Yes, it is no longer the month of discount Valentine’s Day chocolate, and yes, summer is rapidly approaching, and yes, over-indulging in sweets in not exactly recommended by your doctor, but sometimes it’s just impossible to resist dessert.
Maybe yesterday you were ready to take on the world after a yummy egg white omelet and turkey spinach wrap, but don’t feel bad about satisfying that sweet tooth (or teeth) today. You don’t have to completely ruin your clean-eating streak or feel bloated for the rest of the day -- there are a few simple ways to feel better about what you’re putting into your body, simply by substituting a couple of ingredients. But instead of going for that same old boxed brownie mix or tub of cookie dough, switch it up, and try some new delicious chocolatefied recipes.
Skinny Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins
Make some fun muffins! This is a great recipe to start out with if you’re not sure if you’re ready to start improvising your own recipes. It already includes most of the healthy alternatives and substitutes that don’t detract from the tastiness. For example, these muffins include bananas -- simply adding a mashed up banana or something similar, such as sweet potato or pumpkin, is a great easy way to make a treat healthier.
Another simple thing to do to make your food better for you without taking away from the taste is switching out your normal flour for whole-wheat, and the oil and/or butter for coconut or olive oil. This recipe also includes Greek yogurt to keep the moisture without detracting from the end result. Applesauce is another great alternative if you don’t have any yogurt on hand. Honey and agave nectar are some better-for-you substitutes for sugar -- this recipe uses honey, but if you wanted to use agave nectar, you’d want to use a little less than the recipe states, since it’s a bit sweeter than honey.
Healthy Chocolate Cake Oatmeal
Oatmeal is always one of the best options for breakfast and the best part is that it’s so customizable! You can make it hot or cold (A.K.A. overnight oats) and add whatever you want to please your palate. This recipe is all about the chocolate, but you can add more ingredients, such as nuts or coconut, if you so desire.
Zucchini Brownies
I know what you’re thinking -- zucchini does not sound compatible with brownies. Honestly though, you can’t tell. The zucchini mostly just makes sure the brownies stay soft and there is still a lot of chocolate in the brownies (uh yum!). This recipe already includes a couple of substitutes, such as peanut flour and coconut oil, but you can also use whole-wheat flour or olive oil. It also calls for a natural granulated sweetener -- I’d recommend coconut sugar if you’re willing to try it. If you’re looking to experiment even more, try using honey for the sweetener (don’t forget to decrease the amount of the rest of the liquid ingredients so the batter isn’t runny) or use more coconut oil in place of the butter. I’m not sure how those substitutes would affect the consistency, but if you’re willing to have a bit of fun trying something new, it’s worth a shot!
Double Chocolate Chip Raspberry Scones
OK, so these aren’t the healthiest, but you can still utilize the substitutes I’ve previously mentioned (such as coconut oil and whole-wheat flour) to make it slightly better for you. Also, these scrumptious scones include raspberries, which brings me to another idea -- add berries to just about anything for some sweetness without processed sugar! Not just scones; drop a handful in your muffin mix, add a twist on a classic birthday cake, mix them in your oatmeal, or swirl some into cookie batter.
…However, this is a lot of big talk for a college student writing to other college students. Sometimes you just want sugar, plain and simple.
So for those days when the cravings hit, but you’re not up for any kind of healthy, try these next couple of fun, chock full of chocolate recipes:
Chocolate Peanut Butter Crunch Trifles
Braided Nutella Bread
Bailey’s Chocolate Mousse
(because liquor, dude.)
Frozen Hot Chocolate
No-Bake Chocolate Oreo Tart
OR, another option: just grab a Cadbury egg or a Reese’s, make a quick s'more, dip some strawberries in chocolate, get yourself a big ol’ slice of that beautiful chocolate cake. Sometimes you just don’t have time to bake. Actually sometimes, it’s hard to do much more than binge-watch Netflix and sleep.
