At Fool Yourself Fit we firmly believe that diets don’t work. One reason diets don’t work is because they focus on eliminating foods and restricting what and how much you are allowed to eat. Studies continue to show that deprivation – and a “diet” mindset – won’t help you lose weight. In fact, eliminating certain foods only makes you want them more! When you deny yourself the food you love you feel desperate, depressed, and frustrated.

Denying yourself your favorite foods for too long will often end in a binge because let’s face it – nobody wants to live a life without the foods that makes them happy. After you inevitably break your “diet” and eat something that has been off-limits, not only do you feel like you failed, you also feel guilty! Life is hard enough without the punishment of a diet. You deserve a treat! Well guess what? You can indulge without the guilt! You don’t have to give up your favorite foods to lose weight! Nothing is off-limits with…smart substitutions!

Absolutely any recipe can be made healthy with smart substitutions! When it comes to your favorite foods, don’t think in terms of eliminating things that are unhealthy, rather, think of ways to make them healthier. It’s easy to substitute unhealthy ingredients and unhealthy cooking methods with healthier ones. Here’s how you do it:

Review the current recipe. Look at the ingredients and the cooking method. Replace full-fat, refined, or calorie-laden ingredients with healthy counterparts. For example, replace whole milk with skim milk, bacon with turkey bacon, ground beef with 99% fat free ground white chicken or turkey, ice cream with frozen yogurt, fried chips with baked chips, cream cheese with fat free cream cheese, potatoes with cauliflower, lasagna noodles with sliced eggplant, oil with applesauce, regular pasta with whole wheat pasta, white wraps with wheat wraps, mayonnaise with mustard, eggs with egg substitute, chocolate with coco powder, sour cream with yogurt, and the list goes on for eternity. Remember – every single ingredient has a healthy substitute – sometimes you just need to be creative to come up with them!

Once you’ve gone through the ingredient list and have decided on your substitutions. Turn your attention to the cooking method. If the directions ask you to fry something, you can bake it instead. Simply dip the ingredient in egg whites or egg substitute, coat it in some whole wheat breadcrumbs or a crushed high fiber cereal, and bake it in the oven. If a recipe wants you to butter or oil to grease a pan, try quick sprits of nonstick cooking spray instead and you’ll cut out a ton of fat and calories. Steam your veggies when you can, less is more when it comes to cooking times and retaining nutrients. Here’s a big tip – trim the fat off of every single morsel of the meat you love to eat and you’ll really see a difference on the scale. Herbs and spices are great replacements for fat. Here’s one more tip to get you started - turn on your grill more often! Grilling meat and veggies requires no fat and little clean up when you’re done!

Remember – recipes are guidelines, not commandments. Take your favorite recipes and have fun playing around with them. Challenge yourself to make your comfort foods into healthy indulgences! The next time you’re craving a sweet, make it yourself and turn it into a healthy one! You can make all your favorite treats - from cookies to casseroles - taste sinful but be guiltless.