7 Healthy Comfort Food Alternatives

Scenario: It’s late at night, a couple hours after dinner. You’ve been so stressed from work, exams, and the fact that Emma Stone and Andrew Garfield are no more (tragic).

You’re also hangry for a snack. But not just any snack, you want something warm.

Or cold.

And creamy.

Definitely chocolate-y.

Satisfying.

Maybe crispy, maybe crunchy.

Salty?

Spicyyy.

Sweet like you, too.

Your instinct is to reach for the ice cream, cookies, potato chips, and chocolate, but instead you decide to try these following healthy alternatives…

1. Banana Ice Cream

Neapolitan Banana Ice Cream – recipe here!

The perfect cold, creamy dish made from ingredients you probably already have in your kitchen! The best part is you can change up the recipe to cater to your palate. Fruity? Go for it. Chocolatey? For sure. Throw in some peanut butter for extra creaminess? Totally. Chocolate chips for texture? Yes!

2. Roasted Seaweed

You can easily find these at your local Asian supermarket, Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods, or Costco. These sheets of seaweed are very low in calories (~35cal per packet) and have a wide range of vitamins too! They taste slightly salty, with an umami aftertaste, which may help curb your craving for sodium-packed chips. Consider it… popcorn of the ocean.

3. Tomato Chips

Check out this simple recipe here! This is a great snack if you’re craving something crunchy, sweet, sour, and bitter all at the same time! For extra flavor, try sprinkling some mozzarella and basil over these tomato chips, drizzled with some olive oil… mmm…

4. Frozen Grapes

This is actually my FAVORITE summer (who am I kidding – I eat these all year long!) treat. They’re like little spherical popsicles! And when grapes freeze, their consistency almost turns creamy, which simultaneously satisfies my ice cream craving! It’s very simple: take grapes, wash them, and freeze them! On a tray would technically be better because they stick a little in bowls, but whatever floats your boat!

5. Sweet and Spicy Cucumber Slices

My grandma would always make a Chinese dish similar to this every time she visited.

These chilled cucumber slices are marinated in rice vinegar, sugar, pepper flakes, and onions. They’re sweet, sour, spicy, cold, and crunchy all at the same time!

6. Zucchini Fries

Zucchini fries are a great, nutritious substitute for French fries, because zucchinis are naturally more dense vegetables, and so when breaded and baked, they’re pretty much the same thing! Super satisfying and filling.

7. Kale chips

I think 2015 has reached peak kale level with bottled kale water, kale in brownies, kale in kale… so let’s go back to the basics. Kale chips. Sprinkled with salt, chili powder, garlic powder, some lime juice, anything you want! Easy, breezy, beautiful. Yes, I’m still talking about the kale chips.

But remember, if you REALLY want those chips, ice cream, or cookies… then go for it. Sometimes you just have to

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