Good sub for chocolate cake?
 

I have been insanely craving a good slice of fudgy chocolate cake this whole week. It's driving me bonkers- seriously, I'm trying to replace this craving with other things- 3tbsp chocolate chips, or a packet of hot cocoa powder... not even coming close to satisfying a morsel of this craving.

I'm certain the slice of cake I want is probably about 1,000 calories per slice, and that's lowballing the figure. I want it, and I want it badly...

On the way home tonight I said "screw it, we're stopping by the store, they sell cake slices and I'm getting one." It took reasoning with myself, saying "I deserve this, it's been a long week, this is fine, I'm sure I'll walk around enough" until we got to the parking lot and I told my husband, "NO. I worked too hard this week to throw it away on some cheap piece of flavorless grocery store cake, let's just drive home."

So we did. Big NSV there- telling myself no! But... I am still physically craving that fudgy sweetness. I don't know what to do. Is there anything that could replace this? I can't think of anything (and believe me, baking is my hobby, I KNOW my desserts!) that would replace this and satisfy my craving.

eta: Ah here it is, nutrition value for the WHOLE cake, which is HUGE:

Costco American Chocolate Cake (note: this means we'd have to buy the whole thing, but I'm comparing it to a slice of cake I could get at a local restaurant that has something very similar. I think they cut their cakes into 8ths, maybe 10ths, and they're just as big as this one.)

Cals for whole cake- 12,544
fat: 560g
carbs: 1904g
protein: 112g
sodium: 12,096


See my dilemma? Even they cut it into 10ths and I split it with my hubby, that's still a 600-calorie slice of cake!! A third of my daily budget!! AGH! What do I do? I don't get cravings often, and I don't deal with them well. This is so hard to self-control!

I know what you mean, when you are craving a certain taste combined with a certain texture, it is hard to duplicate that by simply taking a hit off the bottle of chocolate syrup hidden in the back of the refrigerator.

Yes! (And I tried that too... to no avail.) I'm wasting a lot of calories substituting for other things that aren't satisfying this.

I mean, is it worth it to just go waste a third of my calories (or more) on a slice of cake? Am I just going to want more? It's such a struggle between trying to guess what my body really wants (come on, I don't think chocolate is a macronutrient I'm depriving my body of. Well I do think it, but logically know it's not) or am I just being tormented by old habits? Or is it okay to indulge and trust my body? Or not...? This shouldn't be an issue! I should be satisfied by sugar free chocolate pudding or those horrific black bean brownies I made... but I'm not.

These aren't exact substitutes (at all), but they might be worth a try: Vitalicious muffin top in chocolate, or a batch of No Pudge brownies. You'll get more nutrition-wise out of the Vitalicious (very high in fiber) for your 100 calories and they're cakey with a few chocolate chips in them, but they aren't fudgey. The brownies will be very fudgey and a little higher in calories (make them with fat-free yogurt), but won't be cakey. It sounds kind of odd, lol, but what about trying them together? The muffin top topped with a thinly spread brownie (the No Pudge ones are so sticky, they could definitely substitute as a kind of rich, thick gooey frosting). Less than half the calories of a slice of that cake, so it might be worth a shot.

But, if you're really, really craving THAT cake, I say just go for it. Plan your daily calories around it, and allow yourself one slice to satisfy that craving. I think it's perfectly normal to not be satisfied by sugar-free pudding or black bean brownies when you're really craving something you enjoy, and it's not abnormal to want to treat yourself once in a while to something you really love. As long as those treats are occasional and you can keep your intake of the treat moderate, it's not going to do any harm. :)

What about a healthy version of brownies instead?

Do you have a good recipe? The ones I've tried are terrible!

logordita; that's exactly what I was going to write! I don't have any recipes, but I was thinking, maybe there is some kind of diet brownie that somebody makes, somewhere. But it would probably be just as easy to make your own.

what about a chocolate cupcake instead? they're smaller and less calorie dense!

Oh great thanks a lot, now the only thing I can think of is chocolate cake.

I never allow a full cake or pie in my house. I know I can't resist. I will, however, have one slice at a restaurant or if a guest at someones home for dinner. That way there are no seconds and the craving is satisfied ( well, sort of ). You did good by resisting !

Make your own. Homemade cakes are often WAY lower in calories than storebought ones. I just searched for chocolate cake on All Recipes and found this one that looks delicious, and is only 332 calories per serving: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/best-mo...ke/detail.aspx

Another thought is do some tweaking to a more "unvirtuous" cake. Substitute mashed bananas for oil (or at least half of the oil), whole wheat flour for regular flour. Usually you can also cut the butter in half (if it calls for butter)- cakes rarely need that much butter. Cut the sugar by 25%, or 50% and add sugar substitute.

Sometimes just eating a little bit (half of a slice or 1 slice) of the craved food helps me if I can fit it into my calorie limit. I don't know if you have wiggle room in your eating plan but sometimes I eat way more calories trying to completely avoid the food rather than making a place for it either that day or the next.

yep, totally agree. Trying to "eat around" a craving just adds calories without satisfying the craving.

savor a very small portion (not even a 1/2 slice if it's that rich/high calorie) - a few bites should be very satisfying when something is that rich. Then TOSS the rest down the disposal or in the trash with dish soap on it.

Deep Chocolate Vitatop. Open the end of the packet and put in microwave, 30 seconds, and let set in the packet for another 20 seconds or so. It comes out like a super moist, very chocolaty, warm cake. 100 calories plus lots of vitamins and fiber.

What I do is plan a day to have it. Okay, so when I was losing my butt ugly weight there where times when I wanted sugary stuff really really badly. Fake subs only kept the cravings going. Kind of like drinking light beer instead of a Baileys Irish cream over ice. Drink enough light beers and you will eventually break down and have a 500 calorie Bailey's, (or consume that many calories in light beer to try to ease it.) You still end up consuming a boat load of empty calories.

So, anyway, when I wanted sweets I would bargain with myself. "Okay". I'd tell myself, "on the 4th of July (or some special day) I'll plan to have cake. I will save a few calories every day, and by that day I'll eat the biggest slice I want with no guilt."

What usually ended up happening is, in the time frame I gave myself, I'd have a big whoosh in weight loss, I was more driven than ever, and by the time of the planned event came, I no longer wanted it. In my humble opinion a Friday afternoon is just not a special enough reason to splurge, but a National holiday is...lol :)