(INPUTS By DT. Shikha Mahajan, Holistic Nutritionist and Founder of Diet Podium)
If you are a chocolate lover, diets that push you to cut out sweets may be difficult to stick to. Calories and added sugars in chocolate bars, candies, and desserts can throw your diet off. Chocolate, on the other hand, can be included in a healthy, well-balanced diet.
Here are some ways to enjoy chocolate:
Go Dark-
Small doses of dark chocolate can help you avoid those overwhelming cravings that lead to overeating. A couple of dark chocolate squares a day will help you resist the urge to eat more sugary snacks that can lead to weight gain.
Eat a small slice-
Even if you eat one small piece of chocolate every day, you can lose weight. Making it tiny is the most important component of the equation. You can have a modest bit of your sweet delight without destroying all of your hard work if you eat a balanced, calorie-controlled diet.
Adding Chocolate to Your Favorite smoothie-
In your favorite smoothie, add a few dark chocolate chips or a scoop of cocoa or raw cacao powder. Blend some chocolate chips with frozen cherries and almond milk for a rich, low-calorie smoothie, or add some cocoa or cacao powder to a banana, spinach, and almond milk smoothie to give a chocolaty punch to your healthy drink.
Healthy Alternative to Chocolate-
Cocoa powder is made up of a variety of components that remain after the cocoa butter has been removed from cacao beans. Unsweetened cocoa powder comprises roughly 10 calories per tablespoon and is nearly fat-free, cholesterol-free, and sugar-free. It’s also high in antioxidants due to the fact that it’s made entirely of cacao. For a handmade hot chocolate, combine cocoa powder with almond or coconut milk, or add a scoop to plain or vanilla Greek yogurt or your favorite smoothie. Try cocoa powdered almonds for a crispy snack.
Make Chocolates at Home-
You can take your protection against weight gain from chocolate indulgence to the next level by producing your own chocolate. After all, the food sector can’t be trusted, and homemade chocolate won’t have any extra preservatives or chemicals, making it a safe bet.
It takes only five minutes to make by melting unsweetened cocoa bars from the store, adding very little sugar and butter, then refrigerating the mixture to create chocolate bars.
