Believe it or not, I am a dietitian that will tell you to eat dessert. In fact, I often make it people’s homework.

I wholeheartedly believe that finishing each day with something yummy is good for you.

After years of being so restrictive with my diet, I have learnt first hand how damaging it can be to ‘give up’ sweet food all-together.

Years ago, when I began my innocent journey of trying to be ‘healthy’, I blocked out all the foods that I deemed not good for me. Whenever sweet food or food that I deemed not healthy was offered to me, I internally (and unfortunately sometimes externally) freaked out.

I would try and trick myself and those around me that I didn’t like what was being offered. When instead, it was all I could think about. I was so worried about ‘letting go’ and not knowing if I could trust myself if I said yes.

Would I eat too much?

How much exercise will I have to do tomorrow to burn this off?

Would I beat myself up for being weak and indulging?

…..Worst of all, what would happen if I actually let my guard down and said yes?

What would happen if I was in the moment and enjoyed it?….shocker.

All these thoughts too heavy for me to contemplate, so instead I did what I always did best, I just said no.

I said no to years of Christmas dessert, birthday cakes, dessert with Angus, coffee and cakes with Mum.

Until one day, I had enough of saying no.

On my journey towards living a more balanced life, one of the things I implemented was a pact with myself to have dessert every night. It became one of my nightly self-care rituals and still is to this day.

Because I didn’t trust myself just yet to listen to my body and to tell me when I ‘felt’ like dessert, I made it a non-negotiable. It became part of my routine, like brushing my teeth. I didn’t let myself overthink it, I just did it.

If I found myself not eating dessert a few nights in a row, I started to feel myself get off-kilter and my obsessions with being healthy started to creep back in.

If you are someone that is struggling with balance, at both ends of the spectrum, whether it be under-or-overeating, I really do encourage you to start this nourishing nighttime routine.

What I often tell my clients, is after dinner begin to wind down. Sip on a herbal tea and while reading a book, watching your favourite tv show, or talking with your partner or family, enjoy a sweet treat. Eat it slowly and enjoy it.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not giving you the green light to chow down on a packet of biscuits or a tub of ice-cream. Rather, I want you to start choosing something that tickles your fancy but is eaten slowly, in moderation and without guilt.

For you, this could be a homemade slice, a hot chocolate, or a few pieces of chocolate. Whatever it is that you feel like, listen to this.

What I see so often in my clinic, and I experienced myself, is that when we say we ‘can’t’ have something and we put all these rules and restrictions up, we end up doing the opposite. That thing we aren’t letting ourselves have ends up being the thing we can’t stop thinking about (hello Adam and the forbidden fruit!).

This is because when we label something as a forbidden, when we do inevitably ‘give in’, we end up going to town on it (i.e. bingeing) because we don’t know when we will have it again.

Welcome to the vicious restrict, binge cycle.

What I want you to try instead is letting your body have all food, but in moderation. Trust yourself that you will stop at a few pieces, not the whole block. Why? Because you can have some more tomorrow. It is no longer off-limits.

When we give ourselves permission to enjoy food, without guilt, something beautiful happens. We gain back control over our health. Food no longer has the power it once did. Food becomes just that, food.

If you are beginning your journey of finding balance with food, see below my favourite desserts on rotation now.

• Banana Bread

  This is one of my favourite dessert recipes. I love making a batch on the weekend and enjoying throughout the week. You can also mix it up by adding variations i.e. turning it into a chocolate-banana bread by adding 1/4 cup cacao powder to the mix or a nutty-banana bread and adding 1/4 cup walnuts. Find the recipe here.

• Salted Double Choc Cookies

  I love a good cookie recipe and these double choc cookies are soft, chewy and crispy all at the same time! Find the recipe here.

• Some of my bliss balls with a herbal tea! Or make your own.

• Toast with Peanut Butter and Jam

  Sometimes at night I just love the comfort of warm toast with peanut butter on one slice and sweet strawberry jam on the other. Try it!

• Lindt Chocolate

  This is my go-to when I have nothing baked. I love all flavours but currently on high rotation is the chocolate balls, which I fight Angus over for the choc-hazelnut flavour. I also am loving the mint dark chocolate squares.

• Caramel Slice

  Image pictured above. This decadent slice is my favourite chocolatey thing to enjoy as part of a healthy dessert after dinner. This slice is featured in my eBook, which can be found here, along with other healthy dessert recipes.

• Yoghurt with Toppings

  I love to use plain Greek yoghurt as a base and throw in the following combos:

  • Strawberries/raspberries or blueberries with honey and cinnamon

  • A sprinkle of chopped pepitas, sunflower seeds and almonds with honey

  • Tsp of raw cacao powder mixed in plus a tbsp of nut butter on top.

If you need more one-on-one support for creating more balance in your life, send me an email at info@ghnutrition.com.au and we can talk.

Here for you, always.