In the month of June we see an increase in the number of BBQs, picnics and backyard parties, not only to celebrate Father's Day or a graduation or two, but simply to embrace the return of summer and get a little taste of our more primitive roots - cooking meat on an open fire in the great outdoors.
When hosting such an event, there are a number of things you can do to provide healthy and tasty alternatives to a perhaps not-so-healthy traditional BBQ. Read the previous posting to get some ideas.
When attending a BBQ as a guest, you may not have a say in what is served and that is when you need to be a bit creative if you want to avoid falling into old habits and overdoing it on consuming fats, calories and sodium.
If vegetables are available for munching before dinner, place yourself near them. Then when you grab a bite to eat, you'll be choosing a great alternative to the chips and dips often served. Chips are fried, and considering the amount of fat and calories they contain, you may want to refrain from them completely in favor of something else. Even though salsa is healthy as well as tasty, the chips you dip into it should be eaten at a minimum. See if the host has provided a dipping option other than chips (veggies?) and if so, choose the healthier alternative.
Cheeses are often served as hors d'oeuvres and feel free to sample what is provided, but, remember, cheese should be eaten in moderation. Although it qualifies as a dairy product, a serving size is only one and a half ounces, equivalent to 2 slices or a "cube" roughly the size of your thumb.
If you only notice unhealthy snacks, consider waiting until dinner before eating anything so that you have more options available to get something nutritious.
It is often forgotten that drinks(both alcoholic and non-alcoholic)can add a lot of calories to our daily intake and it's easy to have a few of them when partying in an outdoor setting - especially when it is hot. Make sure that you keep well hydrated with water so that you don't find yourself filling up on empty calories. See if your host is offering non-caloric drinks like seltzer water or iced teas. If so, choose those instead of sugary soft drinks, beer, wine, or mixed drinks.
In any event, enjoy yourself while visiting with family and friends. Switch your focus to the people and not the food. Make good choices when deciding what to eat and don't fall into old habits. If you are tempted by unhealthy snacks before dinner, try to position yourself so that it is an effort to get to them. In the end, you may find that you enjoy your dinner more when you don't fill up on snacks and drinks before hand.
JS
Friday, June 19, 2009
Friday, June 12, 2009
Grads and Dads - Hosting
The month of June includes Father's Day and graduations! Americans traditionally celebrate these occasions with backyard parties and barbeques. We look forward to scrumptious food shared with family and friends while sitting around the garden or pool and taking breaks for a game of croquet, badminton or volleyball. Before the barbeque is ready, we sip drinks and eat hors d'oeuvres, sometimes getting our fill before we even have our meal. Then there is the cake with the special greeting to acknowledge the dad or grad. Who can resist eating a piece of it and risk not sharing in the celebration?
With food being the focus of many of our celebrations, there are many opportunities to create healthy alternatives to what may traditionally not be so healthy. If you are the one planning the food for the celebration, be creative in your approach. Dispense with the traditional chips and dips and provide a colorful tray of raw veggies with a yogurt-based dip (as opposed to salad dressing which can be loaded with fat and calories). If you are serving a large crowd, you may want to have a variety of options for your guests. Try a hummus dip with pita wedges (instead of pita chips, which are high in fat and sodium). Or place some baba ghanoush in a small bowl surrounded by a medley of vegetables that differ from those in the veggie tray. All of the dips can be made in advance and the recipes are available on the Meal Well website.
For drinks, instead of offering high fructose corn syrup laden soft drinks, have cold seltzer water available for those who enjoy the "fizz" and provide some sliced lemons, oranges or limes for guests to squeeze into their glasses. If someone just has to have their drink sweetened, provide some honey, sugar, or a simple syrup (sugar dissolved in water) for guests to add to their seltzer water. In general, people will add less sugar to a drink than is in a typical soft drink.
Iced tea is another alternative to high calorie drinks. But be careful if you are buying the bottled iced tea. It can be as full of sugar as a regular soft drink. Instead, make your own iced tea and make it appear special by serving it in a beautiful glass decanter. Iced tea is inexpensive and very easy to make. And you can offer it unsweetened. Let your guests decide whether they need to add something other than a twist of lemon. Worried about caffeine? Make some herbal teas too! There are many kinds available that have natural flavors and some even taste a bit sweet.
