Eating healthily at a barbecue can be sheer torture. Red meat, salads dripping in mayo and dressing, sugary soft drinks and beer. Barbecue foods are at once mouthwatering – and weight-inducing!
Still, with a little willpower, a little discretion, and a plan of attack, you can enjoy healthy eating at a barbecue!
4 Tips to Eat Healthy at a Barbecue
You don’t get to choose what’s served at someone else’s barbecue. Still, some or all of the following tips will help you enjoy your meal and minimize its effect on your weight and health.
Load Up on Vegetables First
Instead of piling on the burgers and hot dogs first, which leaves little room for healthier stuff, do the opposite. Devote at least half your plate to vegetables and salad and put them on before anything else.
Go Easy on the Condiments
There’s good news and bad news here. The bad news is that many common barbecue condiments, including ketchup, relish and barbecue sauce are high in sugar. The good news? If you love mustard, most regular varieties have no sugar! Enjoy!
Get Creative With Your Burger
First, denying yourself that burger all together might not be the healthiest thing to do. It’ll be on your mind the whole time, and you might even overeat to compensate. Instead, enjoy the burger, but make it open-faced. First, that will reduce the simple carbs you get by eliminating half the bun. Second, you can pile even more delicious barbecued vegetables on top of it.
Drink Wisely
Cold beer and hot summer afternoons go together well. Again, total denial isn’t what barbecues are about. But, your willpower to avoid unhealthy food choices goes down with every alcoholic beverage you have. One may be fine, but two put you on the path towards too many. You should also limit how many sugary fruit juices and pop you have – including diet varieties.
The nutrition consultants at your nearest Herbal One location can create a Herbal One diet plan just for you, including healthy foods you can barbecue and share with your family and friends at your own backyard get-together.
If you enjoyed this post, check out our recent article “5 Top Foods that Boost Your Metabolism“.