Stunt Double!

When it comes to certain foods, they are tasty and delicious, but a silent saboteur when it comes to your diet. So, what's a NLA seeker to do? Call in a stunt double of course! This post will hopefully give you a few suggestions for things to eat when you're craving your tastiest comfort food. Of course, everything won't taste exactly the same, but in my experience, you won't miss the original. Look at it this way, are you really going to complain if you get a Boris Kodjoe look-a-like (or Halle Berry for the fellas)? No, you're not. You'll be too busy trying to formulate words that don't make you sound like a dumbazz. :). Now, for a few suggestions:

1. Substitute mashed or pureed cauliflower for mashed potatoes
Simply steam a head of cauliflower until very soft, and mash with flavor boosters like fat-free sour cream, chicken stock, salt and pepper. There are tons of recipes available. I was skeptical at first too, but give it a shot. It's an amazing trick for yoru mouth!

2. Substitute vegetarian sausage links for turkey, beef or pork breakfast links. Given all of the health reasons and overall fad of eating less red meat, vegetarian options are all over the place, and have come a long way since the days of tofurkey. If you would like to dip just a pinky toe in, try substituting turkey or chicken sausages. I especially love chicken apple sausage. Savory and sweet together? Yes please!

3. Substitute ground turkey (or chicken) for recipes which require ground beef. For example, spaghetti, lasagna, chili. Listen, all these things have an array of spices and sauces which usually overpower the taste of the meat anyway. Why not save a few calories?

4. There are a lot of studies which disparage artificial sweetners. But, if you gotta have sweet, give the fakers a try. There's only about a zillion different options out there, so take your pick. A related subject is diet soda. Please stop drinking regular soda. I mean honestly, it does the opposite of good. And, I don't believe you when you say you can taste the difference. So suck it up and drink the diet. Frankly, I'd prefer you didn't drink it at all. But if you gotta have your soda, drink diet.

5. Egg beaters for real eggs. This is another category where the fads and trends have lead to oodles of options in this category. Take advantage!

Finally, anytime you can choose a light or fat-free option, do it. There's no reason why you should max out on calories and fat when you don't actually have to. The most common example I can think of is milk. Why are you still drinking whole or 2%? I defy you to give me one good reason. If you think skim is like water (I used to!!) well, all I can say is, would you rather drink water-like milk, or not hit your new level of awesome? Thought so.

Did I miss any? I'm sure I missed oodles. Feel free to add to the list!