Healthy recipes to cure a sweet tooth (Guest Post)

This next guest post is by Lauren, who blogs at Breathe Deeply and Smile. These recipes sound delicious!

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Hello, I’m Lauren, and I write over at Breathe Deeply and Smile.  It’s a blog about learning to balance healthy living with enjoying life in a stress-free way.  I’m a runner and semi-health nut who is also a Sweat Pink Ambassador. I’m always trying to live a healthier life and learning to not sweat the small stuff while remembering that life is too short to be unhappy!

I run and workout 5-6 days a week so that means I am ALWAYS hungry! Fueling your body is important, but so is fueling your cravings in a clean way.  I have a huge sweet tooth and lately have been having some awesome snacks that are healthy and satisfy my chocolate craving when it strikes!

One of my new favorite snacks combines chocolate with another one of my favorite foods-avocado! There are many iterations of this recipe floating about on the interwebs, but here’s my version:

Chocolate Avocado Pudding

½ medium avocado, mashed

½ cup nonfat plain greek yogurt

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 packet of stevia (can use ½ tablespoon of agave, honey, sugar, or whatever you prefer)

1-2 tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa powder

Mix all of the ingredients together and eat right away, or chill in the fridge for an hour. It’s super delicious and full of all those good healthy fats from the avocado!

Another easy and yummy snack mimics the delicious but calorie-laden Shamrock Shake from McDonalds.  I always treat myself to one actual shake during March but have found a way to have one whenever I want!

After I got back from the gym today I whipped this up as a post-workout treat:

Protein “Shamrock Shake”

A handful of spinach

4 ice cubes

½ scoop vanilla protein powder of your choice

1 cup unsweetened almond milk

½ cup nonfat plain greek yogurt

½ cup water

1 tsp peppermint NuNaturals stevia (can substitute ½ tsp peppermint extract and a packet of stevia or Splenda)

(optional) 1 drop of green food coloring

You can omit the spinach if that isn’t your thing and also alter the amount of water and ice cubes depending on the thickness you prefer for smoothies.

Blend all the ingredients together and adjust consistency to your liking.

Check out my blog and let me know if you try any of my recipes!