I enjoy eating ice cream with my daughter. We do it once a month.  We go to a place around the corner and she has her scoop of strawberry icecream with sprinkles. And I’ll get a salted caramel. 

And Ibaco does something cool. They give me this tiny portion of 30 grams. Just 3 spoons of icecream. I drag it out into 6 spoons and take my time with it. It costs 30 bucks. It’s roughly 60 calories. That’s negligible. Food is a tool to create memories. I remember sharing a macadamia nut ice cream with my father growing up. Then there’s the magnum, ball shaped ice cream and a cassata. We used to go to town on those. 

I can’t indulge the way I did when I was younger. Nor can I now given I prioritise leanness and being nimble. 

But memories matter. And food is a part of it. Do I want to be the parent that demonises sugar for their kids and have them avoid it. Not sure how this pans out in the long haul given how ubiquitous these foods are. And they taste pretty damn good too. 

 I believe that approach of exclusion is neither necessary nor healthy. Being able to enjoy a food, display impulse control and be content consuming the smallest portions feels like the most pragmatic approach.

We need to normalize the idea of micro-portions. Watching us behave responsibly also gets our kids to understand that eating very small portions of some foods is fine. And being able to walk away when you’re content is fine. And just recognise that we consume some foods not for nourishment or energy. But for enjoyment.