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Dinner Diva: Five secret swaps so you don’t gain weight!

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the-dinner-divaSummer’s here. It’s hot, it’s sweaty and the food is fabulous! Who doesn’t love the grill for example? And while the grill can provide you with a delicious, flavorful meal, there’s plenty of other summer goodies lurking about, promising to throw your healthy intentions to the wind!

But don’t you worry, together we can avoid the temptations that undermine our health without denying ourselves. Did I hear an amen?

Here are some great swaps for some of the most common temptations that tend to show up more frequently during the summer:

Ice cream. If you can’t keep yourself out of the DQ drive through, get your sweet self to the produce section of your local grocery store, pronto! All you need to satisfy your sweet tooth can be found in a bunch of bananas. Peel a few perfectly ripe bananas and put them in a zipper bag in the freezer. When you get an ice cream craving, put a couple of those frozen bananas in your blender (I love my Blendtec!) and give them a whirl. Just like that, you have creamy, freezy ice cream. Add whatever flavor you like (I like to toss in a couple of strawberries to change things up from time to time) and enjoy. You’ll have to eat it up right away (this will not keep) so only make as much as you can eat in one sitting.

Coolers and beer. Tis the season for ice cold beer and wine coolers! Here’s a tip to keep it healthier: Try a kombucha or a kombucha cocktail! Kombucha is a fermented health beverage and it is absolutely amazing for your health. You can turn it into a cocktail by using it in place of soda for your mix with gin or vodka. Add some limes to help keep sugar levels from spiking and you’re good to go!

Milkshakes. Who needs milkshakes when you can have smoothies? Listen, if you crave milkshakes, I’ve got the perfect swap for you AND as a bonus, it can be a complete meal! My fave is the chocolate cherry chip smoothie. It’s completely delicious and tastes like dessert! (and get this, I’ve got Just Juiced Greens, FiberMender 2.0 in there as well!) Want the recipe? Go here, LINK recipe with a link to buy PPP, JJG, Fibermender.

Potato chips. Who doesn’t love the salty crunch of potato chips? I do! But there’s a few options that you can snack on guilt free like kale chips, beet chips, almonds, sunflower seeds.

Potato salad. There’s nothing like a big scoop of Aunt Martha’s potato salad at the family barbecue. But we all know that commercial mayo and potatoes can spell disaster for your waistline and health. Here’s a great swap for you to try: cauliflower salad! Make your own mayo with good oil (avocado oil is awesome) with an immersion blender (1 cup oil, 1 egg yolk, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard; take 2 minutes with your blender). So use your favorite recipe, swap out the potatoes for cauliflower, use your homemade mayo and see if anyone notices you changed it!

More from dinner diva leanne ely at SavingDinner.com.

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