Some better options

I LOVE sweets. Chocolate, and ice cream, and cookies, and cake, and more ice cream, and more chocolate, and more cookies. Truely my biggest weakness. And when I am pregnant/nursing, it's even harder for me to resist the cravings. And I am a firm believer that giving in to cravings a little bit is better than denying yourself the treat and then bingeing when you do finally give in.

Luckily there are options that are slightly better than others. Here are a few things you can try.

--According to Dr. Oz one option of a healthier alternative is double churned (or slow churned) ice cream. It has more air in it, but is still creamy. It is also made with real cream, which means its less likely to have artificial sweetners. Half a cup is around 100 calories, which is better than most frozen yogurts.

--Another healthier alternative that Dr. Oz suggests is dark chocolate rather than milk chocolate. It has flavonoids, which are an important antioxidant that helps lower blood pressure. You want dark chocolate with a cocoa conent higher than 70%. Another good option is to have dark chocolate with almonds since they provide healthy fat.

--Now that the weather is cooling down a bit, a good option when you are craving chocolate is hot chocolate instead of a candy bar or cookies. Swiss Miss has a breakfast blends hot cocoa that has only 60 calories. Or you can go for the marshmellow hot cocoa for 110 calories.

--If you are baking treats yourself, use applesauce or canola oil in your cakes and cookies instead of butter. Just make sure to use the natural applesauce, not the kind that has loads of sugar to sweeten it up.