Healthy Eating: BBQ Edition

TIPS FOR A HEALTHY 4^TH:

Hey all, being that its summer time and the 4^th is coming up (GO AMERICA!!!), I figure I’d give you guys an extra article this week with some tips on how to save calories during BBQ season. BBQ’s are known for having amazing food, but amazingly unhealthy at the same time. Plus, it’s pretty hard to not pig out at a BBQ, there’s usually enough food to feed an army. This won’t be too long, just some tips I think will be helpful to save calories but still enjoy all the pleasures of a cook out.

TIP #1: No Bread Please! Maybe Some Lettuce?

This is a tip that many people don’t even consider. At almost every cookout you’ll find hotdogs and burgers on the standard white bun/roll. Just one roll can hold upwards of 80 calories and 15G of carbs. I’m sure we’re all eating more than one, so that’s probably around 200+ calories and 50+ carbs just from the bread! I find it a lot easier to just skip the bread and eat the burger/hot dog as is, it’s more tasty to me that ways anyways. These are simple carbohydrates too, which means they get broken down very easily and go right to the stomach, something no one wants. It may not seem like much, but why put all those calories into your body if it’s not necessary? Every little bit saved, is a little bit earned. Another awesome idea is to wrap your burger, chicken, whatever in lettuce instead. I had some chicken wrapped in lettuce at P.F. Changs once and it made me realize how awesome it was. Get a huge piece of lettuce and wrap it up with all your favorite toppings! Definitely a lot healthier than any roll out there, it’s creative too. 

TIP #2: SLOW DOWN!

This rule applies extensively to BBQ’s, just because there is so much food in one place. It’s quite easy to eat four burgers in three minutes and still feel like you could go have three more hotdogs. We’ve all done it before, I’ve done it before, it just happens. My tip is to just try to remember what’s going into you and know how much you can eat before you get full. If you eat two burgers in a short amount of time, wait like ten minutes and see how you feel. Most likely you’ll begin to get full after you wait a few minutes, which will make sure you don’t eat as much. Just slow down the eating, instead of grabbing another plate, just grab a bottle of water and sip on that for a few minutes.

TIP #3: Keep the Chips Away!

Chips, pretzels, tortilla chips, stay away! These items are tasty, but people often get lost while eating. Especially since BBQ’s are a place for eating and talking, having a bowl of chips in front of you while having a conversation is dangerous since the whole bowl might be gone before you even know it! The best bet is to not even go near these foods, so there isn’t even a temptation. Keeping a bottle of water is always a safe bet too, instead of grabbing for the bowl, grab for the water instead (we love water!).

TIP # 4: Portion Control

Easy way to battle all the unhealthy foods is portion control. Just grab one cookie, one scoop of pasta salad, one burger, one of this, one of that, ONE OF EVERYTHING! A lot of times it’s not what you eat, but how much of it you eat. If there’s something you really want, but you know it’s not good for you, just have enough to satisfy your taste buds and move on.  The more bad food you eat, the worse it is for you, so the less you eat is..better for you, right? Well, it’s certainly better than eating more! Keep those portions down, especially when it comes to deserts.

TIP #5: Those “Salads”

Yeah, you all know about those “salads” that are famous for being at BBQ’s, that aren’t really salads at all. Those infamous macaroni, taco, potato, and pasta salads. None of these are healthy for you, especially since most of them are mixed with mayonnaise which is filled with fat and calories. The only salad I would advise going near is a fruit salad, can’t really go wrong there. Unless they have an actual salad there, eat that, but don’t eat the other ones! Refer to the above tip if you can’t resist the temptations.

TIP #6: Drinking..

Common place at a BBQ, don’t avoid it! Enjoy yourself; it’s what you are there for. A good tip if you are going to be consuming beverages is to break every beer or drink up with water every time. So, drink one beer, and then drink one water, rinse and repeat. You’ll probably end up running to the bathroom quite a lot, but it’s a lot better than all that beer in your belly. Sip slow while drinking too, so that will help decrease the amount you drink. Just remember the water trick and you’ll probably be better off. Plus it’ll probably stop you from drinking yourself into a stupor and being told ridiculous things you did that you have no recollection of.

TIP #7: Have a Plan:

This is huge! If you don’t go into a BBQ with a plan then you will eat more than your weight in food. Have a good idea of what you want to eat/drink and put that plan to work. BBQ’s have the same type of food almost everywhere, so you shouldn’t have a problem figuring out what you should and shouldn’t eat. Have a plan, execute it, and be happy with your choices.

TIP #8: ENJOY YOURSELF!

Take these tips in mind, but the bottom line is to have fun. Don’t worry about over eating or what you ate, or anything for that matter. BBQ’s are a time of great fun, not a health food convention. You know how to stay healthy, so try to stay that way. Maybe a BBQ took you off your path, but its only one day, it’s not the end of the world. Just do the best you can and please don’t stop having fun! Get it all back the next time you hit the weights and hit them with a vengeance, it’ll do you good! Have a great holiday weekend everybody :)

I still have articles coming Wednesday & Saturday; this was just a bonus for the holiday coming up! GO America!

dcorrigan50@gmail.com