Published in The Neapolitan Online

While this winter’s blizzards certainly weren’t from Dairy Queen, have no fear sweetness is finally here, in the form of the famous Girl Scout Cookies. If only there were a way to enjoy their deliciousness without the guilt… Well, now there is. We’ve consulted with top nutritionists and gourmet chefs to bring you these good-for-you recipes, so that when cookie season precedes bikini season, it won’t be a disaster of epic proportions, but a diet of healthy portions.

Caramel de Lites are also called Samoas after the island natives who struggle with obesity. But you don’t have to!  Samoans gain all this weight because they eat processed, imported food such as Spam or corned beef. Instead, you can pair each Caramel de Lite with a chunk each of fresh fish and fresh fruit for what we call – in honor of the islanders – Dietbetes.

Thanks-A-Lot cookies are delicious shortbread with fudge on the bottom. But if you don’t want to be thanking them for a few extra pounds, simply light a candle and melt off the fudge bottom. (The exercise you get from walking to the cupboard to get that candle won’t hurt either!) Just a little bit of fudge will remain on these Thanks-A-Littles, giving you a light chocolate-y flavor, without all the heavy calories of the full fudge coating.

Trefoils are shortbread cookies – essentially, Thanks-A-Lots without any fudge to give thanks for. But since they don’t need anything melted off, and won’t have a chocolate-y residue, they’re perfect for dipping in hummus and creating, what we call, Trefoilafel. Everything’s healthier with mashed chickpeas!

Cranberry Citrus Crisps, Lemonades and Rah-Rah-Raisins are three different Girl Scout Cookies that combine exceedingly well for a truly healthy treat. We call it our Summer Salad. Simply break up two of each type of cookie, toss them in a bowl and enjoy! The sweet raisins offset the more tart cranberry and lemon flavors, and you’re guaranteed to get Vitamin C, anti-oxidants and dietary fiber.

Tagalongs and Do-Si-Dos are a match made in peanut butter heaven. Split open the sandwich-style Tagalongs and slip a Peanut Butter Pattie between the cookie buns for a lunch that kicks PB&J to the curb. The pattie gives you an extra boost of protein – with some calcium from its chocolate coating. This Damn! Burger is sure to keep you full all afternoon and keep you from reaching for those unhealthy snacks.

Savannah Smiles are zesty, lemon-flavored cookies dusted with powdered sugar, but you’ll smile, too, when you enjoy them on a bed of kale. Kale is a source of a chemical which boosts DNA repair in cells and appears to block the growth of cancer cells, so by eating this Cookie Therapy Salad, you’re doing your body good.

Trios are a new Girl Scout recipe. They’re chocolate chips nestled in a gluten free peanut butter oatmeal cookie. Everyone knows that anything gluten-free is already super healthy, even if it has a million calories, so you don’t need to do much. But if you want to boost this cookie’s health appeal, do what you’d do to oatmeal – sprinkle in some flax seed – and eat it for breakfast, what we call CheeriTrios

Toffee-Tastic these buttery gluten-free cookies with toffee bits pair perfectly with a cup of coffee for Toffee-Tastic-Coffee. So toss that large gluten-filled croissant, and enjoy one of these practically “diet” cookies instead. Bonus! The sweet toffee lets you feel good about skipping the cream and sugar in your cup-o-joe.

And finally, the ubiquitous Thin Mints. These cookies already have “thin” in their name, so it’s hard to improve on that! Nevertheless, we’ve found that thin+thin=thinner, so if you really want to be an extreme health nut, eat two, or as we call the pairing, Kate-Moss-Thin Mints. Just don’t be surprised if your such a waif that, when you turn sideways, your friends can’t find you.

You already had to wait for you Girl Scout Cookies to be delivered, so what’s five more minutes of preparation? Take the time to whip up the above recipes and, while Girl Scout Cookies might still weigh heavy on your mind, they won’t weigh heavy on your body. Scout’s honor!