Eh, I was rewarded with treat food and never had a problem with it. I also consider myself a bit of a foodie and have never considered food to be merely fuel. Food is something to be savored and enjoyed, like music or art or sex. If you can't/won't take pleasure in the basics, I think that's a bit sad. Not wrong, certainly, and I know it helps a lot of people, but I wouldn't want to live like that.  The thing is, I only got food rewards for real accomplishments - taking part in an award winning choral ensemble, or getting straight A's for a full year, for example. That meant 4-5 times a year at the very most, usually less than that. And while my parents were rewarding me with, say, a huge ice cream cone, they also made sure to say, "okay, since we're having this, that means we're not having a regular lunch/dinner/whatever. Because it's not healthy to overeat, right?" It's not wrong to use food as a reward. You just have to be smart about it. Demonizing the food itself isn't the answer. Treating yourself with food isn't wrong. It's the way it's presented - everything in balance and moderation.