Thanks to the support of a few fellow bloggers (Brandi, Sarah, Haleigh, Yasmin, Olga) here we have the first-ever Fit for Free challenge: the Forbidden Foods Challenge! This challenge is based on the idea that life is short, we should LOVE what we eat, and denial will only lead to overindulgence. It’s a challenge to leave behind the stress associated with a particular food and begin to trust yourself around it.
Here’s how it’s going to work (bloggers and non-bloggers are welcome to join in anytime between now and Sunday!):
1.) Pick a food/drink/dessert that you love, or have always wanted to try, that you routinely deny yourself. It could be something that “calls” to you when it’s in the kitchen, or something you pass every time you go to the grocery store and tell yourself “no, I really shouldn’t . . .” It could be the thing you REALLY want to order every time you go to your favorite restaurant, but never do.***
2.) Some time in the next couple days, enjoy that food, in a healthy environment (sitting down with a portion in front of you). Try to enjoy it at a time when you’re not stressed, and really just want to enjoy the food. Try to stop when you’re satisfied and save the remainder to enjoy another time 
3.) Share your experience! If you have a blog, link back to this post and tell your story! If you don’t have a blog, leave a comment here and let us know how it went for you! It could be a recap of a night out at a restaurant, a trip to a pastry store, a week spent with a pint of frozen yogurt in your freezer. It could be a good or bad experience (although the goal, of course, is to ENJOY the experience!). The goal is to learn from each other!
4.) Check back on Sunday for a giveaway! I’ll pick a random participant to receive a surprise package (I won’t reveal ALL the contents, but it will definitely include a bottle of Country Bob’s, frozen yogurt coupons, and something homemade ).
The Forbidden Cookies!
My personal forbidden food will be REAL homemade [vegan] chocolate-chip cookies. As I shared in this post, chocolate-chip cookies are one of my absolute favorite desserts, but I’m afraid to bake bona fide cookies (i.e. not healthified by making them fat-free, whole-wheat, oat-based, etc.!) And, despite years of trying, I haven’t come up with a healthy version that’s as satisfying as the real thing. I am going to bake a batch of the real deal cookies tonight and share my experience ENJOYING THEM IN MODERATION this week! I had a good experience with another “forbidden food” (Swiss Crunch Cereal) last week and hope I can replicate the experience (enjoying it often, but in a healthy setting).
I think it this will be a great way to support each other on the quest for moderation in all things
*** Disclaimer: This challenge should not be an incentive to buy anything terribly unhealthy (i.e. anything with trans-fat!!), and it is not meant to invite disordered eating behavior (bingeing, purging, obsessing, etc.). If you try your “forbidden food” and realize that you’re not ready for it, then by all means, remove it from your environment.
March 16, 2009 at 2:11 pm
Yay! I’m so excited for this Vani
What a great idea.
I still have to go to the grocery store in the next day or two, so I’ll pick up my “forbidden food” soon!
March 16, 2009 at 2:12 pm
YAYYYYYYYYYY, i’m so excited for this challenge!! there are SO many healthy foods that I tend to avoid because they are calorically dense (even though they’re useful calories) … i’m going to stop into a fun health food store asap this week to pick something out
i’ll let you know what i decide. (and i’m going to link to this post later this afternoon!)
March 16, 2009 at 2:51 pm
hmm i would say mine is cheesecake, but unless it’s homemade it’s probably got all kinds of stuff in in that would not be good… hmm actually I could bake cookies or blondies and just try not to eat them all in one sitting! done and done.
March 16, 2009 at 2:58 pm
Good luck girls!
March 16, 2009 at 2:59 pm
GOOD LUCK EVERYONE!!
March 16, 2009 at 4:10 pm
I am looking forward to the challenge! Good luck girls!
March 16, 2009 at 4:29 pm
I’ll be joining in! Good luck everyone!
March 16, 2009 at 4:36 pm
[...] is starting a forbidden foods challenge which I am going to take part it. My forbidden food? Those darn Cadbury Mini Eggs!! On [...]
March 16, 2009 at 6:39 pm
[...] Check out Vani’s brilliant, healthy, and fun Forbidden Foods Challenge. This is hands-down the BEST blogger challenge I’ve [...]
March 16, 2009 at 7:23 pm
I am ready for the challenge! Yesterday I faced my forbidden food, peanut butter. As you know I am a recovering anorexic and have been told to start adding healthy fats to my diet to try and gain weight. I have been deathly afraid of adding nut butters to my meals. Yesterday, I had a peanut butter, banana, and dark chocolate pita sandwich for lunch. It was indulgently sweet and perfect. I felt guilty and did not eat again for another 5 hours and tried not to eat anything fattening the rest of the day. I am trying though.
