No need to admit that you are serving a WW recipe

I have a couple of social occasions coming up (one that I'm going to host) and plan on doing WW friendly recipes. We'll see how it goes, I feel a little anxious about it, I don't know why... why wouldn't anyone want to be served something healthier I think I'll hold off on tell them until after the meal.

Hi Cheryl!

You are anxious about serving WW friendly meals at dinner parties; I can completely understand those feelings. I've only recently started to rethink the type of food I serve to friends and family.

I think you are anxious because there is a perception out there that healthy food is not tasty food and our society on the whole is obsessed with taste. No one wants to serve food that doesn't taste great to their guests. But, healthy food does taste good, perhaps in a different way from a full fat recipe.

In any case, for your upcoming social events, serve food that works for you. You don't need to consult your guests before the meal and you don't need to admit (or apologize) for anything after the meal. After all, your guests are important so wouldn't you rather contribute to their good health instead of detract from it?

You may actually find that some (or perhaps all) of your guests may be thankful and relieved to be eating lighter and healthier food.

Kara

Cheryl is a newbie blogger, and we have been friends for almost 20 years now (where did the time go??). We were on the same rowing crew gliding up and down the credit river. Check out her blog Chering Change.

If you have any suggestions for Cheryl, please add a comment below.

Also, check out this interview with journalist Micheal Moss about his new book Salt, Sugar, Fat about how the food industry got us hooked on processed food. Fascinating!

Why I don't want to serve cheese as an appetizer

I opened the compartment of the refrigerator that holds the deli meat, cheese and other bits of food. There, I saw it. I groaned and rolled my eyes. I spied a large brie. Hubby must have bought it as an appetizer for our friends that were coming for dinner that night.

Had I not told him that I no longer want to serve cheese as an appetizer?

I've been tackling the issue of social eating for the last six months or so; coming up with various tactics. I've come to the conclusion that one of the best ways to combat social eating is to serve food that works for me. While serving (or bringing food) that works for me is not always possible, I am in complete control of the menu when we're hosting the dinner party.

While I love cheese, ultimately cheese is not a good choice; it's too easy to overeat and if I do serve cheese, there is a chance that I'll be too full to eat dinner.

So, I decided to no longer serve cheese (or bring cheese) as a dinner party appetizer. What is the point of serving food that will increase the possibility for overeating? There is a wide variety of food choices out there that I can serve and I can easily choose food that is tasty and a healthy choice that works for me.

I know this seems like a very simple solution. But until recently, I either didn't think of it or I didn't want to impose my healthy choices on guests or on some level I wanted a break from the healthy food that I eat day in and day out. My guess is that the answer is some sort of combination of the three that changed depending on the occasion.

In any case, a week after the dinner party, the brie is still in the fridge. We're saving it for a larger dinner party when there are more than four adults to enjoy it.