How to Eat Chocolate Without Gaining Weight?
Did you know that the pleasure of eating an ounce of chocolate can be on the list of habits with positive health effects? Here are eight ways to eat chocolate and not get fat.
1. Light brownies
Whether for breakfast, as a dessert, or a snack, it is difficult not to fall for the temptation of brownies.
Although in its traditional version, its caloric intake is high, some adjustments can be made to reduce it. For this, you must use pure cocoa and whole wheat flour and sugar.
You can use prunes to make a paste that substitutes the butter of traditional recipes.
2. Add choc chips to yogurt
Mid-morning is the perfect time to stop on the day and have the pleasure of tasting chocolate. A good way to do this is to add a few dark chocolate chips to a skimmed yogurt.
To the calcium provided by yogurt, you will be adding that of chocolate. So, it is ideal to give extra care to your bones.
3. Chocolate porridge
Prepare your porridge in the usual way and add a teaspoon of unsweetened cocoa powder. Not only does it give you the flavor you like the most, but you are also adding the cocoa polyphenols that help prevent cardiovascular disorders.
Porridge provides a very long-lasting source of energy that is consumed constantly throughout the morning.
4. A light and spectacular chocolate fruit dessert
Without it becoming the usual dessert each day, it is not a bad idea to make a few ounces of chocolate (2 or 3) the culmination of a special meal. You can insert them in a skewer with strawberries or with some slices of banana.
Make sure that the chocolate you choose has been made with at least 70% cocoa. This is the one that suits you since it contains less fat than those made with less cocoa.
5. A low-calorie chocolate cake
The key is to select the right ingredients. For example, flour should be integral. Instead of sugar, you can add stevia and, of course, chocolate must be 70% pure.
You can decorate the cake with fruit and nuts. The taste and aroma of chocolate combine oranges, strawberries or bananas very well.
6. Hot chocolate
How fancy hot chocolate to snack on when the cold is coming! Now, if you want to enjoy that moment without regrets, you can prepare one at home with hardly any calories.
The key ingredients for your low-calorie chocolate are skim milk and sugar-free chocolate.
You can dip some sticks or integral biscotti in the chocolate.
7. Always before dinner
Ideally, you would eat chocolate before four in the afternoon since you will have the rest of the day to burn calories by practicing some physical activity.
If after dinner you eat chocolate, it will not be easy to prevent it from being stored in your body in the form of fat.
8. A light milkshake
Prepare a delicious low-calorie cocoa smoothie, including skim milk and unsweetened cocoa powder. You can also use an almond drink that combines very well with the taste of chocolate.
The homemade smoothie is better since those sold in supermarkets are usually processed products with an excess of fats and sugars.
A healthy craving
Experts agree to value chocolate consumption very positively, given that its content is vitamins B1, folic acid, B2, B6, B3, vitamin A and vitamin E.
As well as minerals such as potassium, phosphorus and magnesium and a smaller amount of calcium, which, together with its contribution to polyphenols, makes this food recommended in a complete and balanced diet.
However, it is not possible to talk about chocolate in general since each variety corresponds to different compositions and effects.
In this sense, it is crucial to differentiate dark chocolate, which is the one that contains the highest percentage of cocoa from the rest of the chocolates.
The first is the healthiest since butter, sugars, and fats are added to the rest of the chocolates. Therefore, they provide more calories and fat.
These are the main types:
- White chocolate. It has more sugar and fat and no cocoa.
- Milk chocolate. Contains cocoa, milk and sugar.
- Half bitter chocolate. It is the one that has between 40% and 55% cocoa, a small amount of butter and sugar.
- Dark or bitter chocolate. It is the one that contains more cocoa, between 60% to 85%, and less sugar and fat.
The more cocoa the chocolate has, the more benefits it provides for health, so the positive effects of medium bitter and dark chocolate are greater since they are rich in antioxidants.
Natural antidepressant
As if its positive effects on physical health were few, chocolate also takes care of our emotional health.
And it is that we are facing a potent stress reliever because, when consumed, endorphins are released, the so-called ‘hormones of happiness, which relax us and produce that feeling of pleasure and well-being.
As a nutritionist, I research, find and experiment with recipes, natural diets and meal plans for weight loss, bodybuilding, and detoxing.