Most of us ladies are guilty of craving junk food, even if we don’t like to admit it. And while we say we can live without it, we always end up craving junk food at some point or another.
I’m the first one to admit I love junk food. Even though I’m completely aware that it’s not good for me, I crave it and just can’t live without it some days.
While I believe it’s smart to live a healthy lifestyle, I also believe that life is made for enjoyment, and food is a part of that delicious life. Let’s be serious: if you deprive yourself of something, you’re only going to want it more and you’ll probably end up binging on it at some point.
So how do us ladies, who insist on indulgences, reach a happy medium that allows us to indulge in the naughty foods we love while still maintaining our healthy lifestyles?
Easy. We make our favorite junk foods ourselves!
Now, even though these recipes are healthier, they are still indulgences, meaning you probably shouldn’t eat them every day.
So with that being said, let’s indulge!
We All Scream For Ice Cream
Now maybe it’s just my girlfriends and I, but I don’t know one female who hasn’t craved a big scoop of creamy ice cream here and there. It’s a sweet little treat that just hits the spot.
However, if you eat it often enough it can definitely pack the pounds on.
So when I’m craving that irresistible cold, creamy treat, I whip this cheap and easy recipe together.
To start, make sure you have a large ziplock bag and a smaller ziplock bag.
Using the smaller bag, mix together 1/2 cup of milk, 1 tablespoon of sugar, and a half teaspoon of vanilla extract.
Once that is all mixed together, fill your large ziplock bag with crushed ice and around 6 tablespoons of coarse salt. If you can’t find rock salt, regular table salt will work.
Place your small sealed ziplock bag into the larger bag. Seal the large bag and shake it for around 10 minutes or until your milk mixture turns to ice cream.
Finally, take your ice cream out of your ziplock bag and dress it with your favorite chopped fruits, nuts or even some dark chocolate chips.
And there you have it! Your very own homemade ice cream that is not only a healthier version, but is also much cheaper than buying it from the store.
But what if your cravings are more of the salty variety? Don’t fret, I’ve got you covered.
Goodbye Potato Chips, Hello Kale Chips
Not one week goes by that I don’t crave chips. And while I would love to give in and snack every time I have a hankering for potato chips, lately I’ve been saving myself the calories and making my own kale chips!
You see, not only is kale extremely good for you, but it also crisps up in the oven just like potato chips. So you won’t even miss the crunch!
To get started making your kale chips, wash a bunch of organic kale (which you can find at any local grocer) and cut the stems off. Then, cut the leaves into slices that are just a bit bigger than regular chip size.
Put your kale in a large container and add around 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, 1/4 teaspoon of cayenne pepper, andsea salt and garlic powder to taste.
If you’re feeling other spices, don’t be afraid to add them in, creativity is key here.
While you’re mixing up your kale chips, preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Shake your kale and spices together, and pour your mixture onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
You’ll probably have more kale than your baking sheet can hold but don’t worry, it will shrink down drastically and will all fit on within a few minutes.
Put your kale in the oven and bake it for about 7 minutes. After that 7 minutes, take it out of the oven, shake it around and put it back in for another 5 minutes or so, making sure to keep your eye on it so the kale doesn’t burn.
Once you are satisfied with the crispiness, take them out of the oven. Let them cool for about 2 minutes, and you will have a healthy alternative to unhealthy potato chips using a powerful superfood.
Sweet Potato Fries Are The New French Fries
I cannot describe how much I love french fries. I love their salty, fried goodness but what I don’t love is what they do to my waistline.
So how do I combat this hard-to-resist craving? With sweet potatoes and parchment paper, of course!
It’s really easy. Just get yourself a sweet potato, cut it into pieces about the size of french fries and add them to a big container. Just like you did with the kale chips, add a few tablespoons of oil, 1/2 teaspoon of cayenne pepper to get your metabolism going, some sea salt and garlic powder to taste. Top it off with a few dashes of black pepper.
Preheat your oven to 425 and mix the sweet potato fries and spices together and then evenly space them out on your parchment paper so they bake evenly.
Let your fries cook for about 20 minutes on each side, taking them out only to flip them over, and in 35-40 minutes you will have healthy french fries that taste just as good but have a fraction of the fat and calories. Now that is my kind of fry.
So next time you’re suffering from cravings that are just too hard to ignore, give one of these recipes a try and save yourself some of those calories. Your waistline will thank you for it.
Vanessa is a lifestyle-blogging babe whose work can be found on various websites around cyberland including reviews on Wartamine, as well as other lifestyle brands. The biggest perk of her job? She gets to live her best life each and every day.
Excellent!
I am a kale-chip lover. They are so expensive in the food store, though. Making my own sounds like a fun, easy, and economical way to get my kale-fix.
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The ice cream sounds too good to be true. I will have to try this…but it doesn’t sound like it will work to me? I know it’s a small amount of milk. Is there really enough energy to turn it into ice cream?
I should try kale chips. I see them at Whole Foods all the time. They just look so…healthy. 🙂
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I do really like sweet potato fries, even if they aren’t quite a substitute for french fries for me. For one thing, I think it would be weird to dip them in ketchup.
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I wonder about the ice cream method, too. I waste a lot of ice cream (it gets all icy and gross in the freezer), so I’m intrigued by this method. I’ve always wondered what the purpose of rock salt is in ice cream recipes…
I think you add salt to drop the temperature of the food, Jennie. The salt interacts with the water molecules in a way that uses energy, and the energy is drawn from the surrounding air and milk mixture. It draws that energy in the form of heat,so the milk mixture actually drops in temperature. I should be enough to freeze, according to this recipe. *I think.* I hate chemistry.
Hmmm the kale chips sound interesting.
My daughter wasn’t feeling well yesterday and is home from school. I promised her we would make ice cream in the freezer. I love creamy vanilla. We’re going to make a few baggies. She has some hazelnut flavoring she wants to add.
Hope they turn out. I’ve only made home made ice cream in the electric buckets that do all the work. And, that was a long time ago.
Our ice cream was delicious! Of course, it’s really yummy crystallized Ice milk w/o the cream and eggs. My daughter said she suspected I used snow. I told her it made our own snow.
We made three triple batches with 1 1/2 cups of milk instead of the 1/2cup. So, it did take awhile for it to freeze. But once, it started freezing, it turned quick. We made menthe, vanilla and hazelnut. They were all so good. We have decided to always have a batch of vanilla going in the freezer.