Hey Food Finders!

As of right now I am 49 and 364 days old. Tomorrow I”ll be 50! Yep the BIG 5-Ohhhhh.

I’ve had a lot of thoughts and feelings about this milestone, as expected for anyone turning the corner into a new decade. Having tackled cancer during my 40's, I am just so grateful to be here with you all, doing something really joyful with my life. I try to seize every moment, have fun (as you can tell from the name of my company), find the positive in everyday, laugh as much, as hard, and as often as possible, and just not take everything so seriously. Lighten up and let go are the lessons that I’m taking with me into this next phase of my life.

Now, about birthday celebrations and food choice strategy, instead of having one big birthday bash I decided to have a number of smaller get-togethers with family and friends. But with that came A LOT of meals and desserts! I’ve had to make a lot of Foodie-On-The-Go decisions about how to balance a few fun birthday splurges with eating healthy and being mindful of my health goals.

My lovely parents and I went to a restaurant that describes itself as a “new American bistro”. While there were lots of decadent foods on the menu, I really stuck to making good healthy choices. I had a delicious shrimp cocktail over seaweed salad with a drizzle of lemon juice, and used about a tbsp. of the cocktail sauce.

For my main course, I ordered a ginger marinated grilled salmon with mixed vegetables (lightly sauteed) and rice. The salmon was to-die-for! I love when you chose something healthy and it actually tastes amazing so you don’t feel at all deprived. One of my parents ordered a sesame encrusted seared tuna steak. Another very healthy and delicious choice.

When it comes time for birthday desserts, my biggest take-home tip of this blog is SHARE! The waiter brought over a beautiful piece of tiramisu. I LOVE tiramisu. We asked for 3 forks and each of us shared half the piece and the rest went uneaten. I really believe in having dessert if you want it so you never feel deprived, but share it with as many people as you can, and don’t be afraid to leave some of it over! I also recently went out with about 8 family members and was faced with the same thing. All 8 of us shared the dessert that was brought to us and we didn’t even finish it. I love to share. I even split my entree with my friend because I knew there would be some dessert to be had at the end of the meal! Sharing allows you to splurge on somewhat less than healthy foods without too much of a cost.

And what would a birthday be without some major silliness to go along with my “Lighten Up” motto? My friend LuLu came to visit and brought all sorts of party hats, games, and decorations. We ordered in, shared our entrees, and made sure to start with a big salad! For dessert she brought a cupcake and we shared it (of course!) and even left a few bites of it behind.

I have a few birthday celebrations still coming and I will approach them the same way as I have all month. Choose the items on the menu that balance my health goals with my happiness and satisfaction. If there is something craveworthy on the menu that is not the healthiest choice, but you can’t resist, share it, share it, share it!!