Parties don’t have to be lonely places for dieters

If you are striving to lose weight through the dog days of summer, you have my sympathy. I know it’s not easy to get back to a slimmer, leaner you during the hot summer months. Everywhere you go, you’re met with people who are eating, drinking and making merry. It takes focus and concentration  not to join them. Parties can be a very lonely place for dieters – but if you take a closer look you may find that most people are not as into pigging out as you might think. Sometimes it may seem as if you’re the only person holding back at the party table, but the truth is there are many other people struggling to make the right food choices everywhere you go.
At a recent July 4th barbecue I was delighted to discover that people actually preferred the lower calorie dessert I had provided. The wise people at WW tell you to always bring something you can eat to parties, but I had no idea that doing so would serve to validate my deepest desire to eat healthier and get leaner. On the day of the cook-out, I made mini-pavlovas. I’m not a foodie and don’t have tons of recipes in my repertoire but I found it on the Weight Watchers website which is freely available to everyone (link below). Pavlovas are meringue-like cookies that hail from Australia. The egg whites and sugar combine to make a low-fat crunchy-sweet treat. After topping the Pavlova’s with whipped cream and berries they were placed with the other desserts, and I quietly watched what happened next.

The pavlova’s were quickly snatched up, and it seemed as if party-goers actually preferred the lower calorie treat to the brownies and pie. I was shocked because I love key lime pie and at first had been preoccupied with the sad fact that I wasn’t having it! I had been really feeling sorry for myself for most of the eating portion of the party. And, then someone sitting across from me noticed the pavlova on my plate and was actually curious. Not only did she want to know what it was, she wanted details, including portion sizes and ingredients! I loved it. To my surprise and joy I learned that she had been a weight watcher lecturer and was keen on scoping out every lower calorie dessert she could find. What followed was a lively discussion of her experience as a lecturer and the struggles of  staying slim through the ages.

Follow this link for the complete recipe, including nutrition facts and reviews.