Beyond Willpower

So, I'm having a holiday party this coming Saturday. I have a bunch of friends who all have different dietary restrictions/choices. I'm trying to cater to my vegan and dairy free friends as well as my high protein diet friends who are trying to cut out carbs! I have decided to make two different types of cookies, Lazy Samoas and mint chip and I'm making peanut butter blondies and also buckeyes. I'm super excited. All of these recipes will be coming from Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar Food wise, I'll be making vegan chili, and roasted ham to be sliced for sammiches. I have a cocktail style dip and vegan buffalo chicken dip. I've made the vegan buffalo chicken dip twice, once with seitain (this did not turn out well, sorry T.J) and once with smart strips 'chicken'. That came out FANTASTIC! We did buy some groceries for the house today as well, and we are making veg choices when eating out, and then eating the left over meat that's in t...

So tonight I was talking with my cousin, who also struggles with food issues. She said that cooking something different for herself than what the rest of the family eats was a challenge, because she would just pick off the kids plates anyhow. This is something I never really understood. My mom did this same exact thing when I lived at home. Making herself some small bland dish and watching us chow down on more fatty fare. I said to my cousin, "They should eat what you eat." Now I'm not a parent, never will be, so maybe I'm entirely wrong here. It SEEMS....especially coming from OUR family where most of us have struggled with our weight to varying degrees, that you would want to nip it in the bud so to speak. Get those kids eating healthy before they become a parent making a separate meal for themselves down the line, picking off their kids plates. But then the question becomes, how do you get them to eat this bland boring food you've been making for yoursel...