How to replace those sweet cravings for healthy ones

Low fat diets are pretty hard to incorporate in our busy lifestyle these days. As a stay at home mom it is especially hard for me!!! After having my second child I was very disciplined for the past 2 1/2 years, but lately I find myself slipping. Now that my 2 year old can eat cookies, cakes, chips, chocolate, candy etc...(you get my point) it is very hard for me not to enjoy with them. I am sure you are thinking...as a nutritionist she is keeping these foods in her house and giving it to her kids. I believe these foods are ok, but in limitation. They do get their full of protein, vegetables and all the essentials. but I think they are entitled to a dessert now and then. My point being it is hard to constantly keep an eye on what you are eating and how much of it, but we must do it! We must control what type of snacks and how much we are munching on throughout the day.
In order to get an idea of what you are snacking daily, take a ziploc bag and instead of eating what you want put it in that bag. This will give you an idea of what you need to fix about your diet. Definitely do this because it will surprise you as how much snacking you are doing and on the wrong things. This will help you change your diet into a healthier one.

Now take what you have found in that bag and replace your sugar cravings with a piece of fruit or a vegetable. This the best low fat snack you can have. Plus replacing those munchies here and there with a piece of fruit will prevent you from grabbing something every 20 minutes or so. Sugary processed foods do not sustain your hunger for long, but fruits and vegetables provide a longer feeling of satiety. Anything with fiber will take your body longer to digest and will make you feel fuller for longer. Remember also to eat every 2-4 hours to prevent blood sugar from dropping too low and leading to overeating at your next meal or snack.

You can always have a bowl of fruit as a dessert if you are craving something sweet. To make that bowl of fruit even tastier add a little low fat whip cream with some dark chocolate chips on top. Dark chocolate chips are high in antioxidants and much healthier than milk chocolate. You should think of it in limitation though and not overdue the dark chocolate. It is healthy, but it has fat as well so too much cannot be healthy. But dark chocolate definitely satisfies that sweet tooth in a healthy way.

My favorite fruit bowl to have is apples, blueberries, and strawberries with some low fat whip cream and dark chocolate chips on top. This satisfies my sweet tooth and the fiber from the fruit helps me keep full until my next 2 hour feeding :)