I observe that my monkey-mind tells me I've been so "good" at eating raw, that I deserve a treat! And what kind of treat does it suggest I "treat" myself with? Refined sugar, deep fried potatoes, Indian curries with a bowl of rice bigger than my head. Treat. A craving to "treat" oneself; I think the more apt term is to spoil oneself.

 

Where does this come from? This idea that it's a reward, an amazing gift to eat something really, really bad for you? Something that tastes pretty bland compared to a tropical fruit, and sits in the stomach like a rock, and makes you feel lethargic and depressed? Congratulations, you've done so well, here's a bowl of colon-clogging crap!

Thanks to the modern SUPERmarket, we can buy mangoes, passionfruits and dragonfruits for reasonably affordable prices, in a climate where these things do not grow. We can buy bananas for $2 a kilo! This, perhaps, has taken away the idea of a special, super-healthy food for a super-special celebration and left in its place the idea that the fuller we are, the happier we are and the more meaningful the celebration. 

Maybe it's our society that has evolved from harder times, when the calories of fat and salt kept us alive, when a pile of buttery mashed potato and a leg of pork was the ultimate indulgence, if only for its abundance and psychology that bellies were full so things were okay. So the ability to buy a week's worth of calories in the form of potato crisps, chocolate and softdrink for under $20, eat it all in one sitting and call it a treat may have been born.

I don't know why my mind wants to sabotage my efforts when my tummy is full, I am oozing excess energy and feeling stable. I do know that I can battle it and win, by shifting my mind from "treat" to "spoil".

With its 101 uses for the household nut, raw food has taught me that there can be treats and these can be true treats to the tastebuds and the mind and the body. A raw, strawberry cheesecake that takes two and a half days to prepare and looks like a monolith of colourful awesome is a treat. A 200g packet of beige, potato crisps is not. It's spoilage.