I've got a couple of family picnics on the horizon, as i'm sure most of us do.

In our families this means hotdogs/hamburgers, tons of pasta salads or other "salads" from the Betty Crocker way of thinking (i.e. anything with dressing), lots of desserts, etc. And of course, my main blockade: I hate raw veggies. I honestly try to like them, but I just don't, with only a few random exceptions.

I'm going to do my best to fill up at home on very low point items but I don't want to the picnic and eat nothing while I either gaze like a hungry begging puppy at everybody's plates, or come close to pondering chopping off someone's finger to steal their piece of fried chicken.

So what I want to know is....how do you all handle this? Is there a good way to try and guess points and allow myself small portions? When I can't weigh, camn't measure and don't always know what's in it, I'm afraid this might be near impossible.

I would recommend taking some foods with you. At least you know how many point are there. Don't be afraid to take a measuring cups/spoons with you. You may feel like an idiot at first, but remember you are taking responsibility of your own eating habits! Can you get the recipes for those salads? Put them through a recipe analyzer to give you some idea how many cals there are. Try to do the same for the hot dogs, hamburgers, buns, anything you can think of being there. Manufacturers usually have nutritional info listed on their websites. I think just being prepared is the way to go. Good Luck

I was gonna suggest bringing a measuring spoon or cup, too. They're your family so you shouldn't have to feel odd about doing so. And tell them up front, this is going to be rough for you so please be supportive and not push food on you. We all know families are good at "Oh, just take one. One won't hurt ya!" I've actually groomed my lunch co-workers to tell me (even if it's a lie!) "It's actually not that good. Kind of ____(dry/bland/salty/etc). Don't even spend your points on it." It can be very helpful. Also, bring your Food Companion book with you. It can at least give you a ballpark figure on what you're eating. One last piece of advice... don't let your points rule your day! Let yourself eat some of your favorites just do so in moderation and keep control! Workout in the morning before going and fill up on water but you have your 35 flex points... USE THEM! Live, girl! You can do this!

i totally agree with them! i always think about what is going to be there (because everyone usually makes the same thing lol everytime or i know what they are making) and look up the points before hand kinda write it on a cheat sheet so when i get there if it looks good enough to eat i can look to see how many points it is. i also carry like a ww type desert with me. so like if everyone is having ice cream i take a ww ice cream bar. that really helps too. don't let it consume your picnic and if everyone is sitting around the table of food i usually get up and move to another spot and people usually gravitate towards that area lol so i don't have to sit and look and ponder. hope our advice works for ya

It could be a great time to use SetPoints. Use etools to find filling foods that have SetPoints values (example: 1 cup of blueberries = 1 point, SetPoints=2) which means you can eat whatever feels to YOU like a 'reasonable serving' and use the SetPoint value instead of worrying if you had one half cup or two cups or whatever.

I also like to plan ahead on etools if I know some of the foods that will be available, and plan what I will eat before I go. If I know there will be burgers, I can calculate the points for that + any toppings I might want, and maybe a dessert. For me personally it's better to walk up to that buffet table with a game plan than to linger and think about things too long!

Personally, I love the Hebrew National fat free hot dogs. They are just one point per hot dog, and I think they are delicious (however my good friend disagrees), Maybe bring a package to share with everyone?