Need A Healthy Alternative To Muffins etc. to Go With Coffee

WetDaddy

So, one of my guilty pleasures throughout my work day has always been "coffee and a muffin". This would definitely happen once and frequently happen twice a day. To top it all off, my coffee of choice was a mocha.

Needlesstosay, this didn't do me any favours in trying to maintain my 'normal' (!) weight, so I'm looking for some advice! I've already made the first-step in moving away from mochas and onto cappucinos, which at least from a calorie point of view, is some progress. I've also decreased the coffee shop trips to one a day.

But now I'm really looking for a low-calorie / healthier alternative to the likes of a croissant / muffin / brownie, etc. I know I could just drop the "snack" altogether, but I'd like to keep it there as my "once a day" treat, if possible.

Thanks in advance!

Oryx

If it were me, Id eat two squares of dark chocolate or a fruit yoghurt, if I had to. I used to eat muffins and pastries, but wouldnt touch them now. You actually go off them if you avoid them for a while.

WetDaddy

Oryx wrote: »

If it were me, Id eat two squares of dark chocolate or a fruit yoghurt, if I had to. I used to eat muffins and pastries, but wouldnt touch them now. You actually go off them if you avoid them for a while.

Yeah, that's what I'm kind of expecting / hoping! Even though it's only been a short while, the idea of a mocha to me now is pretty unappealing as it seems so sweet. Dark chocolate might do the trick, I'll give that a shot. I don't think the fruit yoghurt would really satisfy the desire, unfortunately!

Thanks for the reply!

amazingemmet

Psylium muffins ftw, search the site for my reicipe

Khannie

2 biscuits. 150 calories ish. 2 oreos is only 104 calories. A good 150 less than your muffin (probably more). Yes they're pure garbage, but so what? They taste nice. Treats ftw!

BossArky

WetDaddy wrote: »

I've already made the first-step in moving away from mochas and onto cappucinos, which at least from a calorie point of view, is some progress. I've also decreased the coffee shop trips to one a day.

Opt for skimmed milk (not semi skimmed).

If you are training hard and have a decent diet then a muffin every now and again won't kill you.

If you are out of shape and still want two muffins a day then you have to assess where your priorities are --> Muffin top or loose weight?

Hanley

Khannie wrote: »

2 biscuits. 150 calories ish. 2 oreos is only 104 calories. A good 150 less than your muffin (probably more). Yes they're pure garbage, but so what? They taste nice. Treats ftw!

Oreos are only 52 kcals each????? This may be the greatest discovery ever.

ragg

amazingemmet wrote: »

Psylium muffins ftw, search the site for my reicipe

Yeah, about them - tried them, they were muck - i remain muffinless, untill i finish my diet

Oryx

Just thinking... sometimes I cure cravings for sweet stuff with a handful of cereal. Might get you some crunchy nut looks in the cafe though. Small amounts of raisins and nuts (not peanuts) are another good thing to eat to cure a craving, but dried fruit and cereals work cos theyre quite high in sugar, so not ideal. ButI avoid biscuits cos if I start on the biccies, oreos or otherwise, I forget to stop!

corkcomp

Khannie wrote: »

2 biscuits. 150 calories ish. 2 oreos is only 104 calories. A good 150 less than your muffin (probably more). Yes they're pure garbage, but so what? They taste nice. Treats ftw!

+1 there is room for treats in almost any diet, even on 1800 - 2000 cals a day there is surely room for 200cals for discretionary stuff!

d'Oracle

I think oreos are horrible.

Am I alone?

Blackie93

Yes, yes you are

Remmy

d'Oracle wrote: »

I think oreos are horrible.

Am I alone?

Yes.

Mcloke

d'Oracle wrote: »

I think oreos are horrible.

Am I alone?

At the moment yes you are alone

missmatty

Good news about the oreos

A mocha and muffin twice a day is not good. I'm currently battling an attachment to Butlers but would get a skinny cappuccino or an americano a few times a week, and of course my free chocolate

celestial

You need to lose your taste for sugar, pretty much. Years ago I thought natural yoghurt was the most disgusting thing I'd ever tasted - completely sour and bland. Now I eat them regularly enough and they taste sweet to me now.

What it comes down to is not 'how can I resist xyz' - it's about reprogramming your taste buds (as well as your outlook) so that you're not resisting, you just don't want whatever it is you've been resisting. That starts with just not eating the stuff until you find you don't crave them anymore!

