putting food away doesn't mean it's "off-limits"

We had another opportunity to deal with candy over the Holidays. Every year we do a Gingerbread house, this year M also did one at school which was basically half a tub of frosting, 5 graham crackers and a ton of candy. Pretty much every day she was pestering me about it, occasionally taking a nibble or two when she thought I wasn't looking (note the occasional sneaking or food is normal at this stage, but habitual, secretive binging is concerning to say the least...)Anyhoo, having the candy in the middle of our dining room meant it was always in site and way more often on her mind. On the 26th of December, we had the "treat" snack where she had some milk and got to eat as much of the candy as she wanted. I have to say, I was worried about frosting that had been out for a week or more, but figured it was so full of preservatives she'd probably be OK. I told M I wasn't sure if it might make her sick or not. She didn't.She had about the equivalent of 1-2 Teaspoons of scraped frosting and 4-5 pieces of candy with some milk. She wanted some gummi bears but said she was full. I didn't want her only choice to be eat them now or throw them away, so I told her she could have the handful of gummis with her snack that afternoon. Then we tossed the rest without incident.I am writing to share not only the treat handling, but also the concept of keeping foods put away. When I work with families where children have been restricted, or on a diet, this tip is particularly helpful, and not the same as "you can't have this" and creating the forbidden food allure.Another great post from my friend and colleague at TheFatNutritionist.com. called "Putting Food in It's Place," says it better than I could, or at least for what I have time for these days. It is worth the read!"Now, it’s one thing to think, “Yeah, some cookies would be awesome right now,” and then you go and get some cookies, and indeed they are awesome.It’s another thing entirely if you pick cookies by default because they were there and you didn’t have any better ideas."With my families who have kids who are transitioning to the trust model, I recommend putting food away. Most kids who see candy or cookies will ask for it regardless of hunger, especially kids who have been restricted. Keeping them in a cupboard and purposefully serving them fairly regularly at meals and snack times will help children learn to incorporate these foods into a normal, balanced diet.What do you think?