Photo-A-Day #2085

Today was the annual Company Christmas Party. I am very lucky to be working at a place where the company still does events like this. The party is so large that it ends up being split between two buildings. At each place there is a fantastic spread of food. Shrimp, Kobe sliders, a raw bar and so many fantastic desserts.

As you know I am now part of a group called Road to Thin and as such I am trying to be better about my choices on what to eat. Today I picked up a small plate and filled it with 4 shrimp, one slider, a piece of sushi and some chowder. I also had one chocolate covered strawberry and one snowflake sugar cookie. Much less than I have eaten in the past.

Even though my friend Daddy Claxton is on a campaign to give Santa more healthy snacks, Allison has made some fantastic cookies for Mr. and Mrs. Claus. The other day I was contemplating a hot and spicy chocolate chip cookie and Allison decided to make some for me. She made some chocolate chip cookies with cayenne pepper and cinnamon. I had a couple tonight and they were fantastic!!! I love having spice with chocolate.

However, if you would like to help Santa lose a few pounds try some of these snack alternatives:

• ½ cup granola with a sprinkle of dried cherries and unsalted nuts and 1% or skim, fat-free milk or plain or light yogurt
• Red/yellow/green pepper strips with nonfat sour cream or hummus dip
• Grapes or apple slices with 1 oz of cheese or peanut butter
• Air-popped popcorn
• Hard cooked egg with a dash of spicy mustard
• Berries with 1 oz of ricotta or string cheese
• Sunflower, pumpkin or squash seeds
• Sugar-free Jell-O
• Plain or light (sugar free) yogurt
• Smoked salmon and cream cheese on cucumber slices
• Lettuce Roll-ups –- Roll luncheon meat, egg salad, tuna or other filling and veggies in lettuce leaves
• Whole-grain bagel (3 inch) topped with natural peanut butter
• Bagel chips or baked tortilla chips with salsa
• Spread all natural, low sugar peanut butter on a celery stick, pretzel or banana
• Pita bread stuffed with lettuce, tomato, cucumber and low-fat dressing

Also, check out Santa doing the EA Sports Active 2 workout. (aff link). Merry Christmas!