Before you had started eating healthy, there must have been some unhealthy junk food that you had loved. Messy burgers, oily French fries, nutty chocolate bars, crispy chips, chocolaty cookies – these are all food we sometimes miss desperately when trying to eat healthily.  

However, just because you are trying to healthy, it doesn’t mean you can’t take care of your cravings every now and then. It doesn’t mean that you have to run to your favorite unhealthy fast food joint and order a double cheeseburger, though; it simply means that there are always healthy substitutes for the unhealthy fast foods that you love. You can even make them at home using the healthiest ingredients available to you. 

Here are some healthier substitutes to the most common and unhealthy cravings most people sometimes get when they are in the middle of clean eating. 

  • Replace Chocolate with Dark Chocolate 

The craving for chocolates is more common among women than men, but we all feel the need for a chocolate bar sometimes. Whether your favorite is a Kitkat finger or a Cadbury Fruits and Nuts bar, you can replace your craving for chocolate with dark chocolates. 

Any good brand of dark chocolate with 70% or more cocoa is not just allowed in clean eating, but healthy for your heart. Dark chocolates are also rich in antioxidants, so a small square once a day isn’t something you should limit yourself from. You can simply eat a tiny square when you feel a sugar craving, or dip your favorite berries in melted dark chocolate to prepare a snack. 

  • Replace Mayonnaise with Greek Yogurt 

Any sandwich or salad is incomplete without some creamy mayonnaise to hold everything together, but it is better if you can replace it with Greek yogurt. 

Greek yogurt is low in calories and a great source of calcium and can be easily used as dressing for salads or spread for whole-wheat bread. Add a teaspoon of olive oil and a hint of garlic, herbs, and sauce, and you can make your own salad dressing free from trans-fats and preservatives. 

You can also use natural mustard with your salads and as a spread – perfectly delicious and healthy. 

  • Replace your Breakfast Cereal with Oatmeal  

If you had the habit of starting your days with a bowl of cereal, you can easily replace them with oatmeal. You can cook your oatmeal or eat them directly with milk or yogurt, with a handful of your favorite berries or nuts. 

While most of the breakfast cereals available in the market have loads of processed sugar and preservative in them, oatmeal is filling and a complex carbohydrate. A single bowl of oatmeal will keep you feeling full for a long time so that you won’t have the need for snacking after a while. 

  • Replace Potatoes with Sweet Potatoes 

Everyone loves a large serving of French fries every now and then, but it is one of the unhealthiest foods you can have. Instead, you can simply replace the potatoes with sweet potatoes, and bake them in an oven. With the right herbs and a pinch of salt, baked sweet potato fries can be just as delicious as French fries and they are a storehouse of nutrition. 

  • Replace Peanut Butter with Nut Butter 

Butter made from other nuts – especially almond butter – are better sources of minerals and vitamins. The peanut butter you can buy from the stores is usually processed butter that also contains trans-fats, oils, and sugar; on the other hand, almond butter is usually available in unprocessed form, or you can easily make some at home by yourself. 

Besides, almond butter is much more delicious and nutritious than peanut butter, in which the taste is usually enhanced with added sugar. 

  • Replace Ice Cream with Frozen Yogurt 

Your craving for Ice cream can be replaced with frozen yogurt, especially if you mix in some berries and nuts of your choice. You can also sprinkle some crushed dark chocolate on your yogurt if you are craving something crunchy and sugary. As yogurt is low in calories and high in calcium, it is the ideal snack for all occasions. 

  • Replace Candies with Dried Fruits  

To replace your habit of chewing on chocolate, candy or gum, try munching on dried fruits – mainly, dates, prunes, plums mango, papaya or cherry. These dried fruits are naturally sweet and rich in fiber, just as good as fresh fruits without the water content. Dried fruits carry the exact nutrition of fruits in their natural state, but are also sweet enough so that they can satisfy your sugar cravings. They are much healthier compared to candies or gums. 

Another healthy alternative of chewing on candy or gum is frozen grapes, or berries dipped in melted dark chocolate and frozen. 

  • Replace Cake with Banana Bread/Pancake  

You can use bananas to make delicious, naturally sweetened bread or pancakes, and they can easily satisfy your craving for cakes or sweet desserts. Pancakes and bread made from banana and whole wheat are easily digestible by the body and full of nutrition – something to make for dessert for yourself, your family or when you have guests dropping in. 

  • Replace Burgers with Bun-less Ones 

You can make bun-less burgers, sandwiches, wraps, rolls and tacos at home without the additional calories from bread, simply by wrapping your meat and garnishes in lettuce, sweet potato rounds or Portobello. You can have everything you need in a burger, a wrap or a sandwich – patty, tomatoes, onions, yogurt, mustard and herbs, and wrap them up between two leaves of lettuce, sweet potatoes or something similar. Bun-less burgers, sandwiches, and wraps will taste almost the same as the real thing, fill up your stomach, but carry none of the carbs of bread. 

  • Replace Pizza with Crust-free Pizza 

Just like bun-less burgers, you can make healthy, completely delicious pizzas without the crust. This kind of crust-less pizza can be made at home by layering tomato paste, cheese, meat and veggies, and all the necessary herbs on a bed of zucchini slices or eggplant slices. Because the crusts are only one of the important parts of pizza, aren’t they? You can get the full taste of pizza with a crust-free one that has all the nutrition, and only a little of the calories. 

  • Replace Rice with Cauliflower Rice 

Rice made from shredded cauliflowers have almost the same taste and texture as rice, but none of the calories. Cauliflowers are extremely low-calorie and low-carb vegetables that can be substituted not only for rice but also for mashed potatoes can be roasted and grilled, sautéed and baked. You can buy cauliflower rice in your local supermarket or make them yourself at home, and get a good low-calorie ingredient for all your white rice-based recipes. 

  • Replace Jam with Avocado 

Although they may not taste the same, you can use mashed avocadoes on your whole-wheat toasts for breakfast instead of sugary jams and jellies filled with preservatives. Avocadoes are one of the most nutritious fruits you can find in nature, and they are quite delicious. They are easy to cut open and mash – something you can make fresh every morning. 

Mashed avocado on your toast can give you the energy you need every morning, that even the most delicious jams and jellies couldn’t give you before. 

It is not uncommon to get cravings for some of the unhealthiest food we know, because, of course, it is what’s bad for us that are the most delicious. So, there are two ways that you can go: give in and eat something harmful, or find a healthy alternative. 

For everything that you loved but are unhealthy, there is a healthier alternative that is – if not exactly – but similar in taste and enjoyment. This way, you won’t ever have to reach out for anything you know isn’t good for you, because you’ll be completely content with the healthier alternatives and substitutes.