Liz on Life: Food-lovin' Fridays: chocolate + weight loss = problem

I am a chocolate addict, there is just no denying it. When I was young, my mom used to hide her chocolate bars, but I would sneak into the kitchen, open every drawer and cupboard til I found them and ate them (leaving always one square or one piece, because in my impeccable reasoning, leaving some would mean my mom wouldn't notice). As I moved in on my own, chocolate became even harder to resist. I mean, do they have to put the chocolate right in your face when you leave the grocery store? It should be hidden, much like cigarettes.

Anyways, it's clear this chocobsession (see what I did there!) had something to do with my university weight gain. So I knew when I started my weight loss journey that it could become my kryptonite if left unmanaged. Since my strategy is lifestyle changes, not a diet, I knew I'd have to incorporate some chocolate here and there to avoid depriving myself and then binging. And I found an excellent way to do that: chocolate chip muffins. Just enough chocolate to appease my cravings and good little snacks or desserts. Plus they're just so cute and fluffy.

Of course, muffins also aren't exactly the go-to weight loss food. I did nonetheless discover two little recipes that do the perfect balancing act for me: they are pretty healthy and decently low-cal (about 150 calories per muffin, depending on size, amount of chocolate used, etc. of course) and frankly if they will shut up my chocolate obsession, I'm willing to overlook the fact that I'm not eating a carrot.

So here are my two lovely finds for you:

1. Banana bread (I make it in a muffin tin to cut down on bake time, so we'll count it as muffins)