How to celebrate (a healthier) 4th of July
Most of us are familiar with that extra bit of flab usually making its unwanted appearance around our middle right after Thanksgiving, Halloween, and any other all day food-centric holiday. The 4th of July is another of these opportunities to bask in the sun, grab beers from the cooler all day long, and mindlessly snack on chips, dip, and good ol’ barbeque. But as we ‘re lounging for hours, and hours, and hours, all that snacking starts to add up.
So how can we avoid the typical pitfalls of over eating, and eating badly, that’s usually associated with Independence Day and general all day summer barbeques?
1. Get a New Sidekick
A couple of popular dishes we usually see at the 4th gatherings are hearty sides like pasta and potato salads, and coleslaw. Most of these tend to be made with heavy mixing ingredients like mayonnaise and cream based sauces which are usually not only high in calorie content but are also laden with unhealthy saturated fats, high in cholesterol, and sometimes high in sodium as well.
Instead of piling on heavy starch based sides, if you want a lighter more refreshing cold side dish that can be part of the main meal and is also safe to sit out on a barbeque table for an extended amount of time, here are a few tips on how to dress. (Salad only – please don’t use this information to spruce up that new expensive suit).
Quinoa based salads (a grain-like seed) are gluten-free, have all 9 essential amino acids, and are also cholesterol free. Chop up whatever fresh vegetables your crew likes to add –cucumber, tomatoes, walnuts, even blueberries all go great in here. Quinoa doesn’t have an overwhelming taste on it’s own so it accepts a lot of different components nicely and is a base that’s going to give a lot flexibility to throw in whatever else your group has a penchant for.
For dressings and seasonings: Choosing things like olive oil mixed with balsamic, a bit of fresh squeeze lemon mixed in, and using fresh all natural herbs and spices like cilantro, chives mint, parsley, basil, or maybe even some cayenne pepper if you like an extra kick all provide flavor without giving the dish the extra calories and fats. These are all flavorful herbs and spices that mix well with olive oil, adding a fresh and full taste without adding the need to overuse prepared, bottled sauces.
2. Down Size
If you find yourself at a large gathering or potluck setting where there happens to be just too many delicious things to choose from, (apple pie, cheesecake brownie squares, fresh baked oatmeal macadamia cookies and you want me to choose?) it can be tempting to have everything and hard to decide what to sample. We often choose to try everything and think that by taking little bites of each item we’re saving ourselves from a total calorie bomb. Unfortunately, not so.
The “one small bite of everything” mindset usually adds up to more calories and more mouthfuls than just one simple slice of pie would have been. It’s much more difficult to track our portion size this way. Instead, try picking just one or two things to have small portions of and leave it at that. As a general guideline, try to third the portion size of what you would normally take.
If you find yourself in a setting where you’re at a sit down meal for the 4th with these large family style dishes, it’s best to designate the serving area as a secondary area away from where you’re actually eating so that if you want that second helping you consciously have to think about that and get up to get it rather than just sit there and continually graze while you’re enjoying everyone’s company just because the food is there in front of you. We can put on an entire second meal in calories and fat content in those “grazing” bites after we’ve already eaten an entire meal and appetizer course.
Alix can be contacted at her personal website http://wildernutrition.com or at [email protected]
Most of us are familiar with that extra bit of flab usually making its unwanted appearance around our middle right after Thanksgiving, Halloween, and any other all day food-centric holiday. The 4th of July is another of these opportunities to bask in the sun, grab beers from the cooler all day long, and mindlessly snack on chips, dip, and good ol’ barbeque. But as we ‘re lounging for hours, and hours, and hours, all that snacking starts to add up.
So how can we avoid the typical pitfalls of over eating, and eating badly, that’s usually associated with Independence Day and general all day summer barbeques?
1. Get a New Sidekick
A couple of popular dishes we usually see at the 4th gatherings are hearty sides like pasta and potato salads, and coleslaw. Most of these tend to be made with heavy mixing ingredients like mayonnaise and cream based sauces which are usually not only high in calorie content but are also laden with unhealthy saturated fats, high in cholesterol, and sometimes high in sodium as well.
Instead of piling on heavy starch based sides, if you want a lighter more refreshing cold side dish that can be part of the main meal and is also safe to sit out on a barbeque table for an extended amount of time, here are a few tips on how to dress. (Salad only – please don’t use this information to spruce up that new expensive suit).
Quinoa based salads (a grain-like seed) are gluten-free, have all 9 essential amino acids, and are also cholesterol free. Chop up whatever fresh vegetables your crew likes to add –cucumber, tomatoes, walnuts, even blueberries all go great in here. Quinoa doesn’t have an overwhelming taste on it’s own so it accepts a lot of different components nicely and is a base that’s going to give a lot flexibility to throw in whatever else your group has a penchant for.
For dressings and seasonings: Choosing things like olive oil mixed with balsamic, a bit of fresh squeeze lemon mixed in, and using fresh all natural herbs and spices like cilantro, chives mint, parsley, basil, or maybe even some cayenne pepper if you like an extra kick all provide flavor without giving the dish the extra calories and fats. These are all flavorful herbs and spices that mix well with olive oil, adding a fresh and full taste without adding the need to overuse prepared, bottled sauces.
2. Down Size
If you find yourself at a large gathering or potluck setting where there happens to be just too many delicious things to choose from, (apple pie, cheesecake brownie squares, fresh baked oatmeal macadamia cookies and you want me to choose?) it can be tempting to have everything and hard to decide what to sample. We often choose to try everything and think that by taking little bites of each item we’re saving ourselves from a total calorie bomb. Unfortunately, not so.
The “one small bite of everything” mindset usually adds up to more calories and more mouthfuls than just one simple slice of pie would have been. It’s much more difficult to track our portion size this way. Instead, try picking just one or two things to have small portions of and leave it at that. As a general guideline, try to third the portion size of what you would normally take.
If you find yourself in a setting where you’re at a sit down meal for the 4th with these large family style dishes, it’s best to designate the serving area as a secondary area away from where you’re actually eating so that if you want that second helping you consciously have to think about that and get up to get it rather than just sit there and continually graze while you’re enjoying everyone’s company just because the food is there in front of you. We can put on an entire second meal in calories and fat content in those “grazing” bites after we’ve already eaten an entire meal and appetizer course.
Alix can be contacted at her personal website http://wildernutrition.com or at [email protected]