Exante - simple treat swap solution

I've been trying to lose a few Christmas pounds for ages now, it's just not shifting and the cold dark days mean that I crave comfort food. Lots of carbs and a biscuit with my mug of tea. Christmas is in the distant past now so there's no excuse for the weight to be hanging around and I thought I would try some products to help keep my cravings at bay.

I was sent some exante products to try out and made simple swaps with the things I already eat. If you've not heard of the brand before Exante Diet is the UK’s leading online, diet and weight-management service offering a huge range of meal-replacement products, including diet soups, diet shakes, diet bars and more. They have a large range of  meal-replacement meals which are enriched with vitamins and minerals and also high in protein, to help you get your Recommended Daily Allowance (RDAs) while you lose weight or manage your weight in the long term.

You can use the foods as a meal replacement for weight control or swap them for the treats you normally eat but the vitamins and protein in these can be much more beneficial to you.

I loved the mousey light texture of the chocolate pudding. It's high in protein, low in fat and enriched with vitamins and minerals, a single Diet Chocolate Pudding contains a 3rd of your daily RDA and may help you lose weight. It's also really simple to prepare, you just add 60ml of water while stirring with a whisk or fork, until well dissolved. Put the mix in the microwave for 1 minute 30 seconds and consume within 5 minutes. Simple!

I also tested the peanut bar and the cookies and cream bar. The cookies and cream dough bar is smothered in white chocolate and is topped biscuit crunch. It makes the perfect guilt-free treat when you’re out and about. The bars would be great to keep in your bag or have as a post work out boost. If you're used to eating protein bars you will love these, they don't taste like your favourite chocolate bar but are filling and hit the spot.

Nutritious and high-in-protein our Deliciously Different Cookies and Cream bar has a unique blend of nutrients to support your weight-loss regime and help you feel fuller for longer.It's been fortified with vitamins and minerals including, Vitamins A, B1, B2, B6, B12, C, D, E & K for optimum diet health and is only 200 calories per serving.

After years of dieting, I have found that if I deprive myself then I start craving the food I am trying to avoid leading to a junk food binge. What I loved about my exante products is that I didn't feel like I was missing out at all.

If you have some weight to lose and want a simple solution with minimal fuss and preparation time I would suggest trying these products.

Perfect World - 'Heathier' Ice Cream

What if ice cream was good for you? That would be amazing wouldn't it?! Perfect World desserts taste and feel just like a premium ice cream but they have some health benefits too. All their flavours have no added sugar, so they are suitable for diabetics and anyone wanting to cut down on sugar. Good news for anyone who has vowed to avoid sugar this lent. 

They are also dairy and wheat free and low in salt. The  Taste of Carrot Cake flavour is also high in unsaturated ‘good' fats, high in vitamin A, a natural source of vitamin E, and a source of dietary fibre.  

Perfect World have created the UK’s very first non-dairy and no added sugar ice cream alternative uses a blend of nuts instead of dairy, providing all the creaminess of ice-cream yet from unsaturated fats. It’s designed to taste as good as real dairy ice cream but with fewer calories and none of the downsides often associated with dairy and added sugar. Perfect World also avoids adding sugar entirely, using a special blend of sweeteners from natural origins, including Stevia.

We loved the chocolate flavour, it felt really decadent but we didn't feel guilty or have a sugar slump after eating a couple of scoops. The strawberry flavour worked amazingly well served with some fresh fruit and was really creamy in texture. If you're following the Weight Watchers plan it has a ProPoints value of  only 3 per 100ml for Strawberry and 4 for the other flavours. Amazing, right?

The range includes four flavours to suit every kind of sweet tooth; Belgian Chocolate Brownie, Loads of Strawberry, Banana Walnut Chip and Taste of Carrot Cake. Perfect World Ice Cream is available in 120ml (£1.99) and 500ml (£5.49) sizes at Holland & Barrett stores across the UK and online at Ocado.