April through July is birthday season for the pinemint family. During those months we have eight birthdays and one anniversary. Fortunately, several of the birthdays fall close together and therefore joint celebrations are held.
This past weekend was the birthday party for two of my nephews. Before leaving, I gave my crazy-self a pep talk and came up with an eating game plan.
My problem with parties isnt necessarily the main food, its the appetizers. I love them and we cannot be trusted alone together.
This table is where I park my face.
Since I was tasked with bringing a few appetizer options, I tried to make the choices as healthy as possible. Now usually, I would have used this as an opportunity to bring something truly decadent. For example, feta artichoke dip (feta, mayo, artichokes, spinach and parmesan cheesebasically Nirvana in a bowl). This would also be an excuse to eat as much of said appetizer as I could, since I probably wasnt going to have it again until the next family function.
But since Im trying to change my ways, I opted to bring a soy ranch dip, homemade spinach artichoke hummus and a plate full of veggies. I still ate too much, but at least I didnt eat my weight in feta cheese.
The birthday dinner was prepared by my sister, who lives a healthy lifestyle day in and day out (for which I am jealous).
Dinner featured each of the birthday boys requested dishes.
Mac n Cheese with Pancetta.
And a minimalist pasta salad, prepared by my youngest nephew and containing fresh basil, Roma tomatoes and olive oil.
Dinner was great! I enjoyed a little of each of the above dishes, some protein and a lot of this beautiful fruit salad.
But we all know a birthday celebration isnt a celebration without a cake.
Two cakes to be exact, one with dairy and one without. I had a piece of the one without.
Overall, I did a decent job of keeping my eating under control. Its a daily battle, but Im learning to listen to my body and not eat myself into oblivion.
How do you stay healthy at parties?
