🍟 May 11 – Eat What You Want Day: Permission to Chow Down Granted 🍫
No counting calories. No side-eyes from kale enthusiasts. No shame spirals for double-dipping in queso. On May 11, the food rules go out the window—because it’s Eat What You Want Day, and your taste buds are in charge now. 🎉
This gloriously gluttonous holiday was dreamed up by Thomas and Ruth Roy, a quirky husband-and-wife duo known for creating offbeat celebrations through their site, Wellcat Holidays. And let’s be honest—they were really onto something with this one. 🧠+🍕 = 💡
It’s a day to indulge in your favorite treats, whether that means a whole pizza to yourself, pancakes for dinner, or finally mixing all the sodas at the fountain like your 12-year-old self wanted to. No judgment here. In fact, enthusiastic encouragement.
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🍰 Weird, Wild & Tasty Tidbits
The average person spends over five years of their life thinking about food. May 11 is your chance to actually do something about it.
There's a condition called selective eating disorder, where people literally can't eat anything outside a few “safe” foods. On Eat What You Want Day, those “safe” foods totally count.
A 2019 survey showed that 70% of Americans feel guilty after indulging. This holiday? Designed to cancel that guilt like a Netflix trial you forgot to end.
The world’s most expensive dessert is a $25,000 Frrrozen Haute Chocolate sundae in NYC. Don’t eat that unless you really want to, but still—dream big.
🍕 10+ Delightfully Delicious Ways to Celebrate Eat What You Want Day
Plan a “no regrets” meal – Whatever you’ve been craving? Go for it. Breakfast tacos at 3pm? Yes. Birthday cake for breakfast? Double yes. Need ideas? Try the Junk Foodie cookbooK!
Host a “Dream Menu” potluck – Everyone brings a dish they love most, no matter how weird. Mac & cheese sushi? We salute you.
Recreate a childhood snack combo – Peanut butter on pickles, anyone? (Just me? Okay.) It’s nostalgia on a plate.
Give your inner foodie free rein – Try that over-the-top viral recipe you bookmarked but never made. (Croissant-wrapped hot dogs with truffle aioli, let’s go.)
Build the ultimate snack board – Think charcuterie, but chaotic: Gummy bears next to nacho cheese and potato chips. Because you can. No board? Make a Snackle Box!
Eat dessert first – Life’s too short to save the good stuff for last.
Try something new – Yes, “what you want” might be something you've never had. Ethiopian stew? Japanese soufflé pancakes? Taste adventure awaits.
Support local food trucks or small eateries – Order something indulgent and show love to your local grub spots.
Order one of everything from your favorite bakery – Then invite your friends over to help…or don’t. No rules today.
Make it themed – “Orange foods only,” “Everything fried,” or “Foods that are technically breakfast but eaten at dinner.”
Do a blindfold taste test – Trust a friend to feed you bites and guess what they are. Hilarity (and some horror) may ensue.
The best resource - Our “Fork It. I’m Hungry” T-shirt in our Etsy shop and our themed Spotify Playlist made just for the occasion!
Want a little inspo for a whimsical, “Eat What You Want” spread with a sprinkle of May Day mischief? Here's a cozy, slightly chaotic woodland-themed menu to lean all the way into the spirit:
🌿 Main Dish: Build-Your-Own Woodland Snack Board Think elevated Lunchables—but make it forest fairy-approved.
Cheeses: Brie, sharp cheddar, herbed goat cheese
Cured meats: Prosciutto, salami roses (yes, make them cute)
Crackers + crostini
Fresh fruit: Berries, figs, and pear slices
Dips: Honey mustard, fig jam, basil pesto
Garnishes: Edible flowers, sprigs of rosemary or thyme, candied nuts
Arrange it like a picnic offering to a woodland deity. You are the deity.
🍟 Craving Station
Channel your inner raccoon and create a small-batch junk food bar:
Mini fries in paper cones
Mac and cheese bites
Chocolate-dipped potato chips (don’t knock it till…)
Pickles (because someone always wants a pickle)
A plate of random childhood favorites (Dino nuggets? Gushers? Live your truth.)
🍦 Dessert: Ice Cream Sundae Forest Floor
Layer crushed chocolate cookies (“soil”), scoops of your favorite ice cream, berries, mini mushrooms (marzipan or meringue), and edible flower petals. Drizzle with fudge and call it forest magic.
🍸 Drink: Anything Goes “Potion Bar”
Set out mixers, juices, fruit, herbs, sparkling water, and a couple spirits if you're boozy. Let everyone play apothecary and create their own whimsical drink.
🧺 Bonus points if you:
Eat on a blanket on the living room floor
Wear fuzzy socks or a dramatic robe
Light a candle shaped like something weird (frog? mushroom? vibes.)
🍓 Elementary Classroom Idea (Grades K–5)
Science of Taste Buds 🧪👅
Introduce the five basic tastes (sweet, sour, salty, bitter, umami) and do a kid-safe tasting experiment with lemon, pretzel, etc.
🍔 Secondary Classroom Idea (Grades 6–12)
Macronutrient Mystery Game 🧪🍗
Students analyze sample meals and break down the proteins, carbs, and fats. Great intro to nutrition science!
Quirky in the Workplace Idea
Mini Food Olympics Games include:
Speed cheese unwrapping
Blindfolded donut dunking
Balance-a-cupcake-on-your-head relay
Today’s motto: Calories don’t count when you’re living your best snack life. So go ahead—dip that fry in your milkshake, eat the last cookie, and don’t let anyone yuck your yum.
🎬 Movie Pick: Julie & Julia (2009)
Why it fits: A love letter to butter. This delightful dual-biopic follows Julia Child mastering French cuisine and Julie Powell cooking her way through Child’s recipes. It’s a celebration of food without guilt—just passion, indulgence, and LOTS of boeuf bourguignon.
Bonus: Meryl Streep’s Julia Child basically is Eat What You Want Day in human form.
📺 TV Episode: Parks and Recreation – “Two Funerals” (Season 7, Episode 11)
Why it fits: Technically not about food, but this episode features Tom Haverford’s “Tom’s Bistro”, which is peak indulgent dining—his dream of classy, over-the-top eats finally becomes reality. It celebrates food as joy, success, and status. Eat what you want, and do it fabulously.
Alt pick:
📺 Bob’s Burgers – “Easy Com-mercial, Easy Go-mercial” (Season 4, Episode 11)
Because burgers. And Bob’s eternal food pride.
🧁 #TreatYoSelf #EatWhatYouWantDay #FoodFreedom #SnackAttack #NoGuiltJustGrub #CelebrateQuirky #May11Magic
