I swore off dating a couple of weeks ago, but there have since been a few more dates in my life. It's a hard habit to break, what can I say? One thing I can say for sure is that dates tend to fall back on clichés: coffee, drinks, dinner. It's all the same, and it's always food related. I love eating, but bonding over comer y bever can become mighty boring, and mighty fattening. Isn't the relationship weight supposed to happen once there's actually a relationship? In order to maintain my sanity and my current pant-size, I'm working on a list of non-ingestible bonding activities. Not interested in finding a canoodling partner, already have one, or looking for some fun time activities with your friends? That's cool, these can still be G-rated times for the whole family.

Batting Cages: And for that matter, go-karts, driving ranges, and billiards. Doing something active with a twinkle of competition is great fodder for friendly banter, and a way to get some of those jitters out. It's sporty without contributing to sweating; sweating is awesome and natural, of course, but not ideal for dates. At least not the first one, ifyaknowwhatimean.

The Zoo: Animals are cute and do the darndest things. Plus, this is a great way to sneak a picture of your date to circulate via email to all your friends for approval (not quite as easy to whip out the camera at dinner and pretend to be taking picturers of the couple sharing Spaghetti Bolognese in the background.) 

Hometown Tourist: Whether it's lighthouses, statues, old buildings, or museums, all towns have something that make them unique. Gallavanting around town can spark oodles of memories, which means it's a great deterent from the dreaded dead-air conversation.

Palm Reading: Tarot card, psychic and palm readings can be a lot of fun, whether or not you believe in it. It'll give you both something to talk about, and you can find out a lot about a person by what they disclose to a lady in a turban.

Where do you go when you want to flirt up a storm but know you don't need another martini? What are some great dates that don't involve noshing? Inquiring minds want to know.