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 :)