Tonight is my nieces birthday so we have a big family dinner at my sisters place. What is she serving? Cheese stuffed Tortillini in a white cream sauce, caesar salad and garlic bread with cake for dessert!

ACK!!! There will also be wine, spinach dip and artichoke dip before dinner.

Since there is NOTHING on the menu I can eat I am planning to eat a small meal beforehand and have asked her to save me some salad without any dressing that I can eat while the others have the pasta, etc.

For dessert I am taking strawberries.

Here's hoping I can stick to my plan and NOT indulge when I get there!!

You can do it!!!

Good luck! You can do it, just keep your plan in mind

Good luck!

Its funny, as a read the 'menu' it struck me as an incredibly white meal.
These days I need to see color. Deep greens, reds, yellows, etc. or my food just isn't apetizing.

Goods luck, don't let this bland beige white blanket of a meal tempt you.

Would your sister be offended if perhaps you brought your own food? Maybe bring a mixed green so instead of eating caesar, you have that instead?

good luck! parties/family events/holidays can be so tough. you can do it!

Good luck at the party!


P.S. Can someone tell me what's so terrible about Caesar salad? (minus the croutons and cheese, of course). I ask because I have a chicken Caesar salad at least once a week. I beef it up w/ spinach leaves and leave off the croutons and cheese. Seemed ok to me. Am I missing something obvious?

lolz when she described the menu i was thinking ummmm yummmmmmmm can your sister invite me ??

but the way you put it makes it seem so much less appatizing lolz

When I get to get togethers and absolutely NOTHING is available I turn up with a "stomach ache." LOL...I always, always carry little bitty baggies of raw almonds and dried fruit with me. I sneak and eat those in the bathroom. LOL. If I see something that I absolutely MUST consume, I do--just moderately.

Caesar salad dressing is made with eggs, cream, oil, anchovie paste...etc. A lot of fats and people tend to overdo it with the dressing. Plus croutons are often fried/baked in oil and plus the huge amounts of parm cheese! Sometimes even bacon as a topper...

good luck and tell us how it goes, I like reading how people handle these situations. It's family and your sister so it might be easier to talk about your plan and they'll be more understanding.

I'd feel funny bringing my own food, like I'm the food snob or outcast that I need something special. Hopefully if it's self serve you could eat light during the day and just go for smaller portions, but if they serve it then I'd worry if I don't eat it all they'll think I don't like it. But this is just me trying to be a people pleaser and not doing what I know is best for me, which I need to change.

Wow. You know, six months ago I, too, would have thought that was a wonderful meal: but there is truly nothing there that's a "healthy" choice!

I assume it's all over, so I won't offer advice, but I would like to know how you handled it.

Just reading that made me hungry.
Apparently I'm not far enough into this yet!!

Hope it went well!!

IMHO theres nothing wrong with caesar salad. if you're eating it minus the croutons and cheese, and with chicken for protein, sounds good to me! as long as youre keeping track of your dressing portion and counting it, nbd.