Potlucks and Parties and Buffets - Oh, My!

My week: Singing at a music camp for adults. When not singing, we are eating and wine-tasting. 

The setting is Whitman College in Walla Walla, Washington, home of dense, nuanced wines, which flow each evening at the "Fermata Bar" on the campus lawn. Buffet meals in the college cafeteria, and the food is good (really). What to do when faced with lots of easy-to-eat calories?

In general, potlucks, parties and buffets can be especially treacherous for people who love food but want to cut back. So many new things to try, and so many that didn’t require any work on my part. Parties and buffets make food way too easy to eat. Nothing--not even preparation time--stands between my mouth and the food except some good strategizing.

Remembering that my stomach is only as big as my fist, I have to be picky about what goes down the hatch. Here are some of my favorite strategies:

• Only a spoonful. If I don't know I'll really like something, I take as little as a teaspoonful on my plate.  I can always go back for more of something very special. Meanwhile, I won't feel I have to eat a lot of something that is not to my liking, just to "clean my plate."

• One-inch rule. I put food on my plate that is no more than one inch high. When you look at your plate from above, it is hard to notice the heap of calories you are serving yourself. I lift the plate to eye level once in a while to make sure I have not served twice as much as I intended. This also keeps me from putting a slice of carb-filled bread on top of an otherwise more healthful plate.

•  Can I see my plate? I leave the buffet table when I can still see my plate. This means that I leave the rim uncovered and different dishes are spaced around the plate without running into each other. Remember the picky child who doesn't want her food to touch? I try to let that be me. I automatically eat less this way.

• Notice what is served last. Especially at a restaurant buffet, the least expensive items usually are placed early in the line and the pricier and often healthier items (lean protein and veggies) come at the end. The exceptions are salad items, which are filling and good for me with a vinaigrette dressing (low on oil). White or thick dressings, such as ranch or blue cheese (which I love), can wreck good salad intentions.

• Go to the line after the rush. This one is risky - my favorite dish might be gone. But here's the deal-making advantage. If I wait behind others and I'm standing next to food I don't really want to eat, I might figure, shoot, I might as well spoon some greasy potato salad onto my plate, since I'm waiting. If I go later, I have the entire table in front of me and a clear shot at my favorite item. I can see what's coming, and I'm not tempted to take something I would normally pass by.

• Ask: Will I remember this food tomorrow? If your food choice is not memorable, it is just so much fuel to support my activities until my next meal. What will I work off between this meal and the next?

• Eat only what is worth the calories. All the other strategies are in service of this one.  I try to survey the table first, find what appeals the most, and I skip most of everything else. 

I use these strategies most of the time so that I can make an exception for something great and memorable. Otherwise, extra calories aren't worth the momentary gratification. 

What do you do to manage calorie intake at a buffet?