To Indulge, Or Not To Indulge?

I try to eat as ‘clean’ as possible, but I have a killer sweet tooth that really tries my willpower. This week I came across a recipe for “healthy” chocolate muffins. I thought that this would be a great solution to satisfy my intense chocolate cravings. Each muffin was 58 calories, and the recipe said they were low fat, low sugar and delicious!

WRONG! I took my first bite and very quickly realized that trying to outsmart your cravings with healthier substitutes doesn’t always work when it comes to sweets and treats. The muffins were rubbery and had a terrible “natural sugar substitute” aftertaste. Yuck.

Now, I will admit I am not a master baker, but I feel like they would have tasted terrible regardless of my baking skills. Just to be clear, I am ALL for eating clean and healthy. I love to substitute and add healthier ingredients like veggies and fruit in recipes and often try to make my food more nutritious. But this doesn’t seem to workout in the dessert department, or really any food you might consider to be “junk food.”

I’ve come to realize that if I am going to give into a craving, I am going with the real deal - IN MODERATION! There is nothing worse than trying to satisfy a craving with a mediocre alternative because you end up still craving that special treat.

So, I have made the decision to indulge. Now, I am not advocating going out and eating a giant sundae, or getting an extra large cupcake. What I am saying is if I’m craving ice cream, I will get a kiddy scoop of the real thing instead of eating the frozen soy alternative. If I want a cupcake, I will get a mini and not a jumbo, or go halfsies with a friend.  I will be true to my cravings when I cannot fight them, but I will also be aware of what I eat and how much I eat.

Ideally, we could cut out all sugary, salty and fatty foods and NEVER crave them again, but that’s unrealistic for most people. So I say if you want it, go for it! But, be smart about it.