Thinking that you can rely on sheer willpower to never ever put your hand in the cookie jar ever again is a recipe for failure.

It’s not about being 100% perfect and just eating broccoli for the rest of your life.

It’s about progress.

So a better strategy would be to slowly replace a bad habit with a healthier one that can work for you in the long run.

We are all human beings and it’s natural to want something sweet and to treat ourselves.

However, most commercially bought treats like biscuits or cakes have an insane amount of sugar, oils, preservatives and many other nasty things in them. I find this can make them almost sickening as well as being extremely high in calories and very unhealthy.

But there are options to have relatively healthy sweet treats at hand with minimal effort.

So after some years of experimenting, below are some of my go to snacks and treats;

Sugar and oil free granola

• 200g oats
• Handful of chopped nuts and/or seeds
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 5 tbsp dessicated coconut
• 2 handfuls of dates
• 5 tbsp water

Method

Combine all dry ingredients and stir until well mixed.

Add dates and water to a blender and blend until smooth.

Pour date liquid over the dry ingredients and mix thoroughly.

Chocolate Brownies

• 100g cacao powder
• 2 tbsp coconut oil (melted in microwave or hob)
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 200g buckwheat flour (or any other flour)
• 3 tbsp pure maple syrup
• 200g water
• 50g walnuts
• 50g cacao nibs/dark chocolate chips

Method

Combine cacao powder, coconut oil, baking powder and salt and stir until well mixed.

Add flour, maple syrup and water and stir until mixed.

Add walnuts and cacao nibs/dark chocolate chips and stir until mixed.

Place mixture into oven dish and bake for about 15 minutes on 180 degrees.

Strawberry jam

• 100g frozen strawberries (or any berry of your choice)
• 2 tbsp pure maple syrup
• 5 tbsp water
• 3 tbsp chia seeds

Method

Blend the berries until smooth (I use frozen berries as they are much cheaper)

Add the water, maple syrup and chia seeds

Wait 10 minutes for the chia seeds to soak up the liquid and create a thick jam that is especially delicious on toast, with oats or granola!

Banana and oat cookies

• 2 ripe medium bananas
• 4 tbsp raisins
• 1 tbsp pure maple syrup
• 200g oats

Method

Mash the bananas and mix all the ingredients together thoroughly with your hands.

Take 1 heaped tablespoon of mixture and form a circular pattie in your hand and repeat.

Place on a baking tray and bake for about 10 minutes at 180 degrees.

Sticky truffles

• 2 handfuls of dates
• 2 tbsp cacao powder
• 2 tbsp chia seeds
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tbsp desiccated coconut

Method

Blend all the ingredients together.

Make little sticky balls using your hands and roll them in dessicated coconut.

Put them in the fridge for 1 hour to set.

Start small and experiment

It’s about progress, not perfection.

Choose one recipe above that you like the best and swap it with your current treat.

It might be swapping your sugar laden commercially bought jam with the simple homemade version above. This might not seem much but it will make a difference!

Don’t follow the rules. Experiment and find what works for you.

If you have any questions or want to know more then please leave a comment or contact me and I would be happy to help.