Dessert - do you or don't you?

[Poppy]

Growing up, we always had dessert following dinner (the evening meal). Mom baked, so frequently there was a small piece of cake or pie, but if not, there was always a dish of ice cream or maybe one or two cookies.

My husband grew up having dessert before bed, not after dinner. He says they always ate too much at dinner to enjoy dessert right after, so they had ice cream or pie while watching late-night television.

Nowadays, my husband and daughter really prefer to have dessert for breakfast. If I make a pie or cake, they'll have a piece the day I make it, but will have any other leftovers for breakfast for the next couple of mornings.

So when you eat like to eat dessert? Do you order dessert following a meal at a restaurant? Do you feel you need a bite of something sweet to properly end a meal? Or do you like to eat dessert on it's own?

 

[Second Summer]

Only after a dinner meal, and mostly only on the weekends or special occasions / celebrations.

 

[beancounter]

Yea, I have dessert after dinner occasionally. Usually some cookies with tea, or a Starbucks mocha. I really shouldn't.

 

[Calliegirl]

I had dessert after dinner growing up too. Now I sometimes have it depending on whether or not I have anything. I also occasionally eat it before dinner or instead.

I rarely get any when I eat out, I'm usually too full. If it's a vegan restaurant I may get something to take with me, but omni restaurants don't have anything special worth taking home.

 

[Capstan]

Not every day. 2 or 3 times a week.

 

[AeryFairy]

I don't eat dessert every day, but when I do, any time is dessert time. In the morning with my coffee, or for breakfast, or just before lunch, or just after lunch, or mid-afternoon, or just after dinner, or mid-evening, or as a pre-bedtime snack...

Aaand now I want cake.

 

[shyvas]

Yes. Dessert is part of a meal. It is a sweet course following a meal.

I usually have either a piece of fruit or yogurt, yogurt plus fruit or a fruit salad.

On occasions, I'll make a pudding ; ice cream, crumble, pie or a cream dessert.

 

[MadamSarcastra]

My family & I were never dessert eaters....

 

[ledboots]

Not much of a dessert eater either, but we will have a sweet snack later in the evening sometimes.

 

[Moll Flanders]

I prefer savoury food, but I do like a nice dessert or ice cream, but I wouldn't wait until after dinner if I had a craving.

I love perfectly ripe fresh fruit and ice cream.

I don't eat dessert every day, but when I do, any time is dessert time. In the morning with my coffee, or for breakfast, or just before lunch, or just after lunch, or mid-afternoon, or just after dinner, or mid-evening, or as a pre-bedtime snack...

I'm the same.

 

[SuicideBlonde]

I hardly eat sweets. Once a month I do get the urge and bake. I only have a bit and leave the rest to the boys I live with. I do like ice cream, but again rarely eat sweets.

 

[Chryssie]

I grew up always having dessert. My Dad also always had a chocolate milkshake before bed.... every single day. I love sweets! However, eating out we never have dessert but have been known to take a treat home once in a while. Right now we are dieting so no sweets/desserts for me.

 

[KLS52]

Guess. Haha.


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[Naturebound1]

I'll have a simple dessert like sorbet or a muffin about once a month or so. I usually make a dessert for holiday family get togethers (three or four times a year) but not always. Once in a great while I might make a dessert/treat for work, maybe a few times a year. Otherwise I am not too much into dessert. I don't consider fresh fruit or vegan yogurt dessert, more like a snack or breakfast item. Fresh homemade whole wheat bread is incorporated into meals here and there but again it is not a dessert. To me, dessert is cake, pie, cookies, cupcakes, chocolates, fruit crisps, puddings, (other than the above one I mentioned), quick breads, that sort of thing.

I grew up in a dysfunctional household. My parents divorced when I was very young. My Mom worked full time and went to school and earned a PhD. My Dad was mentally ill and not available much of the time. My sister was also very ill with paranoid schizophrenia and both parents had their hands full with her in and out of institutions. My parents didn't cook much and we rarely had sit down meals at the table together. Usually when we did it was disastrous due to family fights. My mom has been a binge eater for years and there was always junk food in the house. Funny thing is, I had this innate shame over food from the time I was very little, and seeing all the junk my Mom would buy when she dragged me to the grocery store. I was always really embarrassed by that. My distant relatives made fun of her for being very overweight, and I hated them for it, but it put a lot of fear into me too, that I would end up like that. I craved real food, healthy food, and I made due with what I could until I was old enough to buy my own food. Most kids would be thrilled to have four boxes of sugared cereals to choose from for breakfast. I hate them. Instead I would make myself cream of wheat. I was seven years old and making cream of wheat for myself lol. Thankfully at least my Mom would buy stuff like that too. Not saying my parents were bad people at all. They did the best they could considering. I just didn't have the best role models in regards to food. We almost never had homemade dessert. It was always junk food. My Dad had so much anxiety that his digestion was horrible and there were so many foods he couldn't eat or handle. He was rail thin and still is. He has numerous health issues as a result of eating bland foods for years, and rarely any fruits and vegetables. My Dad lived on potatoes and mush.