WetDaddy

Glad this has stimulated so much conversation

Yep, I totally agree that a mocha + muffin twice a day is no good. That's why I have changed my ways (that's right, past tense!)!

Today saw me purchasing just a single cappucino and complimenting it with two squares of Lindt's 85% dark chocolate. My analysis is that yes, this can indeed work! The rest of the chocolate is going in my desk drawer and should last a further 4 days (in the office).

I actually enjoy natural yoghurt, nuts, fruit and plenty of the other recommendations (vegetables + hummus can't be forgotten either). Oddly enough, I don't really have that much of a sweet tooth, believe it or not. It was really a case of curbing the habit more than anything else.

I've never smoked or had to give up anything before, so this is pretty much the only vice I've had to battle with to give up. Replacing the muffin side of things allows me to keep my 'comfort' to an extent, but ends up with me just a bit better off.

Next step: Back to daily jogging followed by some bi-weekly gym visits. Just a matter of finding the time!

yeah_ok

Hi I'm glad I spotted this forum cos I'm in a similar situaution.

A few times a week I might get a White Mocha which is half espresso and half hot chocolate. I would go to Butlers sometimes for this and there they use a ladle of actual white chocolate for the drink! i would also have a pain au chocolat (it's the pastry that's like a croissant and has small bits of chocolate) most days.

Do I need to cut down on this bad habit?!

The rest of my diet is pretty decent now and I don't drink or smoke so this does be a treat for myself! I don't really drink any ohter hot drinks any other time

Thanks

Transform

wow it wouldnt be for me - every now and again grand but almost daily emmmm no.

Brian?

d'Oracle wrote: »

I think oreos are horrible.

Am I alone?

No. They're poxy. The look like a chocolate biscuit but taste like chalk.

Khannie

briankeating wrote: »

No. They're poxy. The look like a chocolate biscuit but taste like chalk.

Woah woah woah. There's no need for that kind of inflammatory remark.

Yeah, oreos are only 52 calories a pop. I was surprised myself, but I'm guessing the packaging isn't lying.

claralara

I removed the 11 o clock scone / muffin / nutri grain from my diet a few weeks weeks ago for fruit, nuts, yoghurt etc. Was absolutely horrified to find a live maggot in a bag of nuts and raisins I had the other day. My stomach now turns every time I think of dried fruit or nuts. Which is really very upsetting given the shortage of convenient healthy snacks available (in my opinion). Maybe I should stick with the muffin…

BossArky

claralara wrote: »

Was absolutely horrified to find a live maggot in a bag of nuts and raisins I had the other day.

I found a stone in my bag of almonds about a month ago. Still waiting for the promised jiffy bag the company are supposed to dispatch to pick up the remainder of the nuts and stone.

Jeege

Hey OP,
If you need the mid morning treat, try a bagel with low fat cream cheese or something, or even just butter, yum!!

I've tried to snack on nuts and seeds, the surf seeds are ok, but they're generally just boring. If Im on a healthy buzz (usually every Monday, lasts til about Wed), I bring in grapes or even a Nutri Grain, you'll get the sweetness you need from these.:)

oceanclub

How about choccie protein bars?

P.

Transform

choc flapjacks - yummm!

I go for oatcakes with nut butter also

sunnyjim

Transform wrote: »

I go for oatcakes with nut butter also

:pac::pac::pac::pac::pac::pac::pac:

Columbia

Get some real nice high-quality dark chocolate (better than Lindt), like the stuff here;

http://www.willieschocolateshop.com/

A small box comes with two square bars, half a bar of the stuff will satisfy a chocolate craving much more than a muffin would. It's also a genuine chocolate made with cocoa butter, not laden with vegetable oil like the shee-ot you find in supermarkets, and so is far healthier.

eclectichoney

Columbia wrote: »

Get some real nice high-quality dark chocolate (better than Lindt), like the stuff here;

http://www.willieschocolateshop.com/

The Lindt 99% cacao, 90% Cacao and 85% Cacaco are all really good quality actually. Here are the ingredients in the 85%
Cocoa mass, cocoa powder, cocoa butter, brown sugar, natural bourbon vanilla beans.

Thus there is only about 12% Sugar iirc in the 85%, less in the 90% and 99% obviously

You really don't need to spend big to get a good quality dark chocolate - €2 on a bar of Lindt in Tesco will do fine imo.

