Good morning gang! As I promised, there are some great guest posts on the way this week which will range in topics from food to workouts. Hopefully yesterday’s booty busting workout has you ready to mix up your workout while today’s post will leave you with some healthy inspiration.

Thank you so much for all your kind comments and warm thoughts regarding my Papa’s passing. It was been a very draining week thus far but I’ve been so thankful to be here to support my mom and family. Who knew there was so much to do?! Without further adieu, I’ll turn it over to Gretchen, my hilarious DC blogger diva who has a knack not only for delicious food but fun, inspired photography.

Hey there, healthy & happier folks! My name is Gretchen and I blog about life, my love of food, and my 60-pound (so far!) weight loss over at Honey, I Shrunk the Gretchen!

As mentioned, I am an avid lover of food (hence the necessity to start a weight loss blog in the first place, haha), and am always trying to find a way to balance life’s necessary indulgences with a healthy lifestyle. Diets that deprive you of certain dishes or ingredients in the name of "health" never work, in my opinion. It takes an approach of moderation and balance in order to maintain a healthy lifestyle when it comes to food! One of my favorite ways to do this is to "healthify" some of my favorite foods with natural ingredients — we’re not just talking about swapping out sugar for Splenda here. By keeping a few healthy item swaps in my back pocket, I’m able to eat more of my favorite foods without any fallout. The following recipes take advantage of these easy ingredient replacements to create final dishes that are just as decadent as the originals with far less fat and calories. Chicken salad is a deli favorite of mine, but it’s usually dripped with mayo and goodness knows what else. My recipe for healthy chicken salad uses lean chicken breast and a dressing that includes plain, nonfat Greek yogurt (which tastes just like sour cream!) instead of mayonnaise. It’s also full of veggies to pack an extra healthy punch! It tastes great on its own as well as between two slices of bread. Yum! I make no secret of the fact that potatoes are my true weakness. Baked, fried, au gratin, you name it, I love ’em all, but my hands-down favorite has always been mashed. Mashed potatoes are not generally known for being low on the caloric spectrum, however, with all the butter and cream (otherwise known as "deliciousness") that usually goes into them. My recipe for Roasted Garlic Whipped Potatoes replaces all of that with roasted garlic and a little bit of heart-healthy olive oil instead. This dish turns out so creamy and decadent, you’ll never believe there’s no butter in there! It’s my best excuse for eating mashed potatoes on days other than Thanksgiving. No healthy recipe repertoire would be complete without at least one dessert in there! This easy, no-bake recipe for chocolate crème pie uses silken tofu as its secret ingredient that packs in a whopping 8 grams of protein per slice. Don’t balk at the thought of putting tofu in a dessert — you really can’t taste it at all! All that you end up with is creamy, dreamy, chocolatey bliss with a whole lot of nutrition behind it. So there you have it! Three recipes that make use of healthy ingredient swaps and don’t take away from the taste, texture, or general indulgence of each dish. Experiment by creating your own "healthified" recipes, and enjoy your favorite dishes without that extra side of guilt! If you’d like to read more about me, weight loss journey, or my healthy recipes, please visit my blog, Honey, I Shrunk the Gretchen!