakfast "sausage" before and thought it was good but that I didn't feel compared to real. However, I was eating it before my Saturday morning workouts for protein not taste so the fact that it wasn't great didn't bother me.

I've found how I prepare them makes a difference. HG has a good stroganoff recipe with them that I've had a couple of times. I really like the angel hair in my stir fry. I used the fettuccine in it last time and that was a bit too much for me. I don't eat them just straight with marinara. I think I probably wouldn't enjoy that at all.

I just discovered spaghetti squash and am LOVING it!

PS Going to try your fruit dip! Sounds way yummy and I just got my first jar of PB2 so looking for ways to use it.

Someone already mentioned spaghetti squash! It's so good, and I like it better than regular noodles! Also, I use cabbage as a replacement for lasagna noodles. It sounds weird, but believe me it is delicious and cuts soooo many of those calories. I just boil it until it is a clear green color, press in between two paper towels for about 10 mins and use! Usually, less than 1/2 a head of cabbage with make a good sized lasagna.

For those of you who like the fake meat, I came across these recipes that I plan to try this weekend.

Ground "Meat"

2 cups brown rice
2 cups green lentils
optional--1 tsp salt** I added salt because I used a homemade Montreal steak seasoning without salt--cook first and add salt as needed later on in the process
2 TBSP Montreal Steak Seasoning
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 cup oatmeal
1/4 olive oil
1/2 cup high gluten flour

boil the rice, lentils, salt(if using) and seasonings in water to cover by 2 inches
bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer
cook until the rice and lentils are almost tender, I cooked them about 20-25 minutes
remove from heat, pour off any excess water, there wasn't any left in mine
add the oatmeal, olive oil and the flour, combine well
turn into a baking dish
bake for 1 hour at 300˚ stirring every 15 minutes or so


Gluten Free Ground "Meat"

2 C Brown rice
2 C Green lentils
2 Tbsp. Montreal steak seasoning
1 tsp salt** optional see note
1 tsp smoked paprika
1/4 C olive oil
1/4 C diced sauteed or marinated mushrooms
1/4 C mashed potatoes
1 C rolled oats
boil the rice, lentils, salt and seasonings in water to cover by 2 inches
bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer

cook until the rice and lentils are almost tender, I cooked them about 20-25 minutes
remove from heat, pour off any excess water, there wasn't any left in mine
add the olive oil, mushrooms and mashed potatoes, combine well
turn into a baking dish
bake for 1 hour at 300˚ stirring every 15 minutes or so

Divide into four meals, freeze or refrigerate the packages.

Hey...has anyone else seen the commerical where the little kid asked, "Mom...where does non-dairy creamer come from?" and then they show a cardboard cow falling over in a field with some dude pretending to milk it? aaahahahahahahaha!