One of my really good friends is originally from Bangladesh. He invited a group of us out for a special nite a local college is having where they do traditional Bengali dances and serve free traditional foods.

I am really excited to go and i want to make the most of trying out some of the food from his culture.

Problem is... i am going to have NO IDEA what i am eating? Should I just throw caution to the wind this one evening?

As of 1:00 PM i have eaten 800 calories (I allow for up to 1800 a day). I did run 4 miles this morning, so if i take that into consideration, i could probably give myself a little bit of a break.

Ideas? Thoughts? Opinons?

Go easy on the rice and lentils (should both be easily identified in dishes), and portion control your meats, and you should be okay. If you're lucky, the college will have some nice shrimp/fish dishes. I can think of worse types of cuisine to be eating not knowing what it is!

well im half indian and im assuming indian food and bengali food isnt too diffrent the food is not ridiculously fattning but be told that evreydish is served with either rice or naan ( its ... kind of like a flatbread ) the dishes you would be eatting are probably along the lines of chicken/lamb/vegetable/fish curries ...... maybe biriyani ( kind of like indian styled fry rice for lack of a better word to describe it but its mostly rice with seasonings and meat ) i cant really think of what else they would serve at a formal affair ... but i will say steer clear of the desserts indian desserts and im assumind bengali desserts as well are FAT LADEN like you dont even want to know whats in there ... my grandmother makes something at homs im unsure of the proper name for it i know its a barfi of some type but theres a correct name for it ... anyways its made purley of ghee ( clarified butter ) condensed milk sugar and heavy cream. most of the sweets are ridiculous in calories as even plain barfi's are made from condensed milk and sugar as a base and then additional things are added in ... if you must have a dessert your best bet is a small dish of khir (kheer? idk the proper spelling in english but its rice pudding ,very delicious too .... i wish i had some now lolSz ) have fun at your event !! and dont obsess over it too much be weary ... but its a once in a blue moon thing

Thanks for the advice. There is a large Indian population here where i live.. and from why my friend has told me the food is similar. I just have never ventured to the Indian restaurants and am not familiar with the cuisine. (I think i have eaten Indian twice in my life).

I think i may just throw the "calorie counting" out the window for just tonite and stick to portion control instead. You are right that this is a once in a blue moon thing for me.

something i havent seen mentioned and you should remember is that curries are usually made with cream!!

kind of late for this advice, but I would have planned ahead more and saved up more calories to have for splurge meal.

but having said that, I don't think one meal off plan will be that huge a deal, as long as you make sure it stays that one splurge and not something that triggers staying off plan.

I do exactly what peanutmom suggests with the numerous affairs I attend. Save up ahead time.