March 16, 2009 at 7:54 pm
I love this idea! I sort of did this yesterday as I ate a giant spread of Ethiopian food by myself…all that remained was some bread
March 16, 2009 at 9:58 pm
[...] A little this and that Vani over at Fit for Free has decided to do an awesome challenge for bloggers and readers alike. The challenge is to incorporate a food into our life that you love to eat but constantly deny yourself for whatever reason. You can read more about the Forbidden Foods Challenge here. [...]
March 16, 2009 at 10:09 pm
I would love to participate in this but I’m not sure if I’m ready… I’ll see how this week shapes up though
March 17, 2009 at 1:36 am
Hazelnutalibi is IN!!
March 17, 2009 at 4:46 am
This is such a great idea. I am still getting over an eating disordered mindset and have several “fear foods/forbidden foods.” One of those is nuts. Even though I know they’re such a good source of healthy fats and nutrients (not to mention tasty!), I was always afraid of how caloric they are. I would even go as far as to pick them out of granola bars, to “save calories”. I was also afraid of having them in the house, like I’d eat the whole bag or something.
Recently, I’ve been toying with the idea of buying nuts because I really need to increase my healthy fats (and I do enjoy pecans!). But every time I looked at them in the grocery aisle, I saw those big calorie numbers and ended up walking away empty handed. I’ve been doing this for weeks now.
I read this post this morning. Today when I went to whole foods, I walked to the nut section and finally bought some pecans. After about a month of denying myself them, I finally bought the nuts. I had two of them as part of a small snack when I got home. I enjoyed them, and I was able to stop at two! I didn’t “lose control” and devour the whole bag. I didn’t even have the desire to, and it was so nice to just enjoy them without worrying. I plan on having some over my oats tomorrow, and enjoying them as snacks. Thanks so much for this post– it gave me that final push to actually buy those tasty pecans, and I know my body will appreciate the healthy fats!
March 17, 2009 at 2:40 pm
[...] Forbidden Challenge: After dinner I had 1 Twizler’s and 1 Reese’s miniature! It was a spur of the moment thing so I didn’t take a photo of them. At the end of the week, I will do a recap on the forbidden foods challenge, how it went for me, and how I felt about it! Have you guys decided to partake in the challenge? If so, what is your forbidden food? If you don’t know about the challenge you can check it out here. [...]
March 17, 2009 at 3:43 pm
[...] 2. Join Vani’s Forbidden Foods Challenge! [...]
March 17, 2009 at 4:37 pm
[...] first of all, thank you SO much for your support on the Forbidden Foods Challenge! I’m so impressed with everyone who’s already brought their “forbidden [...]
March 17, 2009 at 8:06 pm
Day 3 of my Forbidden Food challenge:
I was brave enough to add a tbsp of peanut butter to my morning oats. Very good and left me feeling satisfyingly full. I can see why so many add this to their breakfast. But for me,I hate that “fullness” factor and had to re-channel my thoughts away from that. I will work on it though
March 17, 2009 at 9:35 pm
[...] look at what I picked up on the way home for Vani’s Forbidden Foods Challenge: They look so [...]
March 17, 2009 at 11:06 pm
[...] into this ridiculously satisfying pile of refined sugar, I spent some time considering Vani’s Forbidden Foods Challenge. The idea is to demystify a food that you usually force yourself to avoid, whether for fear [...]
March 17, 2009 at 11:16 pm
I’m thinking that my forbidden food has got to be donuts… And I’m not sure if I should go have one or not. I’ll have to think on this…
March 18, 2009 at 12:36 am
[...] heading home. I’m glad we went because we needed more than I remembered, and I bought my Forbidden Food of [...]
March 18, 2009 at 1:59 am
wow… this is a great challenge! I’ll be joining you (and reading your blog now!)
March 18, 2009 at 2:24 am
[...] we get to the (DELICIOUS!!!!!!) forbidden cookies, let’s do a quick recap of the [...]
March 18, 2009 at 3:06 am
wow i LOVE the idea of this challenge! i do let myself indulge (maybe too often) but it’s never guilt-free. i’m looking forward to allowing myself to truly enjoy a forbidden food with no strings attached!
March 18, 2009 at 11:00 am
[...] finally, for dessert, I broke out my forbidden food: the lemon curd! I enjoyed the golden dollop of luxury and class atop one of my balsamic-strawberry [...]
March 18, 2009 at 2:24 pm
[...] just the act of changing that’s scary. I am just so excited to be doing Vani’s challenge – I think this is definitely what I needed right [...]
March 18, 2009 at 4:51 pm
excellent idea!! That would most definitely be peanut butter for me….Im gonna go buy a jar TODAY and see how it goes! One spoonful a day….enjoyed fully…I CAN DO IT!