Oh but my Grandma! she was the most wonderful cook ever! I only saw her every few months growing up, but she went all out to make wonderful homemade from scratch (a lot of it from her garden) food for us. And she made real desserts. My favorite was strawberry shortcake. She always made elaborate cakes. I know that my talent for cooking comes from her. She wanted us to have the best food. Nothing was processed.

I still have this fear and shame around eating dessert, even now. It is "bad", a waste of calories, too much sugar, forbidden. all those thoughts go through my head. It feels so wrong. Sometimes I push past that and try to enjoy dessert anyway, to be "normal". To not have this all or nothing attitude about food. I went through a terrible period of bingeing and purging when I was very very underweight (I suffered with anorexia nervosa for six years from 2008-2014 though it all started in 2006 after a traumatic hysterectomy and loss of my ovaries/surgical menopause and hormonal imbalance) but it was more of a survival mode kicking in due to lack of body fat. Nevertheless, dessert, or the making of it, can trigger old feelings and desires that scare me. So I tread carefully in regards to dessert.

Even as I write all this out, it didn't occur to me until I started writing this post just how much something as simple as dessert can bring up all this emotion, this conflict, and family history. It's not something I dwell on often lol.

 

[Mischief]

I almost never eat anything sweet as part of a larger meal. If there are baked goods available, I like to have a piece with morning coffee, or in the afternoon with coffee, or in the late evening with coffee....

 

[Poppy]

@Naturebound - yeah, something simple like "dessert" can bring up a lot of old stuff. My mother was almost the opposite of yours - always extremely concerned about her figure, my figure, the First Lady's figure, Miss America's figure, etc.... My mother, upon learning I was bulimic, was actually somewhat proud.

Needless to say, I have a complex relationship with food, too.

But like you, I had a grandmother who was a wonderful cook. When she retired to her hometown in Tennessee, there were always friends/relatives/neighbors in her house waiting for meal time or dessert. And she made the most wonderful, albeit, simple, desserts! There were pies, cakes, jams, puddings, brittles, and pastries.

Thinking about all of this has made me realize - I'd rather be remembered for my desserts than for my figure.

 

[PTree15]

I grew up having dessert probably once a week. We never had it right after dinner; it was more like a snack later on in the evening. My mom baked every week, usually on the weekends, so we did have things like pie and cake and cookies. She was always very careful about the amounts, though, as she had a weight problem and didn't want her children to have that same issue (we still ended up with weight issues, lol). She would tell us that such treats were just that, a treat, not something to be had every day.

As an adult, I do enjoy dessert a few times a week, usually an hour or so after dinner, but not every night. I like cakes, cookies, muffins, ice cream, you name it. I prefer homemade desserts as well. I like fruit as well for dessert. I usually don't need a lot, just a bite or two sometimes. Like tonight, I had half a chocolate chip cookie after dinner. I just wanted a taste. Sometimes, though, I'm all about the big bowl of vegan ice cream.

 

[shyvas]

I grew up having dessert probably once a week. We never had it right after dinner; it was more like a snack later on in the evening. My mom baked every week, usually on the weekends, so we did have things like pie and cake and cookies. She was always very careful about the amounts, though, as she had a weight problem and didn't want her children to have that same issue (we still ended up with weight issues, lol). She would tell us that such treats were just that, a treat, not something to be had every day.

As an adult, I do enjoy dessert a few times a week, usually an hour or so after dinner, but not every night. I like cakes, cookies, muffins, ice cream, you name it. I prefer homemade desserts as well. I like fruit as well for dessert. I usually don't need a lot, just a bite or two sometimes. Like tonight, I had half a chocolate chip cookie after dinner. I just wanted a taste. Sometimes, though, I'm all about the big bowl of vegan ice cream.

That would be impossible for me.

 

[Mike Simms]

I am having a sweet tooth so I am too much fond of desserts. I just eat it after my dinner (sometimes before it). My mom always used to bake my favorite apple pie, we used to sit together and have our meal and then she used to serve us the pie. But now its different and I had to bake by myself. Sometimes my friend order from a website and they said it was delicious.

 

[MadamSarcastra]

Didn't know where to post this, hope someone finds it useful. I, myself, don't eat dessert.... no sweets whatsoever, actually... not even fruit. But I get emails from The Daily Dish (low sodium website) and thought a few folks here might be interested in making these:

Sweet Almond Cupcakes with Cinnamon-Fudge Frosting » The Daily Dish



Enjoy!