A few weeks ago my son turned 10! It is hard to believe that he is already 10 years old. For his party we played paintball at Hollywood Sports Park (so fun!). My husband found out that Hollywood Sports Park has special paintballs that are 50 caliber and about half the size of standard paintballs, so they do not hurt as much (but I can attest to the fact that they DO hurt, but not too bad). The boys had so much fun and so did the adults!
Notice the paint splatter on my chest...my son shot me there!!!
For lunch we ordered pizza...the all too typical B-Day fare, but it was his big day and he got to choose the menu. I was happy to see that the boys gobbled-up the grapes and oranges I brought along which meant that we had TONS of pizza left-over.
While standard American pizza is not the healthiest, I wasn't about to throw it away since I am not a huge fan of wasting food (or anything for that matter). My solution was to veganize it (remove the cheese) and pump-it up with veggies (roasted grape tomatoes along with sautéed spinach in garlic) and homemade pesto (basil, parsley, garlic, nutritional yeast, pine nuts and olive oil). The result was absolutely delicious!
So often when we go to parties we assume we are at the mercy of the menu in front of us, but we can almost always make modifications. The menu at most pizza parties includes pizza, salad, fruit and veggies. Why not remove the cheese from the pizza and top it with the salad and a sprinkle of Italian dressing?
Always be thinking, "How can I make this work for me and the lifestyle I want to live?"
Xoxo,
Gretchen
Gretchen Tseng is a Nutrition Specialist with Certification in Plant-Based Nutrition through Cornell University. At a young age she experienced a series of illnesses which propelled her to seek nutrition based solutions. Gretchen is absolutely passionate about sharing the health benefits of a plant-based lifestyle and can be found doing so through her website Veggie Grettie (www.veggiegrettie.com ), as a Columnist for Chic Vegan (www.chicvegan.com ), and as a freelance writer. In addition to being a nutrition nut, Gretchen is a fitness fanatic and is thrilled to be a Brand Ambassador for a clothing line that she wears and loves, NEXT by Athena. Gretchen lives in Southern California with her husband, two children, and 4 legged best bud and dreams of living on a farm someday surrounded by animals and an amazing organic garden.
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