When you hear the word treat, what comes to mind?
For many of us, it’s the usual suspects: crisps, biscuits, chocolate, takeaway. Quick, easy, indulgent and usually ultra-processed. It makes sense: these are the foods our brains light up for, the ones evolution trained us to grab when we could.

In my previous blog post, I talked about how calorie-dense foods were once scarce, and how our bodies still see them as something to “store on.” The problem is, today they’re everywhere, all the time.

So here’s the question: if we’re craving a treat, what are we really craving in a modern world? Comfort? Flavour? A pause in the day? Something that feels special and just for us?

Why we crave what we crave

For most of human history, food wasn’t something you could simply buy on every corner. Calories (especially rich, fatty, sugary calories) were hard to come by. When our ancestors stumbled across honey, nuts, or roasted meat, it was a feast. Our brains learned to light up with reward signals: Eat more of this. Store it. This is survival.

That wiring hasn’t changed. What has changed, radically, is our environment. For thousands of years, high-calorie foods were rare. Even as recently as around 50-70 years ago, before the globalisation of food supply chains and industrialised processing, most people had access to only a limited range of foods. Sweet puddings or fried food might appear on the table occasionally, but they weren’t a daily option. Now, those once-rare “treats” are available everywhere, all the time, and often in supersized portions.

So when you crave crisps after work, or biscuits at 11am, it isn’t because you’re weak. It’s because your brain is doing exactly what it was designed to do: seek out calorie-dense, palatable food. The difference is, we no longer live in the world our brains evolved in.

The cost of constant indulgence

There’s nothing wrong with enjoying food. Sharing, feasting, savouring; those are part of being human. The problem is that in our modern world, we’ve gone a bit overboard. A “treat” has shifted from something occasional and special to something we expect multiple times a day. Supermarkets, fast food, and endless snacks have blurred the line between meals and treats.

And it comes at a price. Our health is paying for it, with rising rates of obesity, diabetes, and heart disease, but so is our relationship with food. We’re caught in cycles of craving, indulging, regretting, and restricting. It feels personal, like a failure of willpower, when really it’s a mismatch between ancient wiring and modern abundance.

Rewiring with compassion

Here’s the good news: cravings aren’t destiny. They’re signals we can learn to interpret differently. And the best way to change them isn’t with punishment or guilt, but with the kind of patience and care you’d show a child. Imagine teaching a child new habits: you wouldn’t scold them for wanting sweets. You’d gently offer alternatives, show them other things they might enjoy, and repeat those patterns until they became second nature.

We can do the same for ourselves. Rewiring cravings means:

• Pausing long enough to ask: what am I actually craving? Energy? Comfort? Crunch?
• Offering yourself a better match: something that truly satisfies but doesn’t leave you drained afterwards.
• Repeating the pattern with kindness: over time, your brain learns that this new option is rewarding too.

This is where redefining the idea of “treat” matters.

A new definition of “treat”

Treats don’t have to be junk. They can be flavourful, comforting, and nourishing. Sometimes sweet or salty, sometimes hearty and savoury. The point isn’t rules or restriction. It’s about finding what actually feels like a treat for you, today.

For me, one of the best examples is homemade pizza. And before you roll your eyes, I don’t mean cheffy, hours-long projects. My pizza dough recipe is simple, forgiving, and endlessly adaptable. What makes it a treat isn’t just the result (though hot, bubbling pizza is hard to beat). It’s the fact that I get to decide and know what goes in:

• I control over ingredients → no mystery additives, just the basics.
• Balance to my needs → more veg, less cheese, or the other way around — whatever makes it my treat.
• Saving money → a fraction of takeaway prices, with better quality.
• A useful skill → once you learn, you can whip it up anytime. Homemade pizza is a great ‘party trick’ 😉
• Preparedness → dough in the freezer means when the craving hits, you’ve got a satisfying, cheaper and healthier option ready.
• Less waste → use up that half jar of olives, the end of a pepper, or leftover roast veg as toppings.

The point isn’t that pizza is “healthy” and crisps are “bad.” The point is, I’ve redefined what feels like a treat to me. Something that excites my taste buds, fills me up, makes me feel cared for  and doesn’t leave me with regret afterwards.

Try this for yourself

Next time you reach for a treat, pause for a second:

• What am I actually craving right now?
• Is it sweetness, saltiness, crunch, warmth, comfort, or just a break?
• What’s an option I like that gives me that, without the crash afterwards?

Sometimes the answer might still be a chocolate bar, and that’s okay. But more often than not, you’ll find there’s another way to scratch the itch, one that really satisfies you, body and mind.

And the more often you practice this, the easier it gets. Over time, your brain learns: this is what a “treat” looks like now. Not because you forced yourself, but because you listened with compassion, offered yourself something better, and repeated it.

That’s not deprivation. That’s re-teaching yourself, like a loving parent would. And that’s a treat in itself ❤

Mx