10 Reasons to Eat Dessert in the Afternoon

If you’re like me, you indulge in a dark chocolate mint truffle after lunch (which I’m eating as I write this blog), or you crave something carb-rich or caffeinated during the afternoon lull (yep, that’s blood sugar asking for a pick-me-up). Perhaps your kids plead for dessert after not touching their healthy dinner, thereby tempting you to partake for the third time in one day (or forth, if you sweeten your coffee). What to do!?

Why not make dessert the afternoon snack? I often recommend this shift to families and burnt-out mamas. It’s one way to rethink meal planning and nutrient intake, consider kids’ picky eating behaviors, and help parents offset bribery after countless dinnertime complaints about vegetables.

As ever, I recommend diversity, so we don’t reduce “dessert” to only ice cream or cupcakes – those, in my nutritionist-mom world, are “celebratory desserts.” There are also “seasonal desserts,” like (currently) peaches with ginger-infused crème fraiche or homemade chunky applesauce with a dollop of whole yogurt, sprinkled with pecans. Nutritionally balanced “performance snacks,” optimal for soccer, hockey, and piano practice, may include combinations like tahini-cinnamon stuffed dates or trail mix with the kids’ preferred combo of nuts, dried fruit, and (yes) chocolate chips. “Special treats” are the handmade goodies we buy on occasion from our favorite local coffee shops, like vanilla macarons or almond torte with coconut whipped cream.  

Make it a house rule to consume the rest of one meal (sandwich or cucumbers from lunch?) before asking for another. If there are enough lunch leftover to become the snack, offer a small morsel of sweetness alongside: raisins or half a cookie. If a kiddo “hates carrots” (again), offer a simple solution, like ranch dressing or hummus. They’ll dip and eat while watching you prepare pear slices with chocolate-coconut-peanut butter spread. (Should a child absolutely refuse those carrot sticks, lovingly let it go, then ask for input when preparing tomorrow’s lunch).

If after-dinner dessert is your family’s norm, first declare the shift to afternoon dessert. Then, ask the kids to help create a list of 7 “desserts.” Gameify this endeavor, if you’d like; just stick to it. Ensure most desserts are nutrient dense and contain unprocessed fruits, vegetables, dairy, whole grains, nuts, seeds, and spices, as well as something sweet. Then, shop ahead for the ingredients.

Historically, sweet foods were available only when ripe, and “off-seasons” allowed our bodies a hiatus from sugar. Today, we simply consume too much sugar and too many simple carbs too often, leading to dis-ease and dysfunction. Now is the perfect time before the upcoming holidays to re-set our dessert habits.

10 reasons to offer dessert in the afternoon instead of after dinner:

1.     Eliminates bribing a child to eat dinner with the reward of getting dessert.

2.     Eliminates a sugar high, then crash, at bedtime when (you and) your children are tired.

3.     Reduces the excuses that delay a child’s bedtime.

4.     Alleviates the need for making another mess in the kitchen after cleaning up dinner.

5.     Teaches you to tune into your true hunger/satiety signals.

6.     Makes infrequent, after-dinner dessert more special.

7.     You and your kids may sleep better.

8.     Your body will begin the natural process of “fasting” sooner.

9.     You’ll eat one less meal each day (saving time, money, and excess caloric intake).

10.  Your dentist will thank you.

And I thank you, too, for reading this blog entry! Want more delicious food musings? Subscribe to my newsletter - scroll down on my home page to enter your email. Cheers!