Healthy Cookout and BBQ Swaps

It’s HERE!!!!!! Cookout/BBQ/Picnic season!  We’ve been waiting all year for it to come back… and we’ve been working hard in the gym and in the kitchen.  What we DON’T want to do is let the festivities derail us and undo all our hard work.  On the other hand, we don’t want to feel like we have to deny ourselves.  So, without further ado, my best practices when it comes to your summer cookout fun!

The Main Event:

Hamburgers and hotdogs are often on the menu during summer cookouts.  However, just because that’s what’s often “typical,” doesn’t mean you have to stick with that!  Try grilling chicken breasts, salmon, or tuna steaks. Or… if you want to stick with the “classic,” there's nothing wrong with that, just choose a good quality beef.  Sirloin, ground chicken breast or skinless turkey are all good choices.  You can even “mix meats” if you like by combining ground beef and ground poultry. Whatever you do, don't be tempted by the huge multi-packs of cheap meat... because often that's exactly what they contain, cheap meat.  Go for wild caught or 100% grass fed.  You'll be able to taste the difference, and your body will thank you later as well!

When it comes to toppings, think nutrient-dense and clean. I love substituting plain Greek yogurt for sour cream or mayo.  Or… even better, avocado slices (yum!).  I reccommed you go bun-less (after all, why waste your BBQ "treat" calories on a bun?), but if you must have a bun try going ½ bun, 100% whole wheat buns, 100% whole wheat sandwich thins, or even a 100% whole wheat English muffin.  Go green and choose something darker than iceberg like spinach, arugula, or kale. As for cheese skip the plastic-y American cheese and choose an unprocessed cheese, or save your cheese calories for something later (after all, you did add that super yummy avocado earlier!).

The Side Show:

Corn on the cob. Corn, as a whole, isn’t your most nutrient dense bang for your buck and I generally avoid it most of the year.  However, if I do eat corn it's hot off the grill during a cookout.  If you're going to use butter, use REAL butter, not a vegetable spread (kerrygold is my favorite!) and this year try squeezing a fresh lime on your corn instead of salt.  You won’t be sad, trust me. (Here’s how to grill your corn in case you’ve never done it before).

Salads. If it has marshmallow or cool-whip in it, it’s not a salad. Trust me. That being said, there are other waist-line offenders masquerading as salads. Potato Salad (with heavy mayo), coleslaw (with heavy mayo), and pasta (with… you guessed it, heavy mayo)… yeah, I’m not buying it.  If you want a potato salad, keep the skins on and go for a more German-style vinegar based salad… same with the coleslaw.  As for the pasta salad, add veggies… like crazy. More veggies than pasta is really the way to go.  However, if you’re feeling adventurous try something different like a cucumber salad, a cucumber tomato salad, a 5-bean salad, or even a Moroccan carrot salad.

Other than that (in my opinion), you can’t go wrong with fresh pico de gallo, guacamole, or hummus.  Skip the chips and use fresh veggies. Carrots, multi-colored bell peppers, and cucumber slices are some of my personal favorites.

The Finale:

So you’ve done great with your meal, and then comes the sweets. In my experience, there are two types of people. People who couldn’t care less about desserts (I want to be you), and people who LOOOOOVE them (Did someone say chocolate? Oh, I’m cool with key-lime pie as well. What? Cookies?)

The awesome thing about summer is all the fresh berries, and guess what… they are sweet!  Berries are so good at this time of year they make the perfect dessert.  If you want to feel like you’re making more of a true “dessert” you can always make a berry cookie cake, or some kind of parfait.  Or make a dessert dip for your berries. 

Yes, you can go all pie, brownies, and ice cream.  And my philosophy is… you SHOULD enjoy, just keep things in balance.  However, if you go full finale, you probably want to skip the encore.  Going all out on both the finale and the encore will leave you unbalanced.  So really, it’s your choice.

The Encore:

Alcohol is empty calories.  There, I said it. However, that doesn’t mean I’m telling you you’re not allowed to have any… I just want you to know the truth (and sometimes the truth hurts).

Just like I said about the finale, it’s all about balance (and moderation!).  If you eat well, a few drinks isn’t going to undo all your hard work.  You may not get to your goal quite as fast as if you had a 100% “perfect” diet, but honestly… that sounds horrible to me (no fun at all!).  Instead of denying yourself what you want, or guilting yourself later because you did indulge a bit, have a game plan.  Be honest with yourself about your goals and your timeline to get there, and check to see if that matches up with the lifestyle you want to live.  After all, living a healthy life is all about balance… (Oh, and in case you do enjoy an encore, here are some “better” choices for you!)