This is a question I often get asked by my clients.

“I get a sweet craving that I just can’t budge. The more I try to ignore it the bigger it gets. What should I do? Are there healthy sweet options I could use?”

Yes, there are! Here are some Healthy Treats Recipes and guilt-free snacks.

Well here are a few. Find one that hits the spot so you can move through the danger zone without losing momentum for healthy eating.

• Herbal tea with a little honey and cinnamon
• 2-3 squares of 70 or 85% cocoa dark Lindt chocolate
• Healthy Chai Latte – rooibos chai or dandelion chai or chai spice mix with warm almond milk, ground cinnamon, vanilla and dash of honey. Hits the sweet spot craving
• Raw chocolate mousse. Click here for recipe
• Healthy Hot Chocolate. Click here for recipe
• 6 cut up strawberries with 1 tablespoon Homemade Nutella. Click here for recipe
• 1-2 fresh dates filled with almond butter and raw nuts
• 1 cup of warmed or fresh berries with a sprinkle of ground cinnamon, dash of raw cacao powder and coconut.
• 1 bliss ball
• Cinnamon bananas – sauté 1/2 sliced banana with ground cinnamon, maple syrup and ghee in a pan. Top with mixed nuts or shredded coconut.
• Raw pecans, almonds or walnuts sprinkled with ground cinnamon and coconut.

Sugars to steer clear of –

• artificial sweeteners such as Aspartame which accelerates abdominal obesity and damages brain cells via excitotoxins. Stevia is a much better option.
• high fructose corn syrup (55% fructose) & agave syrup (65-90% fructose) – reduces Leptin levels so more likely to distort hunger levels leading to binge eating. Better option is coconut nectar – low GI, low fructose, contains amino acids & minerals.

Hope this gives you some ideas to get you out of trouble when sugar cravings hit.

“Snacking in itself isn’t a bad thing,” says Elaine Magee, PhD, RD, author of numerous nutrition books, including Someone’s in the Kitchen With Mommy and The Good News Eating Plan for Type II Diabetes.