Party Hard and Eat Decent

     These past few days have been a whirlwind for our family.  My son recovering from arm surgery (and is stuck like glue to me), other son out of town for a soccer tourney, and my daughter having 3 birthday parties.  Needless to say, not a lot of cooking has been going on.  Even though life can get crazy, we need to still be mindful of the foods we are consuming.

      When planning these 3 parties for my daughter, I wanted to have a variety of food for the kids.  The first party was at a restaurant and Mama chose the cob salad that I shared with hubby with vinaigrette dressing-was so yummy!

The next party was in our home----Here is the spread:

 We had a lot of healthy options and still enjoyed a couple sweet treats (I only had enough for 1 per person, so it wasn't tempting to get double the portion size).  By placing an overabundance of healthy options like fruits and veggies, those were what most of the children gravitated towards!!!  Sometimes it is all in the presentation....

 As you can see.....we had a One Direction Birthday party! The girls danced and danced!  Dancing is a wonderful exercise. Dancing is not just for the young, though.  If you like to dance, put on some music while you are preparing your meals, close the curtains and GET DOWN!!!!!  Dancing can burn many calories and raises the heart rate to help strengthen the heart!  Below is a website that can calculate how many calories you burn by to plugging in your weight, duration and type of dance.

 http://www.self.com/calculatorsprograms/calculators/caloriesburned/dancing

While I was snapping the picture below, you can notice that my 5 year old was sneaking in before the party and helping himself to that sweet orange pepper! He loves them!

           We are surrounded by food at birthday parties, weddings, get-togethers, holidays, funerals, etc.  There is no way of getting around it.  We must adapt and know that there are days when eating a little more or maybe not the best food options may occur.  It's OK, and it makes us human.  Try not to feel guilty for eating the dessert or having the pizza, rather, eat the food and try to keep it to the portion size.  Maybe we take a few bites of the dessert, take off the icing, or ask for a smaller piece?
              If we allow ourselves to eat the foods that we sometimes crave, we will most likely not want it as much on the other days.  Try not to put a BIG X on all non-healthy food.  Many times when we withhold foods or go to parties and watch everyone else eat.   If there is something at the party that you have not had in a while, go ahead and have a little!  This works for most people, however it may not work for some? Try not to hang around the food area.  This can be tempting for those who may over-indulge.  Try to take a plate and sit away from the food.

    Are you ever invited to a Potluck (where you bring a side-dish)?  If so, try to take a healthy one like fruit kabobs, fruit salad, or a veggie tray.   Please share with me some of your healthy side-dishes.