My Get Together Hosts A Super Sweet Party At My House

Today I hosted a Moderation Nation House Party sponsored by Hershey and MyGetTogether. This couldn't come at a more perfect time. Easter basket leftovers mean a lot of sweets in our homes calling our names and sabotaging our diets and healthy eating plans. Right?

Wrong! Moderation Nation through the Hershey Center for Health and Nutrition is a way to included chocolate as a part of a balanced lifestyle. I have to admit, I am a chocolate junkie but do limit it in my life sometimes denying myself the opportunity to enjoy something I love so much.

What I have learned from Moderation Nation is that I am doing the right thing. Enjoying chocolate without going overboard is the way to do it! If I crave chocolate at night, I might have a cup of hot chocolate. If I need a fix during the day, having a small piece of candy like a Hershey Kiss size is the way to go. BTW...Hersheys provided my newest favorite chocolate for my Get Together called the Hershey's Milk Chocolate Drops! I have been seeing these Drops everywhere and had no idea they were part of the campaign to bring chocolate back into our lives in moderation!

My girlfriends and I sat down to a vat of hot chocolate, a canister of chocolate milk and a plate of melted chocolate heaven in the form of Chocolate Florentines which I found on the Moderation Nation website minus the candied orange which I forgot.

My guests were surprised that what I was serving was made with Hershey. I swore I didn't do anything special to it, they didn't believe me and thought it was a more expensive brand. They loved my hot chocolate and everyone was sent home with a goody bag of Hershey's Chocolate Drops (I must admit, I wanted to keep them all to myself, it was hard to share these).

Most of us moms agreed that there were two main things we got out of this Home Party.

1) Chocolate doesn't have to be a sin. There is no reason to feel guilty over a piece of chocolate. Incorporate it back into your life. Savor and enjoy, but do it in moderation. This isn't rocket science people. We all know everything should be eaten in moderation it is stopping that is the hard part which is why so many of us, do away with it completely. One mom said that she doesn't eat it because she knows if she starts, she won't stop. So, setting your mind to "one piece" may take time but moderation is key to not going overboard when you finally have the opportunity for some chocolate. When we remove it totally, we make chocolate the problem and really, we are the problem!

2) Exercise. This was a big part of our discussion. We were broken down the middle with 5 who exercise daily and 5 who do nothing at all. Well, there was 2 who do nothing and 3 who do it in moderation but for the sake of this post not running longer, lets break it in half.  Exercise is key for many things. Feeling good about yourself. Feeling strong. Losing weight. Maintaining good health. We know this but sometimes some of us, find it hard to find the time.

My girlfriends loved learning the Batuka Dance from a dance video. They all are interested and hope something opens close to us. I have video of this but was told there would be a bounty taken out on my head if I posted. hahaha...love my friends and their honesty.

One of the things we learned is that you don't need to schedule exercise, just build it into your day. 30 minutes of active movement is really all you need! So whether this is walking around the block at a quick pace with your family, shopping, dancing. getting on a treadmill or whatever else you love. Make it count!

Check out Moderation Nation for recipes and meal planning. BTW check if you love The Biggest Loser, you will love this. Cheryl Forberg the nutritionist and more for The Biggest Loser, has a wonderful resource in her blog to help you figure out your meal planing.  I love the easy method of planning a balanced meal. Select your main, your side and your dessert with the click of a button and print it out for an easy shopping list. 

This was a fun get together. Maybe it was the company (I love my friends), but I truly think, you can't have a bad time when chocolate is involved.


Disclaimer:  I received a MyGetTogether host kit which included information and products from Hershey's.