ife is very much about balance, and when it comes to our relationship with food, this is a crucial thing to remember. We need to eat a well-balanced, healthy diet to stay fit and to maintain a good weight. 

However, there is another balance to consider, and that’s the balance between being ‘good’ and having a treat in the form of a dessert once in a while. Although you might assume that it’s best to forego desserts altogether, the truth is that indulging on rare occasions can be the perfect thing to do. With that in mind, read on to find out more. 

Photo by Silvia Trigo

To Prevent Bingeing 

It sounds like it should be easy to simply not eat desserts and to ignore sweet things all the time. However, as anyone who has ever tried to deny themselves anything they really want will know, not having that thing just makes you want it even more. When it comes to dessert, not allowing yourself ever to have one at all could mean that you get to a point where the cravings get too much, and instead of being healthy, you binge on lots of sweets and puddings. Not only is this unhealthy, but you’ll feel guilty as well.

Therefore, it’s far better to have a dessert every now and then – perhaps once a week, for example. In this way, you’re not denying yourself entirely, which means you will be less likely to overeat and binge – in the end, you’ll be eating less. Plus, you’ll have something to look forward to, which is great for your positivity and mental health. 

For Bonding 

Cooking can be a bonding experience, and cooking with friends and family is certainly something you should do more often if you don’t right now. You can share the work, chat, laugh, and generally spend time together when you might not normally get the chance. When you add some great dessert recipes into this idea of cooking together, you can make the experience last longer. The same is true even if you’re not cooking and you’re in a restaurant, for example. Ordering a dessert, perhaps to share, means you can bond even further. 

Dessert and treats like cake have long been part of the bonding process. Think of a birthday celebration where a cake is cut and passed around – it’s a lovely way to enjoy being with other people and, as long as you don’t do it every day, it shouldn’t cause any harm. 

To Celebrate 

We mentioned birthdays above, and that’s just one example of a celebration where people eat cakes and desserts. Life is too short not to be happy and not to enjoy the little things, which is why it’s so important to celebrate achievements and milestones. If you allow yourself to participate in eating dessert in these special moments, you won’t feel left out, and you won’t have any regrets. 

On top of this, you won’t look back on the celebration and only fixate on the sweet treats that you didn’t eat; you’ll be able to focus on lots of other things as well and really make the most of being able to have some fun. Just make sure you do set yourself a limit, otherwise you might go overboard – this is important in all aspects of life, so it’s a good habit to get into no matter what you’re doing. 

Learn About Other Cultures 

You can even enjoy dessert – in moderation – as a way to learn about other cultures. When you try recipes from around the world and taste new flavours that you might never otherwise have tried, you’ll gain a new perspective on the place the sweet treat comes from. 

Learning about other cultures is important for a number of reasons. It gives you new information (and it’s always important to keep learning as it keeps your brain busy and helps you understand the world more), it makes you – and others – more tolerant, and it helps people see that there are similarities between everyone, no matter where they might live or what culture they come from. 

If you can do all of this and enjoy a dessert from time to time as well, that can’t be a bad thing. 

Keep Memories Alive 

There is sure to be at least one dessert you remember fondly from your childhood. It might be something your grandmother or parents made, or something a friend’s mum always used to make when you went for a playdate. Or perhaps the memory is more about when your own children were smaller, and you made them a special dessert that they loved and looked forward to.

By making these desserts in the present, you can help to keep these memories alive, and that’s a great way to promote inner peace and happiness. 

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This is a contributed post