Written By: Emma Squillace
Even though we’ve made it through holidays, there’s still plenty of winter left. Many winter dishes and flavors are warm, hearty, high-calorie comfort foods. But if you plan ahead and stock your kitchen well, you can enjoy the satisfying flavors of winter without the damage to your diet.
Mint chocolate
From Girl Scout cookies to peppermint mochas, the combination of chocolate and mint is one we see a lot. Although many of these options are diet-breakers, Trader Joes now sells a chocolate mint tea that can help satisfy cravings. The tea is made with real mint and cocoa shells, and a light taste. Its smell is strong chocolate and mint, so having a quiet break with this warm drink can give you the same peaceful feelings of high calorie comfort food.
Apple cinnamon
Apple pie is one of the ultimate fresh-from-the-oven desserts. If you’re craving this flavor combination, buy some unsweetened applesauce. Motts has a good option that has just 50 calories in a cup. If you heat the applesauce gently in a pan or microwave, and top it with cinnamon, your kitchen will smell great. Crumble half a graham cracker on top of the treat to bring in elements of pie crust, and you’ll be set with a dessert that your whole family will feel good about.
Salted caramel
Salted caramel is one of the newest winter flavor trends. While salted caramel pudding, lattes, and sauces can add hundreds of calories to your day, there’s a way to enjoy this flavor and stay diet-friendly. If ice cream fits into your winter wish-list foods, try Halo Top Ice Cream’s Sea Salt Caramel flavor. This ice cream has 80 calories per serving, compared to Haagen-Dazs with 250 calories for the same size serving.
Cranberry walnut
Cranberry walnut is a bright, rich winter flavor combination, but between the sugar content of the dried fruit and the fat of the nuts, the calories can add up quickly. Instead of having cran-walnut cookies, or handfuls of trail mix, use them as a topper for greek yogurt. Unsweetened greek yogurt is one of the best snack foods because of its high protein and low sugar. Take a few walnuts and cut them into small pieces. Do the same with a tablespoon of dried cranberries. Both snack foods have high flavor, so a little will go a long way. Add the chopped topping to your yogurt and you can enjoy these winter flavors while sticking to your healthy food choices. And since the fat in walnuts is a healthy one, that counts as a diet-bonus also.
If you’re working on losing weight, finding ways to get the flavors you want without the extra calories can help. Small changes add up over time, and can equal pounds lost every month. However, if you’re trying to lose over 30 pounds, diet and exercise is often not enough. If you’re interested in learning about surgical and non-surgical ways to boost your weight loss efforts, talk to our experts at West Medical. You can reach our team at 855-690-0565.