Fun Foods

Posted: 3 January 2021

I have wanted to add fun foods for many years as part of the Operation
Transformation food plan and this year it felt like the timing was right. The
reason I think it’s important to have these foods in your normal eating plan,
is because it takes the power of the forbidden away. All too often people
feel so guilty when they eat fun (treat) foods that they never get to actually
enjoy the chocolate or biscuits that they eat - and rather than having one or
two they eat the entire packet. So the ultimate goal is to be able to enjoy a
piece of cake at a party, or an ice cream on a hot sunny day without having
to have two or three more that day.

Of course eating well is about having a heavy majority of the foods you eat
coming from whole foods - but enjoying fun foods in moderation is just as
important as the fruit and vegetables in my mind. Because by doing this
you are are working towards creating a healthy relationship with food
which is something that will stick with you for life.
I have some ideas and portions for fun foods below. I recommend that you
really think about the foods that you truly enjoy for this. For me it’s
chocolate hand down! Many will be tempted to make these fun foods
‘good’ by choosing a light / diet version. But this only perpetuates the
forbidden food / diet mentality, so I would strongly advise against this.
Don’t be fooled though, this is not an easy task. In fact training yourself to
enjoy these foods in moderation can take months even years maybe. But
the only way to learn to do this is to eat them, and that’s the hard part. Be
kind to yourself as you muddle through this learning process.
Aoife
xoxo