Chocolate replacement, or what snacks taste good

[audreyh1]

Dark chocolate is actually good for you! But you'll need to cut way back on the quantity - more like 1 or 2 oz.

Audrey

 

[Linney]

Bananas are a high-glycemic fruit, just so people know..........

Oooo, I didn't know that either. Thanks for pointing it out. I guess that's why bananas are recommended for bicycling -- lots of quick energy plus potassium to ward off leg cramps, a great combo. When I think about food choices, I tend to think only about refined sugars BAD versus natural sugars GOOD and I really should be considering the glycemic level as well.

I did a web search and found that watermelon and raisins(!) are high-glycemic fruits as well. Who'd a guessed? Apples, pears, plums, cherries, even grapefruit is low. I should bookmark this information and keep it handy.

 

[Linney]

Also, to reply to the OP's question, I don't have a sugar/chococate craving issue. But my co-worker did, however, and he found success in the same way that others have recommended -- going cold turkey.

 

[TromboneAl]

mindless eating

One thing I've tried to do lately is not read while I eat. That is, I give full attention to enjoying the food. I realized that when reading, I might not even notice my food (e.g. where'd that cookie go?).

Can't say it's made any difference in eating less, but it still seems like a good idea.

 

[flipstress]

Here's a link to the glycemic index chart from the South Beach diet website:
http://www.southbeach-diet-plan.com/glycemicfoodchart.htm
Maybe you'd like the low GI fruits.

I like peanuts, macadamia nuts, low-fat part-skim mozzarella garlic cheese sticks, and granny smith apples with peanut butter.

...oh, and peanut M & M's...sorry--they still do have chocolate, but at least they're not pure chocolate.

 

[donheff]

Thought I would provide a follow up on this topic. I concluded that the only way to deal with my chocoholism was to go cold turkey, which I did - sorta. About 1 month ago I just stopped buying and (to a large extent) eating chocolate. I didn't absolutely refuse it - I would still grab a little if someone offered and I disposed of a couple of Christmas gifts. But I basically just quit. It was much easier than I anticipated. The change seems to have resulted in about a 4 pound drop in weight at which point I have leveled off.

To prove my assertion that I actually kicked, I have a big box of Hershey's with Almonds from Costco sitting in the freezer in the garage. I have not touched it in a month

 

[yakers]

Haa, you haven't done nothin, its still there calling to you, waiting for you....



No replacements for chocolate. We had a Mexico trip in December and liked the Cocoa, we found one as good as the best ones in Mexico, its at Cost Plus and is called Mexicocoa. Got the last one at the local store before Christmas and via a system wide stock check while in the local store, I bought the last 5 in southern California.


Must have chocolate.....

 

[cube_rat]

MMMMmmmmmmmmmmm, chocolate..........

 

[rs0460a]

Do you remember this "sweet stuff"?

http://www.mcall.com/entertainment/all-localfav0120jan20,0,2592845.story

- Ron

 

[donheff]

Haa, you haven't done nothin, its still there calling to you, waiting for you....

MMMMmmmmmmmmmmm, chocolate..........

Do you remember this "sweet stuff"?

Nah, nah, nah, nah, nah; I cahannn't hear you.

 

[lazygood4nothinbum]

yakers knows: there is no replacement for chocolate, not even manna from heaven. chocolate is what makes all the tribulations of living endurable.

how do you even know if you've finished a meal if it doesn't end with a little chocolate? if you think my sentences are annoying with no capital letters imagine if i never used a period you wouldn't know where one sentence started or where it ended it would be very annoying you would become frustrated but just a little dab of chocolate would make it all better. that's why we have chocolate kisses. it makes everything all better.

for 2 bucks i buy the dark chocolate chips in a bag. they have them in the baking section. they even look like a little period and it lets you know you've finished the meal. you don't have to eat a lot of them. just to experience chocolate. now that's living.

 

[marty]

Maybe this will help:

146 Reasons Why Sugar Is Ruining Your Health


http://rheumatic.org/sugar.htm

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Nah, nah, nah, nah, nah; I cahannn't hear you.

Can you hear this?

http://early-retirement.org/forums/index.php?topic=11586.0

Back to the topic though...I've tried pretty hard to keep sweets and sugary stuff away from my son, and it is AMAZING to see the difference in his behavior when I give him a piece of chocolate or a cup of pepsi. He's aggressive, acts wacky (well, wackier) and runs around like crazy. I think I see why some kids have behavioral problems.

Other than that, can I suggest a nice cup of hot chocolate with a pinch of chili powder, cinnamon and a dash of kahlua?

 

[lazygood4nothinbum]

yikes, what a reminder. my sil raised her kids on soda. after their first two at a restaurant they'd start acting up. i couldn't stand to eat out with them & normally i'd find an excuse to miss the occasion.

when i used to eat meat we sometimes did a kahlúa turkey that i remember everyone liked very much. this would not be going under the low-fat recipe catagory.

 

[Nords]

Back to the topic though...I've tried pretty hard to keep sweets and sugary stuff away from my son, and it is AMAZING to see the difference in his behavior when I give him a piece of chocolate or a cup of pepsi. He's aggressive, acts wacky (well, wackier) and runs around like crazy. I think I see why some kids have behavioral problems.

Probably hereditary...

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Yeah, he does share a lot of traits with his mother...

 

[spideyrdpd]

http://www.walgreens.com/store/product.jsp?CATID=304500&navAction=jump&navCount=0&id=prod1768987
these taste ok .

 

[newyorklady]

raw almonds and cashews. blueberries. i am a low carb kind of gal, so blueberries are a good fruit for that.

 

[Wheel]

I stumbled on a new (I think) product made by Hershey's--Snacksters. They are a 100 calorie pack of cereal puffs and both semi sweet and milk chocolate chips. I didn't know what to expect but was VERY pleasantly surprised. They are an awesome little chocolate fix for 100 calories, just enough to satisfy and not want more. There is also a Reese's peanut butter version that are pretty good--but I prefer the chocolate.

Found them at my local Sam's club. Always something new there.

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

just enough to satisfy and not want more

I saw those at sams. Figured I'd eat them 5-6 at a pop and if I didnt, my wife would (and then blame the dog).