Celebrate the Healthy Way

In my experience, it seems like celebrations typically involve lots of food, along with lots of sitting around. Now that's not necessarily a bad thing, and there's something to be said for quality time spent enjoying good food and conversation. Many times, though, I seem to use these celebrations as an excuse to overeat, as well as to eat lots of things I shouldn't. There is another, better way, to celebrate, which my family did for Mother's Day this year.

I volunteered to plan the gathering for my immediate family to honor my stepmom. There were just 4 of us this year (my stepmom, my dad, my stepbrother, and me), which admittedly made things easier. I'm also fortunate that my stepmom likes to be active - she rides her bike to the grocery store on a regular basis, and she enjoys walking, too. I decided on a plan for our family get-together: we would go on a walking tour around town, then return for a late lunch. I found the outline of a tour of historic sites in the surrounding neighborhoods, and served as our tour guide while we walked around. We spent an hour or so exploring our city, and we learned lots of interesting historical facts as well as a few tidbits about local celebrities. We arrived back at the house hungry and ready for lunch.

I have a confession to make: I'm a sucker for cookbooks and Cooking Light magazine. I had spent the week before the holiday perusing my back issues and a stack of saved recipes, looking for the perfect menu. Living alone as I do, I don't always have an opportunity to use my favorite recipes (or try out new ones), so here was my chance. Rather than force my family to be my guinea pigs for an assortment of "healthy" dishes, I decided to mix things up. I landed on a menu of cold dishes (figuring the last thing I'd want to do upon returning from our walk was fire up the stove), and chose a mixture of low fat and higher fat recipes. The final menu: tarragon chicken salad, hummus with sliced cucumbers for dipping, orzo salad, fresh baked bread, and asparagus with creamy dilly sauce, followed by key lime ice cream for dessert. The meal was a hit (I'll admit to breathing a sigh of relief that the new recipes turned out okay), and we all agreed that it was a fun way to celebrate Mother's Day.

So you see, it is possible to celebrate and be healthy at the same time. All it takes is a little planning, and the willingness to try something different.