Avoid foods that are fried, even though fried foods are a tasty morsel. Choices of roast turkey, broiled chicken, lean ham, flank steak, broiled shrimp, broiled cod, steamed crab, spaghetti, are a few very smart choices from a restaurant menu. You can also sabotage your great decision with a lot of sauces, or gravies. So just use these as flavor enhancers and not flavor cover-ups.

Fresh fruit is a great choice for dessert. How about adding some angel food cake, sherbet, or jello. You can have your dessert and eat it too.

Eat modest portions and try to appreciate food’s flavor without a lot of additional items that take away from its natural goodness. Fruits and vegetables are taste sensations when eaten alone, but you can add a few touches to satisfy your sweet tooth. Also remember that an occasional splurge is nothing to feel guilty about. Your mind will never tell your stomach, so it will never know to add those calories to your weight scale.

Enjoy your meal out and have fun with family or friends. You deserve it! ©Arleen M.Kaptur

When using place cards for your dinner guests, try a very considerate approach. If not everyone at your party knows each other, print guest’s name on both sides of standing place card. This way guests across way can become acquainted with everyone at your table and not just to few people around them. Very considerate!

Looking for a vegetable idea: Choose tender, young carrots in full length (peeled, but not sliced). Cook until soft, but far from mushy. Using green tops of scallions, take three beautiful and colorful carrots and tie them together with top of scallion. You can use two or three tops and you have a very pretty vegetable bundle to set on side of main meat or fish entree.

Serving hot rolls? Take your prepared hot roll mix and make a figure- eight, or tie a knot, or even shape a letter. Be creative, a basket of different shapes also adds an added appeal to your table.

Using just a few decorative touches to your meal and Viola! you are a very good host/hostess and people will beg to come to your parties. When you use special touches, your guests will feel “catered” to. Enjoy!

©Arleen M. Kaptur