Healthy Tips for the 4th of July Holiday Weekend

Happy B-day USA!  

The 4th is on a Monday this year, which means the celebration will start Friday and continue all weekend long! The potential for multiple parties and BBQs makes for a fun weekend, but can really sabotage your summer diet. Follow these tips to help you celebrate in a healthful way.  You will feel better and enjoy the fireworks without the indigestion or the guilt.

Healthy Tips for the 4th of July Weekend! 

1. Grill lean meats, fruits, and veggies instead of fatty sausages, hot dogs, and beef. You will thank yourself when it's all over.  Choose lean white meat chicken, turkey, or fish to BBQ and grill. In addition, grill up some tasty veggie and fruit kabobs. Include brightly colored fruit and veggie chunks on the kabobs: pineapples, mangoes, plums, nectarines, tomatoes, red and green peppers, onions, etc. These can be prepared a ahead of time, then just grill them quickly before chow time. This will add some vitamins and antioxidants to your meal, help you feel fuller, and reduce the amount of calories you eat.
2. Tame your alcohol consumption. Alcohol consumption on a 3-day weekend is probably one of the biggest contributors to excess calorie intake. Beer, wine, and hard alcohol + mixers pack a huge calorie punch!  Drinking two 12oz Coronas before the grill is even turned on provides nearly 300 Calories! The two glasses of wine before dinner provide 250 Calories (assuming they are only 5-oz each...but who actually has only 5oz glasses of wine?).  Follow those up with more beer and wine during the meal (and an after-dinner drink) and you have consumed an entire meal's worth of Calories just from your alcoholic beverages! How can you help reduce these calories without giving up alcohol completely?  Decrease the portion size of your drink; choose lite beer instead of regular, lagers, or stouts; reduce consumption of the highly-sweetened hard alcohol mixers, and curtail your quantity!
3. Get up off the lounge chair, beach chair, or couch and MOVE!  Fun activities like playing hoops, football, bocce ball, horseshoes, Frisbee, swimming, or walking along the beach or around the neighborhood can help burn some of the Calories consumed during the holiday celebrations. Plus, they are fun!

I hope that gives you some ideas for this upcoming weekend. I think I will try a few too!

God Bless America!