You may think that since we’re registered dietitians, personal trainers and veggie lovers, that we only like healthy food and aren’t tempted by indulgences like sweets! Ha! …if only! In fact, we joke that we were born leading with our sugar tooth and have since learned how to tame it– and we actually thank it because it’s helped us to become successful weight loss experts as well. Thanks to our sugar tooth, we have combined the science from our years of nutrition education with what actually works for us and for our clients to help you to achieve success with health and fat loss goals! That’s why we also created these waistline-friendly sugar craving busters –like our Skinny Speedy Walnut Oatmeal Cookies and our White Chocolate Drizzled wild Blueberry Granola Balls and our Microwave Peanut Butter and Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies, just to name a few!
As kids, we’d leave our healthy household and excitedly head to our friend’s houses so we could indulge in all of the sweets their pantries had to offer. It wasn’t until after years of being sugar bandits at our friends’ houses and then coming home, laying on our beds feeling sick from overdoing it, did we finally decide we wanted to stop the vicious cycle.
If you lead with your sugar tooth (Lyssie was teased for having a large looking shark tooth (her left canine) as a kid and we believe it was likely responsible for her love for sweets 😉 ), like we have, then you’ll love some of the secrets we share with our clients that work for them–and for us. While not everything works for everyone all of the time, typically at least some of our secrets work some of the time and they work frequently enough to help our clients to achieve their fat loss goals. Woohoo!
One of these secrets is learning how to reset your taste buds, which we’ll share more about in another post soon and you can learn some about here. Another is having a sweet treat that is actually satisfying (for the taste buds, blood sugar levels and stomach)–and another is freezing the sweets in small portions–so they can’t be mindlessly munched on an impulse directly from a large bag or container–and when the sweet serving is done, it’s done. This is especially a good tactic for you if you do this when you watch TV or are on the computer (our own personal late night, danger time– oy!).
For example, these Cherry Banana Bites don’t actually use sugar (other than the chocolate chunks-which you can leave out if you choose). These bites are small enough that allow you to have 2-3 over the course of the day for your daily indulgence and to be able to eat one if a craving hit. These can prevent you from going off the deep end for a large sweet indulgence. You can keep them in the freezer in small portions. The freezing of the treats prevents you from making an impulsive decision to eat it, since it must thaw for a bit before eating. This time is often all that is needed to talk yourself out of needing to have a sweet at all.
Cherry Banana Bites
These cherry banana bites are a feel good treat, free of gluten for those sensitive to it. They are made with wholesome ingredients and no added sugar other than what’s in the chocolate clusters, so it’ll fill you up without the sugar bloat! They’re easy to make, filled with ingredients that are likely lying around your house, and are great to enjoy as an on-the-go snack or an after dinner treat!
Serving Size: 1 cookie
Makes 24 cookies
Ingredients
2 ripe bananas
3 tbsp plain greek yogurt
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups rolled oats*, divided
1 tbsp chia seeds
¾ cup dried cherries
1/4 cup dark chocolate clusters
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Place the bananas, greek yogurt, vanilla extract, chia seeds, and 1 cup of oats into a food processor (or blender) and blend for 30 seconds, or until all the ingredients are evenly combined.
Transfer the batter into a mixing bowl, add the dried cherries and the remaining oats to the mixture and stir.
Spray a baking sheet with oil from a spray jar. Use a tablespoon amount of batter to roll into a ball and place on the pan and press to flatten slightly.
Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the bites are firm to the touch and hold their own shape.
Melt the dark chocolate clusters and then drizzle on top of the bites for an added treat!
*If you have celiac disease, be sure to choose oats that specifically say “gluten free” on the packaging, as not all oats are 100% gluten free
Nutrition Facts
Calories: 65
Carbohydrates: 12 g
Fat: 1.6 g
Saturated Fat: 1 g
Trans Fat: 0g
Cholesterol: 0 g
Protein: 1 g
Sodium: 3 mg
Sugar: 3 g
Fiber: 1.5 g
- 2 ripe bananas
- 3 tbsp plain greek yogurt
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 cups rolled oats*, divided
- 1 tbsp chia seeds
- ¾ cup dried cherries
- ¼ cup dark chocolate clusters
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Place the bananas, greek yogurt, vanilla extract, chia seeds, and 1 cup of oats into a food processor (or blender) and blend for 30 seconds, or until all the ingredients are evenly combined.
- Transfer the batter into a mixing bowl, add the dried cherries and the remaining oats to the mixture and stir.
- Spray a baking sheet with oil from a spray jar. Use a tablespoon amount of batter to roll into a ball and place on the pan and press to flatten slightly.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the bites are firm to the touch and hold their own shape.
- Melt the dark chocolate clusters and then drizzle on top of the bites for an added treat!