It seems that parties are always in season. There are so many reasons to celebrate, and most of the celebrations center around eating and visiting. You want to see your friends and family, but how can you still eat healthy at a party? Here are six ways to maximize the visiting while minimizing the unhealthy eating at your next party.
Bring Healthy Food to the Party
If this is a party where you are asked to bring something to share, take advantage of that opportunity to bring something healthy. That way, you'll know you have something healthy to eat, and bringing it yourself will signal to others your intent to eat healthy at the party. A bowl of different colored, polished apples, or a variety of fresh veggies cut up and placed around a dish of fat-free dressing to use as a dip will give you something to munch on without blowing your diet, and you'll probably be surprised at how many other people appreciate the healthy choices too.
Bring Your Favorite Unhealthy Dish to Share at the Party
If you are expected to bring something sweet, choose something you are particularly fond of, and plan to have a small portion at the party. This way you'll get to have what you are craving without worrying about over eating it, or having left overs to contend with. Try to choose something you can't possibly snack on in advance, such as pie or cake rather than cookies or fudge. And after the party, find someone, perhaps a pre-adolescent boy, to send all the left-overs home with.
Eat Something Healthy Before You Go to the Party
If you are concerned that there will not be anything healthy for you to eat at the party, consider eating a salad or something controlled like a small handful of nuts, before you go. As you are leaving for the party, slip a small apple and a pack of gum in your purse. At the party, while everyone is milling around filling their plates and eating, eat your apple. It takes a long time to eat, is sweet and satisfying, and keeps you away from the unhealthy foods. After you take the last bite of apple, pop two pieces of gum in your mouth, and chew until the flavor is gone. By then, most people will be done eating, and you won't want to go over by the food all by yourself.
Take a Spoonful of Each Food at a Buffet Party
If the party is a buffet or a sit-down dinner where the food is being passed, take a small spoonful - a dollop, really - of each food offered. Sit down, and nibble each thing, choosing the food you like the best. If you take a second pass at the food, choose only the thing you liked the most and get a small portion. This way you can enjoy what you really like without wasting calories on foods you don't really care for.
Enjoy Party Desserts With the Three-Bite Rule
If you are at a party where the dessert is to die for; or, if other party-goers make it their business to worry about what you eat, accept one piece of the dessert on your plate. Take one small bite. Walk around, talking and visiting with other party-goers. After a long time, or if pressed, take another bite. At the end of the party, or the end of the time designated for eating, take one last bite, and immediately dispose of the rest of the dessert. This may seem wasteful, but it is not as wasteful as wearing the food on your waist would be!
If You Really Want a Particular Party Food, Eat It
If you are at a party and you really, really want to eat a particular food - just eat it! Get one small portion, and really enjoy it. Savor it, and don't apologize, either, to others or to yourself. It really is ok to enjoy eating, and if you eat healthy most of the time, it is fine to savor a special food once in a while. If you don't eat it, you'll likely eat twenty other things trying to get that taste; if you do eat it, appreciate it fully and then continue on with your normal healthy eating habits. This is a good time for a gum chaser! And don't be persuaded to take anything home with you, unless you are going right by a soup kitchen or somewhere that you can donate the food to.
Most parties are lovely opportunities to visit with people you like and don't get to see nearly often enough. Don't waste the opportunity on unhealthy eating when you could be enjoying the company of your loved ones! You really can eat healthy at a party, and have twice as much fun as if you over-indulge.
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