March 18, 2009 at 8:36 pm
Hey! I thought I’d update how I’m doing with my “forbidden” pecans. It’s going well! I broke some up and added them to some greek yogurt the other day. It was really tasty, and I was proud of myself for not being tempted to eat them straight out of the bag while making the yogurt. I just took what I wanted to put in the yogurt, and put the rest back.
March 19, 2009 at 10:05 am
I started thinking(not about the previously mentioned donut…about forbidden foods) this has been a week of forbidden foods starting last Thursday night. My birthday was last Friday and Thursday night I went out for ice cream(big no no) Friday I had dessert when we went out to eat. Saturday I had a cupcake. At work this week I had a cookie, fruit pizza and strawberry oat bars. And you know what? I didn’t gain a thing! : )
March 19, 2009 at 3:28 pm
Well as silly as it sounds Lara bars have been a forbidden food for me. Because of this challenge I bought 3 and then ate the first one yesterday. It would great and healthy and even though a little calorie dense for such a small snack I would (and will) eat it again!!!
March 19, 2009 at 9:12 pm
[...] of indulging in a pricey, fancy condiment that I never would have considered buying if not for the Forbidden Foods Challenge. It’s good to remember that I am allowed to treat myself every once in a while — my [...]
March 20, 2009 at 3:35 am
[...] SUCH a fan of the lemon curd for breakfast AND dinner . I’m already excited to eat it in a new way tomorrow morning. In fact, by the time this post is up, I may even be dreaming about it. Yay, forbidden foods! [...]
March 20, 2009 at 4:23 pm
Ok so my house is now STOCKED with VitaTops since the company sent me some…well baked goods are indeed my weakness.
So I put a bunch in the freezer and i put the rest towards the back of the cabinet. This means I don’t see them, so I only think about them when I truly want one. Granted they are pretty healthy, but anything in mass becomes unhealty!
Anyhow I had one for a breakfast snack yesterday and have managed not to have any others! I’m feeling pretty good and confident about not going crazy.
March 21, 2009 at 3:30 pm
[...] forbidden foods challenge, if you dont know about this challenge yet you can check out the details here. My forbidden food was candy. I have struggled with candy in the past, eating too much or not [...]
March 22, 2009 at 2:26 am
[...] a difference in the frameworks already. That brings me to Vani’s forbidden foods challenge at Fit for Free. From Vani’s site: “This challenge is based on the idea that life is short, we should [...]
March 22, 2009 at 5:47 am
[...] these chips are my choice for vani’s forbidden food challenge! [...]
March 22, 2009 at 12:15 pm
[...] back later for breakfast, lunch, and some reflections on this Forbidden Foods [...]
March 22, 2009 at 2:08 pm
[...] i made it to the 120’s y’all! even after some forbidden potato chip munching [...]
March 23, 2009 at 1:32 am
[...] Forbidden Foods Challenge [...]
March 23, 2009 at 1:14 pm
Success!!
Ill admit, on day one, I overindulged and felt a bit bad about it (do you know how HARD it is to stop at one spoonful of pb??) Day 2 I was a bit hesitant, but made myself a nice pb sandwich and enjoyed every last bit. After 5 days, I still have 3/4 jar left, and fel pretty good about having pb around now that i realize I CAN have more tomorrow!!
Thanks for the challenge, this was great!!
March 23, 2009 at 1:50 pm
[...] everyone who participated, and their forbidden foods (listed in the order that they commented on the challenge post). Because I don’t want to put words in anybody’s mouth, I encourage you to visit their [...]
March 25, 2009 at 2:18 pm
[...] little (and did not feel good!!). So for me, doing a week of raw food is like an extension of the Forbidden Foods challenge—bringing raw food into my life in a healthy context. It seems silly to me that a set of foods [...]
March 26, 2009 at 2:40 pm
[...] feel better, but still just felt like *too much.* I was mad at myself for ending the week of the Forbidden Foods Challenge by eating 2 of my forbidden cookies in the middle of a mindless sugar-driven snackfest. I guess I [...]
March 26, 2009 at 10:55 pm
My reflections on the forbidden food challenge….I realize they’re long overdue but better late than never right?
So, my forbidden food was ice cream because I associate it with fat and gaining weight and eating too much. I pretty much have always felt guilty eating it and felt horrible afterwards. But it might have been because I ate too much before? Because throughout the challenge, I’ve eaten it sparingly, like a little for dessert or a teaspoon mixed into oatmeal (yes, it’s wonderful) and I felt satisfied and okay with that.
In fact, trying to have a bit of my forbidden food every day actually made me a little bit sick of ice cream!
So I do think that I learned something here. I am all for moderation and not denying myself treats but I think my fear of ice cream and how I perceive it actually make me stay away from it completely, and therefore when I do eat it, I overdo it. So what’s the lesson? Eat ice cream more frequently!
Thanks to Vani for hosting such a wonderful challenge!