Love expressed through cakes is not love

Just the other day, I was at the supermarket and saw a tray of beautiful kuehs and cakes — all glossy, soft, and calling out my name. I paused for a moment and thought, “Oh, my family would love this. It’s okay once in a while, right?”

And before I knew it, they were in my basket.

Sometimes, love can look like a slice of cake.

You see something in the store — maybe it’s their favorite chocolate, or that box of cookies your kids used to love — and you think, “They’ll be so happy if I bring this home.”

We buy it out of love.

Out of care.

Out of wanting to see smiles at the dinner table.

But deep down, I’ve started to realize something.

That kind of love — the one expressed through sugar, refined carbs, and sweet treats — sometimes hurts the very people we love most.

It’s not that a slice of cake is evil. Once in a while, it’s fine. But when it becomes our language of love every week, every celebration, every mood…

we end up feeding a habit that keeps our families tired, sluggish, and dependent on the next sugar hit.

I’ve caught myself so many times. Standing at my neighborhood cake stall, holding something I know isn’t good — and still buying it. Because I want to make them happy. But happiness doesn’t have to come from a packet of sugar.

Maybe love can also look like:

• Cooking a nourishing meal for them.

•  Watching their favorite show on TV after dinner.

•  Having deep, laughter-filled conversations without snacks on the table.

The truth is — it takes courage to love differently.

To choose long-term health over short-term pleasure.

To show love that heals, not harms.

It’s not about perfection. It’s about awareness.

And awareness is the first step toward protecting the people we love — one meal, one habit, one choice at a time.