I don’t talk about it much publicly, but when I was younger, I use to binge eat—a lot.

It would happen mostly when I was lonely, or depressed, or even just bored out of my mind. Sometimes, it would happen when I was celebrating, too—but always when I was alone. I would go to the store, buy way too much junk food, and go home and eat as much of it as I could.

I’d eat until I honestly didn’t think I could eat another bite, and felt so sick I wanted to puke. Then, I’d wait a while, and when the feelings of nausea started to subside, I’d start eating again until either the food was gone or until I fell asleep in deep shameful sleep.

Without fail, I’d wake up feeling like absolute crap the next day. I’d beat myself up about it, forcing myself into an unending spiral of guilt, always wondering why I kept doing this to myself.

To make myself feel even worse, I’d look at the mirror and tell myself how terrible I looked and that I would never be good enough until I could stop liking food. That if only I could somehow turn myself into one of those people who just “forgets” to eat, then I’d finally be good enough.

But that was the wrong approach. Obviously.

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In case I somehow haven’t made it clear already, I have a huge sweet tooth.

As a kid, since we didn’t have a lot of sweets around in the house, I would sneak bowls full of sprinkles and shredded coconut when my parents weren’t looking because that was the best sugar option I could find (that was until I discovered that my dad had a secret treat stash of his own).

As I got older, my love of sugar and all things sweet didn’t go away, and would lead to me binge eating bags of jelly beans/peanut butter M&Ms/frozen yogurt/chocolate chip cookies whenever I was bored, lonely, or depressed (which was more often than I’d like to admit).

Unsurprisingly, I realized somewhere along the line that this sugar addiction of mine wasn’t good for my overall health, physique, or confidence. But rather than try to give up sweets altogether (because really, what fun is that?), I’ve actually really enjoyed learning to make healthier versions of my favorite desserts that don’t leave me in a sugar coma or make my waistline expand.

Here are 7 of my favorite healthy dessert recipes to help curb your sweet tooth:

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Unless you manage to somehow avoid all health-related news, you probably hear a lot about protein these days.

And the obsession is real: it seems that you can’t even walk into a convenience store without seeing a large assortment of protein bars, snacks, etc. In fact, just about every type of convenience food including cereals, pasta, and even ice cream (yes, really) have versions labeled as high protein.

Among dieters, protein is constantly being promoted as the secret to weight loss, and diets like Paleo and The Zone emphasize protein as a central part of their nutrition plan. Even Weight Watchers recently changed its point system to reflect the importance of including protein in your regular meals.

But how much protein do you really need? The truth is that there is no one definitive answer—just like total calorie intake and workout frequency, it depends on your own personal goals.

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