What do you classify as a treat? What makes a treat a treat? Is a treat inherently bad for you?
The diet culture has truly warped our minds around food.
As I was growing up I had a strong feeling of food being good or bad for me. I’m not sure it was taught to me, I do not remember being taught food being good or bad. I do remember having to eat all my vegetables or there would be no dessert.
I eat the things on my plate I don’t love first, so I can savour the flavours of the foods I love last. Just last night we had pork tenderloin grilled in Moroccan spices with baked sweet potato and parsnip and steamed carrots, and green beans. This is the order I ate it in, green beans, carrots, parsnip, then I savoured the sweet potato and pork at the end. I actually liked all the food on my plate I just really liked the pork and sweet potato.
For some reason, the notion of good and bad food has stuck with me. I still can feel guilty after eating a treat. Whether that treat was a carob easter egg or a bowl of ice cream or a bag of chips. The problem with this mentality is that food is inanimate. It cannot hold a moral compass. Food is not good or bad. It can be healthy or toxic or somewhere in between. But it is not bad or good. And what you choose to eat does not reflect your morality. You are not a good or bad person depending on your food choices!
I have heard many clients and caught myself saying, I can have that chocolate because I earnt it. Either I deserve it because I suffered through a hard circumstance, or because I exercised the calories off already. Garhhhh… This is a hard mindset to shift. With years of diet culture telling us that calories are all that counts, we instead could look at the value of the food. All the pros and cons. If you prioritize nutrient-dense whole foods while avoiding those foods that cause inflammation, dysregulate hormones or damage the gut, then treats can fit into that overall diet as exactly that: treats.
If you have fallen into the diet on-and-off-the-wagon type of habits. Staying “Good” for a period of time then falling off the wagon with a “Bad” food, then maybe it is time to add treats into your plan. Allowing for some treats that fit your nutrient-dense healthy food plan. Defining treats could be a good idea, a treat is an event or item that is out of the ordinary and gives great pleasure. Treats can be sweet, but really it will be an item that is suboptimal from a nutritional standpoint. (If it was optimal, you could have it all the time and therefore would be ordinary and hence no longer a treat). Maybe a treat is going out for Mexican food, or sushi or quality chocolate or popcorn.
When you choose to have these treats it is not a reason to feel guilty! If this thought rages through your mind it will lead to disordered eating and a dysfunctional relationship with food. Rather if you think “I am choosing to indulge” and let go of the guilt, you can enjoy the benefits of that treat, the social engagement, the comfort and the joy.
So, enjoy a treat, remember it is an occasional event and choose to indulge in a food that you know will tolerate and not set you back on your health journey, but will instead it will bring you some pleasure!
Some of my favourite treats that I make at home include:
Chocolate Gingerbread Truffles
Some treats I have that I have bought include:
Shitake mushroom Chips
Veggie Chips
Pana Organic Chocolate
Keep it Cleaner Bliss balls
Popcorn
What are your favourite treats?
Do you need help to set your health goals or form your path to a healthier version of yourself? Are you a woman over 35 looking to thrive? As a chiropractor and nutritionist, I see patients daily that breakthrough past failures and turn their life around to a happier, healthier version of themselves. If you are looking for assistance to get your health back on track and think I might be able to help you please reach out. I have free discovery calls for women over 35 who are stuck in a rut with their health. Just click the link here to book a time and we can discuss if we are a good match to work together.
Yours in Health,
Dr. Anthea Holder
(Chiropractor and Functional Nutritional Therapy Practitioner)
Spicy Beef Burgers