I am not one to deprive myself.. and I certainly haven’t been doing any of that this summer. While out of my normal routine, I slid into a season of constant indulgences for better or worse. I think mostly for better. With family, vacation, barbecues, travel, and social gatherings – there is a constant cause to celebrate and gather around a table of food.
So what can you do when delicious but not necessarily super nutritious food greets your eye? Take a little, have some bites, and crowd the rest of your plate with greens. Cover most of your plate with a fresh salad, or veggies – and then have smaller portions of the main course (unless it’s lobster of course). Not sure if there will be salad? Make it and bring it along, that way you know you have a bowl of nutritional goodness for you to get what your body needs. It will be welcomed.
Then there is dessert. Gets me every time. When making dessert for a big group picnic I opted to be pure, instead of serving a vegan version of chocolate chip cookies with chickpeas, I went straight for supremely decadent brownies. Not the kind that comes from a box. Because if I am going to indulge – it is going to be with the best ingredients I can find. So I found this lovely recipe from Sprouted Kitchen – I subbed in 1/2 of coconut sugar instead of 3/4 cane sugar and added cacao nibs and walnuts. Nice and simple, pure ingredients, your guests will love and appreciate them and you dearly.
Choose the best ingredients when you can. Look for what is in season, organic (if possible), and maybe even grown locally (extra points). While camping we made some smores – but not with the usual junk – Nabisco, Hersheys, and Jet Puffed Mallows… instead we went for the high class junk: Erewhon Graham Crackers, NibMor Dark Chocolate, and Elyon Marshmallows. Not necesarily more nutritious, but without any high fructose corn syrup, hydrogenated oils, etc. – instead with a smaller and simpler ingredient list, which is also always welcome.
So enjoy the season. Drink a green juice, lots of water, and have a brownie while you are at it.