Monday, May 25, 2009

Barbe-Cue The Food

Hey All! It was a late night, so I'm back this morning for a recap of yesterday's eats and the bbq. Let's get to it...cue the food....

I started off the morning with an outdoor walk/sprint run for 45 minutes. I walked most of it, but every lap would throw in a couple 20-30 sec. sprints. It was a pretty sweaty workout! When I came in, I hit up the blender for a pineapple crackshake for 1 POINT (I really am addicted!)...



Then made a quick breakfast of 2 slices of TJ's Spelt Bread topped with 1/4 c. Spinach Artichoke Hummus for 4 POINTS...

It was a filling breakfast and more than I usually "spend", but I wanted it to be able to hold me over until the bbq eats came out. I knew we were having a lot of food and my plan was to eat whatever I wanted. I know that doesn't sound much like a plan, but I thought long and hard about this. Normally, when I have a big eating function like this, I stress. I stress about what I'm going to eat, how I'm going to eat it and how on earth I am going to stick to my POINTS and even try to calculate them without driving myself crazy. Then, I become so focused on those things that I'm not even enjoying myself. Also, if I tend to go astray from my original plan and just start eating whatever, I feel badly afterward that I didn't stick with my original plan. Guilt; it's a killer! So, my only real "rules" for today's bbq were:

  1. Wait until all appetizers are placed on the table; choose whatever looks good and put it on a PLATE.
  2. When the main food comes out, eat whatever looks good and take small portions.
  3. Eat until satisfied; don't shovel more food just because it's there.
  4. Choose whatever dessert looks fabulous and don't feel guilty about it :)

That was it! I managed to accomplish all those things with the exception of #1. Turns out, I didn't have much time to sit down for appetizers, so I did a grab-thru of a couple of carrots with hummus and a spanakopita (pics below).

Here were the appetizers....

Mom's antipasto served with sliced baguette(not shown)...

Hummus with carrots, cucs and pita chips(deadly, but I controlled myself)...


Spanakopita (phyllo stuffed with spinach and feta cheese)...

Now, here's where I fell down on the food blogger job! Hard to be the hostess, getting all the food out and take pics before everyone digs in :( I'll show you my choices then, tell you what I missed. My plate was Sundried Tomato and Pesto Turkey Burgers topped with a slice of Parmesan Cheese (TJ's sells this -so clever!) and (moving clockwise) Italian potato green bean salad, baked veggies, macaroni salad with ham, cheese and peas topped with hb egg, barbeque bean salad and greek lima beans (brought by a friend - so delicious)...


Now, I tell you what I passed up. There was tortellini with bolognese sauce, eggplant parm, salad with mandarin oranges, almonds and feta cheese, Bubba burgers (yes, the husband makes me buy these fatty things), Nathan's hot dogs and grilled chicken breast with bruschetta topping. Whew, I think that's everything. I wish I got pics; it all looked so good :(
If you think that was a ridiculous amount of food, wait ....here's the dessert table...


We had chocolate mousse cake, italian cookies, a big fruit bowl, Mom's fruit tart, chocolate angelfood cake, spanish bar cake and an ice cream sundae bar with different flavored ice creams and toppings which included M&M's, toffee bits, milk chocolate chips, mini marshmallows, brownies, sprinkles, hot fudge, caramel sauce and whipped cream. Crazy!
I went with a slice of Mom's fruit tart (amazing), slice of chocolate mousse pie and fruit because these looked the most fabulous to me (rule #4)....


Turns out my eyes were bigger than my stomach, so I ate the fruit tart, half the chocolate mousse cake and a couple bites of fruit. I felt pretty full. But, I think because I gave myself the go ahead to eat whatever I wanted, I stopped eating at the point of fullness. If I had went about this party the way I normally do (with a plan, sticking to it, yada yada) and started to dig into the dessert, I would have forced myself to eat it all regardless of whether I was full or not because I already "messed up". Weird mind games, I know.
So, I don't know about you, but typing this post is making me HUNGRY! I'm off to have breakfast. Enjoy your day and I'll see you tonight :)

12 comments:

Di said...

You know, it reminds me of so many of our own family gatherings ! And I think your strategy is the only one to take on these occasions. Unless we have to avoid things because of a serious allergy, family and food are going to be very much a part of our lives and learning to just "be" at them rather than be filled with stress about what we eat is a healthy move. Then we can stress about all those other things , like having enough toilet paper and wondering where to fit 50 people in a space designed to seat 10 comfortably ....

Sunny said...

your pictures made me hungry!! everything looks wonderful! those were great guidelines you made for yourself, especially the one about only eating appetizers that you put on your plate. makes it easier for you to keep track!

Sharon said...

I never thought to make rules prior to a BBQ, great idea. And oh wow, everything looks delicious!

Anonymous said...

Yum! Everything looks fantastic. I've been gone the last 3 days so I just caught up. Looks like the last few days have gone well!

Sarah said...

Looks delicious! Great job on not finishing that yummy looking chocolate mousse cake!

Unknown said...

Would you post the "Crack Shake" basic recipe? I think I know it but want to be sure!

Great blog! I enjoy following you & seeing your wonderful ideas & tips!

WE CAN DO THIS TOGETHER ONE DAY AT A TIME!!!!!!!

katecooks said...

omg what a decadent buffet!!! sounds like you did great! i would have had a hard time with the ice cream buffet! ice cream sundaes might quite possibly be my biggest weakness :)

Nicci said...

hey Marisa, what is in your crack shake? lol everything looks great. what a memorial day spread...yummy!

Danica's Daily said...

Look at all that great food and you did well keeping yourself in check to only try/eat what you really wanted. Way to listen to your body and stop when full too.

Marisa @Loser for Life said...

The Incredible Shrinking Family - you are so right!

Sunny - thank you; I need to reminde myself of the appetizer plate when I go to parties, too!

sharon - I'm not usually a rule maker, but this worked out well this time!

Terri - glad you're back; hope you had fun!

Sarah - yeah, *sigh* chocolate mousse cake is a really yummy thing :)

Bev P (welcome!!) and Nicci - the crackshake is 1/2 c. unsweetened vanilla Almond Breeze, 1 tbsp. sugar free fat free pudding dry mix (in whatever flavor you like), fruit of your choice and ice blended up. Strawberry crackshake is my fav. I use the Almond Breeze, vanilla pudding dry mix, 5 strawberries and ice which makes it only 1 POINT or about 70 calories.

katecooks- the ice cream was tough, but the toppings were tougher! I love m&m's and caramel sauce, too!

Danica's Daily - Thank you! I wish I could be that "in tune" all the time!

Andrea@WellnessNotes said...

Sounds like a great day and great food! I'm glad you found rules that worked for you and that you were able to relax and enjoy yourself! Great job! :)

Wendy said...

looks like an awesome bbq! yummy food!