Oh, those visions of drool-worthy fast foods that look irresistible, especially when following a strict diet. It always makes one succumb to pleasure for the sake of one-time satisfaction and forget about fitness goals. That is why cheat days are celebrated by fitness freaks all over the world to dedicate one day to eating everything they like to get relief from deprivation and mental stress.
Cheat day meals are beneficial to health in many ways. Studies have shown that those who ate cheat meals lost more weight than those who refrained from eating. Celebrities like Kim Kardashian, The Rock, Shilpa Shetty, and Priyanka Chopra all like to indulge in cheat meals every now and then, which aligns the digestive system to a variety of foods and lowers the damage caused by not eating.
It is always prescribed that eating cheat meals in a limit is good. But what's the use of eating those meals when you can't even have it to your heart's content? Therefore here are some healthy cheat day meals that will satisfy your yearnings and also align with your fitness goals.
8 Cheat Day Meals You Can Eat Guilt-Free
1) Burger
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When you make burgers at home, you can be mindful of the ingredients and cooking methods used for making it. Burgers have a high amount of protein, and wholesomeness of bread along with fresh lettuce and vegetables, which makes it a complete meal to satisfy cravings.
2) Fries
You might be wondering how fries can be a healthy meal when it's deep-fried. Yes, fries are deep-fried in general, but you can make it completely oil-free at home using an air fryer or an oven. If you don't like the no-oil version, you can make sure your fries soak less oil when deep frying if you use high-quality potatoes and double fry to cook the potatoes through. Also, use cold-pressed oil instead of refined oil to infuse it with added nutrients.
3) Fried Chicken
Yes, fried chicken too can be a healthy cheat-day meal if you make it at home in the right way. Chicken is a source of protein and gives a feeling of wholesomeness. When you make fried chicken at home, use whole grain bread for breadcrumbs, cornflour and eggs for coating, and mild spices for flavour. You can either air fry or bake for a no-oil version, and deep frying, use cold-pressed oil and fry on high flame.
4) Pizza
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When you make pizza at home, you can cut more than half of the calories that you get from fast-food restaurants. You can switch the dough with whole grain dough or pita bread. And you can use homemade sauces with real and fresh ingredients with no additives. Use goat cheese, mozzarella, tomatoes, basil all you like for the topping.
5) Pasta
Pasta can also be made at home from scratch without hassle. You won't need a pasta maker to create your own pasta, insideadt you need to roll thin sheets of dough, spread lots of flour to keep it from sticking and cut the strands with your desired length and width. Homemade pasta guarantees nutrition with flavour and its homemade sauce gives a perfect personalised experience.
6) Tacos
Delicious tacos can be a fitness staple for you when you make it at home with healthy ingredients. When you eat tacos at restaurants, you often get an all-purpose flour shell with way too much condiments in the filling and deep-fried fritters. But when you make it at home, you can use whole grain shell, wholesome vegetables, proteins of choice and desired flavours too.
7) Nachos and Chips
Nachos and chips from grocery stores are filled with preservatives, chemicals and artificial flavours, which is detrimental to your fitness routine. Try making your nachos at home with real and healthy ingredients and customise flavours as per your preference.
8) Chocolate
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Real dark chocolate contains an excellent amount of antioxidants that have been linked to treating several chronic diseases. So, it turns out chocolate shouldn't actually only be limited to cheat day meals. You can eat chocolate in many ways like making chocolate-covered nuts, homemade chocolate ice cream and creating various delectable desserts out of it.
Make your cheat day guilt-free with these delicious and nutritious cheat meals. With these recipes, you can finally satisfy your heart and keep yourself aligned to your fitness goals.
