Why giving into cravings can be good (and other greedy thoughts)

Last week it hit me like a ton of bricks, straight out of nowhere, I knew I wasn’t strong enough to resist… A monstrous chocolate craving.

It happens, it’s always going to happen, get over it. Go buy some chocolate, go buy ALL the chocolate.

I’ll be honest the wine cravings hit first and if I’m really honest they may even be harder to resist. Hey, it was a Tuesday … That’s reason enough, right? I’d just got a job offer and my boyfriend and I decided a few wines was definitely deserved so we cracked a bottle… Heaven.

Nope, not enough. ‘Lets go for a glass of bubbles’ turned to ‘let’s get a bottle’ to (and I have to hand it to myself this was one of my finest decisions) ‘let’s get dessert’. Yes, dessert is ALWAYS a good idea.

So off we trotted to Mish Mosh on Courtenay Place in Wellington for the most UNBELIEVABLE donut I have ever experienced. It was loaded with so much goodness and even had syringes of salted caramel and chocolate on the side, just in case you needed to physically inject some more naughtiness into it (we did). I can’t do it justice… Witness for yourself below (I’d almost classify the image as NSFW)

Oh my lord it felt good. I batted my boyfriend’s hand away multiple times when I started feeling genuine panic that he might get more than his half. I was literally drooling. It was epic, a real treat. It was just what I wanted. It felt like a real celebration and we laughed and giggled and drooled together in an absolute bliss.

Let’s be realistic, I’m not saying you should (or can, or would want to) eat this every day. I’m not pretending it’s healthy (I mean… Look at it). I’m not advocating pigging out for every meal (unless maybe it’s December, or a birthday weekend, or you’ve just been reunited with an old friend, or it’s a celebration… I’ll stop now). I know all this, but sometimes your body is asking for something. There’s so much truth in the saying ‘a little bit of what you fancy does you good’. You need to allow yourself a treat, you need to celebrate with your loved ones, you need to be naughty and greedy sometimes. If you’re generally upholding a healthy lifestyle, there’s no reason why – when that craving takes over your brain – you can’t let it win. It feels too damn good not to.

We all punish ourselves a little too much. It’s great that we’ve all got more into the gym and fitness has become a real part of modern culture. It’s a wonderful thing that health foods and cooking with simpler, fresher ingredients has become all the rage. There’s no denying that but sometimes, we’re so involved in this process that we forget that one night of a few wines and a donut isn’t going to kill us. A bit of chocolate when you’re really needing it (girls know what I mean here) does more good than harm. A beer or a takeaway with your friends can make all the difference when you’re feeling a bit lost or low. Too much of all these goodies and, for sure, you’re gonna feel worse than before but when you hit that balance of just giving in to a little of what you desire… That’s real soul food.

Buy the chocolate, buy the bottle, eat the dessert… dare you.