Tis the season…..for party, after party, after party. Holy smokes!
This week I’m going to share my experience with the appetizer, dessert and cocktails party. Here goes. Let me start with the four steps I live by.
One: Set an intention for the outcome I want. At this party my intention was have lots of fun and to only eat foods that I know wouldn’t make me feel icky later that night and the next day.
You see, I know if I eat foods that are way off from my usual way of eating that I will feel bloated, gassy and tired the next day.
Two: Stay mindful of my thoughts and keep Negative Nellie from tempting me with old habits. (She is so immature)
Three: Give myself credit. I’m getting a little used to it.
Four: Take action to change old behaviors
What I like about this type of party is everyone brings one appetize and one dessert. So that means I have lots of control over what’s available for me to eat.
Before I get into the food part, I have two things that I always do when I go to cocktail parties.
The first one is to wear shoes that are not very comfortable to stand in for long periods of time. This forces me to move away from the food tables and sit down.
The second is to eat something before I go. I usually have a light protein shake. If I go to a party hungry, I will NOT make sound decisions.
The party was a blast. Negative Nellie wanted me to have the sugary festive looking Cosmos that were going around but I just put her in her place and had my usual clear fluids cocktail (Grey Goose Martini) in my fancy glass.
I brought a roasted eggplant and walnut dip with watermelon radish to use for dipping. Since it was rather different compared to all the creamy, cheesy, fried appetizers, only a few of us ate it. That suited me just fine.
As for the desserts, there were lots of cookies and I love cookies. So, I had to remind myself how much I did not want to feel bloated and gassy the next day. (Someone had to be the adult.) I took one small plate, put several cookies on it, one of the mini cupcakes that I brought and ate those.
BTW I brought mini black bean cupcakes which where delicious and adorable. No one knew they were made with beans 😊.
All in all, I had a great time, never felt like I deprived myself of a thing and had total control. And, the more I kept repeating my 4-step pattern, the weaker and weaker Negative Nellie got.
That’s it for today. I hope you join me next Monday, when I go “live at lunchtime” in my Women’s Wellness group with the last set of tips.
Cheers,
P.S. Have you heard about the free 10-day post-Christmas challenge I’m running my my Facebook group? If you haven’t and you’d like information about it, click here and ask to join. You can find everything you need to know in the group. It even includes a free giveaway.