Roper

d'Oracle wrote: »

I think oreos are horrible.

Am I alone?

IUOH- International Union of Oreo Haters. Let's unite.

rubadub

Khannie wrote: »

Yeah, oreos are only 52 calories a pop.

"a pop" being the key phrase, I eat them like pringles or malteasers, not my favourite, but nice with freezing cold milk. Tunnocks teacakes would be one of my favourites.
The day they started selling them in 10 packs was scary :pac:

OP- you could try thick oat pancakes with raisins, they are sort of like scones. egg, porridge oats, milk -stick in a blender then mix in raisins and fry in a little butter. You can keep them in the fridge and pop them in a toaster to heat up.

Hanley

I'm very disappointed in you all. One of my happiest days ever was the time an oreo sank to the bottom of my malt in Eddies. It was soooooo deliciously soggy when I got to it that I almost cried.

Brian?

rubadub wrote: »

"a pop" being the key phrase, I eat them like pringles or malteasers, not my favourite, but nice with freezing cold milk. Tunnocks teacakes would be one of my favourites.
The day they started selling them in 10 packs was scary :pac:

Sweet Jesus, I love Tunnocks tea cakes. Especially when they're slightly melted. The only problem there is that I'd eat the whole packet in one sitting no bother.

jaggiebunnet

briankeating wrote: »

Sweet Jesus, I love Tunnocks tea cakes. Especially when they're slightly melted. The only problem there is that I'd eat the whole packet in one sitting no bother.

Tunnocks are far too dangerous...one bite and the whole thing is gone so right on to the next one..and on and on and on....

ronbyrne2005

rubadub wrote: »

"a pop" being the key phrase, I eat them like pringles or malteasers, not my favourite, but nice with freezing cold milk. Tunnocks teacakes would be one of my favourites.
The day they started selling them in 10 packs was scary :pac:

OP- you could try thick oat pancakes with raisins, they are sort of like scones. egg, porridge oats, milk -stick in a blender then mix in raisins and fry in a little butter. You can keep them in the fridge and pop them in a toaster to heat up.

When i was working in shop as a teenager they had large boxes of tea cakes on the counter and i was frequently left alone in the shop which had no working security camera!We were actually allowed to eat food from the shop/deli at lunchtime but i would scoff loads of the teacakes and at easter there was these chocolate easter egg mallow things that were gorgeous.

leopardus

Try a good banana bread (bbc recipes website) or carrot cake (Avoca cookbook;which uses sunflower oil as the fat) recipe, pour the mix into muffin moulds and cook for a shorter period then the recipe states; when crisp on top and a knife or skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. I've decreased the amount of sugar used in the recipes by at least 50% and they're still sweet enough. Remove further sugar and add some chopped dried fruit (prunes) instead. These are seriously good with tea/coffee.

G-Money

I love oreos. The only problem is that I could eat about 6 in one go. I'm not sure 2 is enough

I've bought these chewy trail mix bars and they're nice, 114 cals each. I've also bought Granola bars and they're about 150 cals for 2 biscuits total (you get them in a box and they're in packs of two within the box). So it's nice as there's a bit of eating in them.

I also used to get these Weightwatchers Blueberry oat biscuits. They're quite filling and tasty, I prefer the blueberry ones though.

Or what about a protein flapjack? Although they're about 350 cals each from what I've seen.

brianblaze

I make my own Oat Cookies... They're bad ass and good for you too! I'll try stick up a recipe in a while! I'm stuck on a train with only the iPhone to keep me sane at the moment!!

Columbia

eclectichoney wrote: »

The Lindt 99% cacao, 90% Cacao and 85% Cacaco are all really good quality actually. Here are the ingredients in the 85%
Cocoa mass, cocoa powder, cocoa butter, brown sugar, natural bourbon vanilla beans.

Thus there is only about 12% Sugar iirc in the 85%, less in the 90% and 99% obviously

You really don't need to spend big to get a good quality dark chocolate - €2 on a bar of Lindt in Tesco will do fine imo.

I find the Lindt 70% (and over) varieties very dry and bitter, in comparison with other brands, which to me indicates a low bean quality and/or less care in the manufacturing process. But hey, chocolate is a personal treat, so it's all about your own preference

ragg

Milk chocolate is far too sweet for me now - I cant handle it all. I used to eat quite a bit of it before, but now its so sweet, it tastes like rust