Food in many forms features heavily throughout the book, with detailed descriptions of smelly, tempting, or unusual food. For example, in step two, forbidden foods include “chocolate-covered shrimp, […] pistachio ice cream sodas with whipped chili topping” (29). At various points in the story arc, food is used to symbolize imperfection, temptation, and ultimately liberation from the constraints of societal expectations. Broccoli is used in step one to humiliate Milo and thereby teaching him courage, since according to Dr. Silverfish, “[T]here is nothing in the entire world more humiliating than wearing a stalk of broccoli around your neck” (29). Food as a symbol of imperfection is highlighted by Milo’s parents, who criticize the way Milo eats dinner (slurping or rushing). Additionally, the author’s picture of Dr. Silverfish features him eating a hot dog with mustard dribbling down his chin.

Milo tests his willpower by going without food for 24 hours, despite being tempted multiple times. Food features again during the final step of the program, in which Milo learns that being “perfect” is not what he imagined and certainly not what he wants to be. Food—or more precisely, the absence of food—is used to illustrate how boring a “perfect” life would be.