The July 4th holiday is synonymous with the word barbeque! Whether you will be throwing a shindig in your own place or going to a friend’s party, you should stock up on the following food essentials to make it a delicious AND healthy meal. Here are some suggestions to make better choices without sacrificing the spirit and taste of the fourth:
Basics:
Buns – Forget about flavorless cotton white bread and go for Ezekiel sprouted whole grain, Rudi’s organic or Trader Joe’s whole wheat (these whole grain buns are all loaded with fiber, protein and nutrients and still taste great)
Hot dogs – Lose the nitrates and try Let’s Be Frank, Applegate Farms or Niman Ranch (all of these options are antibiotic, nitrate/nitrite and hormone free and are either organic or humanly raised – plus they really taste the same as their unhealthy counterparts)
Hamburgers – Get “clean” beef by trying Bison burger, grass-fed organic beef burger, Organic Sunshine burger or Omega Foods salmon burger (all are hormone and antibiotic free; the meat burgers are grass fed so their nutritional content is healthier than grain fed meat; salmon burgers provide you with a healthy dose of omega 3 fatty acids and the vegetarian burgers are a delicious soy free burger alternative)
Vegetables – Always a welcome addition, go for corn on the cob, bell peppers, mushrooms, eggplant, asparagus and onions (vegetables on the grill taste great and make it easy to fill up half your plate with produce)
Condiments:
Salsa – extremely versatile and naturally low in fat and calories – plus – provides you with a serving of vegetables
BBQ sauce – Annie’s Natural, 365 Organic or Dinosaur BBQ (all of these contain no high fructose corn syrup or artificial colors and less than 300mg of sodium per serving)
Ketchup – believe it or not, try to go organic because it will provide more antioxidants than conventional tomatoes
Mustard/hot sauce– very low calorie condiments – just watch out on the portions if you have high blood pressure given their sodium content
Additions:
Chips – popchips — these are great tasting AND healthy because they are popped, not fried– popchips is that perfect chip addition to any party and they come in a variety of delicious flavors (my favorite is BBQ, and I don’t think that’s a coincidence)
Drinks – Hint water– a great alternative to soda, juice and other sweetened beverages because it has no sugar or artificial flavors or sweeteners, just a hint of natural flavor
Nuts – pistachios –they are a crunchy, delicious and healthy snack and picking them out of their shells is half the fun of eating them
Pasta salad – use a whole grain pasta (ie. Heartland), lots of chopped vegetables and a oil-based vinaigrette instead of mayonnaise
Coleslaw – go with a homemade healthy coleslaw that substitutes some or all of the full-fat mayonnaise out (ie. Try this recipe for classic coleslaw by Ellie Krieger RD:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ellie-krieger/classic-coleslaw-with-caraway-recipe/index.html)
Fruit salad – try this instead of, or at least in addition to, the regular spread of cookies, cakes and other unhealthy desserts.
So there you go, a healthy way to approach the fourth without sacrificing flavor or fun. Have a safe and happy holiday!
