It’s incredibly common to feel down about your body, especially in a society that’s so hard on us. I think it’s safe to say that most of us want to change something about ourselves, whether it’s our belly, our thighs, our skin, or our general health overall. One of the hardest parts about changing these things, unfortunately, is maintaining a healthy diet: with cookies, cake, and ice cream, it’s hard to resist temptation. But, if you ever find yourself craving something that you just know you shouldn’t have, the following list of recipes and products are perfect for you!

Ice cream

Recipe: Nice Cream

Also known as banana ice cream, nice cream is my favorite. Not only is it nearly fat-free, but it’s also okay to eat at pretty much any time of the day — the reason being that it’s made almost entirely out of fruit! The ingredients and directions to make this are as follows:

• 3 or 4 bananas, peeled (for personal preferences — keep in mind, the more bananas you use, the less quickly your nice cream will melt!)
• 1/2 cup flavored almond milk
• Cocoa powder, cacao powder, or protein powder, to taste (optional)

1. Cut your peeled bananas into thirds, and place them in a closed bag or container to freeze for at least 24 hours.
2. Take your bananas out of the freezer and place them in, ideally, a high-speed blender. Ninjas are perfect for this.
3. Put your almond milk into the blender, followed by the powder you chose to use.
4. Combine everything on your blender's low or medium speed.
5. If you're adding any additional ingredients, blend those in next. I usually add chopped and pitted dates, chia seeds, and sometimes other types of frozen fruit.

There you have it — super awesome ice cream, made from bananas, that doesn’t take like it’s made from bananas! It's always fun to add some extra things on top, too, to make an intense sundae. Edible flowers, chocolate-flavored granola, other fruits, chocolate chips -- whatever you think will taste good on top, probably will.

Product: Halo Top

If bananas make you squeamish and you don’t want to try nice cream, here’s your next best option! This new-ish, popular brand of ice cream is sold in pints at most Whole Foods, Walmart, and Uncle Giuseppe’s locations. It’s only 240 - 280 calories per pint, depending on your flavor, and is packed with protein and vitamins. Here’s the website, which contains nutritional information as well as all the possible flavors you can get. If you’re wary of trying Halo Top because you’d tried another brand in the past — let’s say, Arctic Zero, for example — and had been disappointed, trust me when I say that this one is different.

Cookies

Recipe: Double Chocolate Chip Cookies

These cookies are perfectly chewy, and if you put in enough chocolate, they can be super gooey. You’ll need:

• 1 1/4 cups flour (I usually use whole wheat flour, but standard is fine too.)
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt (optional)
• 2/3 cup cocoa or cacao powder
• 1/4 coconut oil
• 1/4 cup mashed, ripe avocado
• 1/4 cup sugar (raw cane, or granulated)
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup chocolate almond milk (sweetened or unsweetened)
• 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips, cacao chips, or carob chips.

1. Preheat your oven to 350° F.
2. In one bowl, combine flour, baking soda, salt, and cocoa/cacao powder.
3. In another bowl, combine coconut oil, avocado, and sugars until it’s creamy; then, add the vanilla extract.
4. Slowly add in the flour mixture; then, add the milk and any dry ingredients that are left.
5. Form the dough into balls and place on a baking sheet, and then into the oven. Bake for about 10 minutes, or until the edges of the cookies are firm and the centers soft.

If you’d rather have regular chocolate chip cookies, just leave out the cocoa powder. You might need to add a little more flour, though, to make the dough less goopy.

Not to toot my own horn or anything, but I once ate an entire batch of these in just two sittings.

... *Cries.*

Product: Glutino

Alright, I’ll admit: Glutino’s cookies aren’t that healthy. But they’re healthier than most boxed cookies! For example, two Double Stuf Oreo cookies are 50 calories and 2 grams of fat higher than Glutino’s alternative Chocolate Vanilla Crème cookies. Plus, all of Glutino’s products are gluten-free! I’ve only seen their products at Whole Foods so far, but you can order them off of their website.

Brownies

Recipe: Chocolate Peanut Butter Brownies

This, unlike my previous recipes, isn’t from scratch. I actually use Glutino’s brownie mix, but I alter the extra ingredients a little bit! I prefer these over normal brownies, but I’m also a sucker for peanut butter. For these, you’ll need:

• 1 box Glutino Double Chocolate Brownie mix
• 1/2 of a ripe avocado, mashed
• 1/3 cup + 1 tbsp melted coconut oil
• 1/2 — 3/4 cup peanut butter (or another nut butter) to taste.
• 1 tbsp agave or honey

1. Preheat your oven to 350° F
2. Combine brownie mix, avocado, and oil into a bowl
3. Add peanut butter, then agave or honey
4. Put in a sprayed 8 x 8 in. brownie dish
5. Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean

For my lovely ladies out there, these are perfect period brownies.

Product: Lenny & Larry's

Seriously, these guys make the best brownies ever. (Their cookies are pretty incredible, too.) Lenny & Larry's Muscle Brownies taste just like Cosmic Brownies -- an absolute favorite for every former American child. The difference is that these are way bigger, and full of protein to help you recover after a heavy work out. Or after a rigorous day of eating everything. Your choice. This is a judgement-free zone.

Okay y’all, to close this off, I just wanted to point out something:

All of you, at some point, have probably said: “Being vegan is too hard/time-consuming/stupid/whatever.” I used to say it a lot too, when I was younger. I’m not a vegan, but I respect them and their views. Honestly, I hope to someday even be one, myself, once I move out and have more control over groceries in my home. Most people, unfortunately, are completely against that — simply because of vegans’ “ridiculous” views on animal rights and the environment. Hell, most people’s defenses against vegans is that they “force their beliefs” on “everyone.”

But let’s be real. I’ve met way more people who tear vegans apart for simply stating they they don’t eat a certain thingwhen offered food, or for asking waiters for vegan alternatives/options, etc. than I’ve met vegans who truly do what they’re “expected” to do by meat-eaters: which is, yell and rant about animal cruelty and how eating meat is bad and whatnot. There’s an awkward, unnecessary, sad hatred amongst the herbivores and omnivores of the human race — and in my experience, I’ve found that it is mostly one-sided.

Now, what I’m about to tell you might disappoint — or even devastate — some of you who were planning on making or purchasing some of the foods above:

Most of these desserts are vegan. And they’re really, really, really, really good.