If you are barbequing, marinate some vegetables and chicken to throw on the grill instead of hamburgers and hotdogs. Peppers, zucchini and yellow squash, onions (sliced thickly) and eggplant (to name just a few) not only pick up some great flavors on the grill, they are tasty and colorful. Chicken is a leaner alternative to beef, just refrain from eating the skin if you want to keep the fat content down. You can throw on some garden veggie burgers for a vegetarian treat and remember, you don't have to be a vegetarian to eat them! Some people like to marinate and cook up a large portabella mushroom in lieu of a steak. Try it, you might like it.
For dessert, you can have your cake and eat it too. If you have time and want to make it yourself, choose a recipe that has some redeeming value. A carrot cake, for example. You can always substitute applesauce for some of the oil in a cake recipe to make it lower in fat and calories. And when you frost it, don't use as much as the bakeries do.
If you decide that you want to have that specially decorated cake from the bakery, go for it. The cake can be the centerpiece of the dessert but it need not be the highlight. Offer an array of fresh fruit along with the cake. Dish up small servings of it with the fresh fruit and a dollop of vanilla yogurt as a real treat. Your guests will be satisfied, and you will be happy knowing that you provided not only a wonderful dessert, but that it capped off a healthy meal fit for a grad (or a dad)!
JS
With food being the focus of many of our celebrations, there are many opportunities to create healthy alternatives to what may traditionally not be so healthy. If you are the one planning the food for the celebration, be creative in your approach. Dispense with the traditional chips and dips and provide a colorful tray of raw veggies with a yogurt-based dip (as opposed to salad dressing which can be loaded with fat and calories). If you are serving a large crowd, you may want to have a variety of options for your guests. Try a hummus dip with pita wedges (instead of pita chips, which are high in fat and sodium). Or place some baba ghanoush in a small bowl surrounded by a medley of vegetables that differ from those in the veggie tray. All of the dips can be made in advance and the recipes are available on the Meal Well website.
For drinks, instead of offering high fructose corn syrup laden soft drinks, have cold seltzer water available for those who enjoy the "fizz" and provide some sliced lemons, oranges or limes for guests to squeeze into their glasses. If someone just has to have their drink sweetened, provide some honey, sugar, or a simple syrup (sugar dissolved in water) for guests to add to their seltzer water. In general, people will add less sugar to a drink than is in a typical soft drink.
Iced tea is another alternative to high calorie drinks. But be careful if you are buying the bottled iced tea. It can be as full of sugar as a regular soft drink. Instead, make your own iced tea and make it appear special by serving it in a beautiful glass decanter. Iced tea is inexpensive and very easy to make. And you can offer it unsweetened. Let your guests decide whether they need to add something other than a twist of lemon. Worried about caffeine? Make some herbal teas too! There are many kinds available that have natural flavors and some even taste a bit sweet.
If you are barbequing, marinate some vegetables and chicken to throw on the grill instead of hamburgers and hotdogs. Peppers, zucchini and yellow squash, onions (sliced thickly) and eggplant (to name just a few) not only pick up some great flavors on the grill, they are tasty and colorful. Chicken is a leaner alternative to beef, just refrain from eating the skin if you want to keep the fat content down. You can throw on some garden veggie burgers for a vegetarian treat and remember, you don't have to be a vegetarian to eat them! Some people like to marinate and cook up a large portabella mushroom in lieu of a steak. Try it, you might like it.
For dessert, you can have your cake and eat it too. If you have time and want to make it yourself, choose a recipe that has some redeeming value. A carrot cake, for example. You can always substitute applesauce for some of the oil in a cake recipe to make it lower in fat and calories. And when you frost it, don't use as much as the bakeries do.
If you decide that you want to have that specially decorated cake from the bakery, go for it. The cake can be the centerpiece of the dessert but it need not be the highlight. Offer an array of fresh fruit along with the cake. Dish up small servings of it with the fresh fruit and a dollop of vanilla yogurt as a real treat. Your guests will be satisfied, and you will be happy knowing that you provided not only a wonderful dessert, but that it capped off a healthy meal fit for a grad (or a dad)!
JS
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