The Ultimate Healthy Cookout

As much as we may enjoy them, picnics and barbecues can present challenges when it comes to eating well.

Much of our favorite picnic fare – hamburgers and potato salad, fried chicken and coleslaw, chips with dip and brownies – is made up of greasy, high-fat, high-sodium foods.

It doesn't have to be that way! Finding a balance between enjoying traditional picnic fare and making these swaps will help you eat well at your next picnic or barbecue.

Chicken

While delicious, an extra-crispy fried chicken breast from a fast food restaurant has nearly half of your daily nutritional allowance!

If you're craving fried chicken, try our recipe below for Oven Fried Chicken instead – it has only 7 grams of fat per serving.

Boneless, skinless chicken breasts or chicken and vegetable skewers on the grill are other healthy chicken options.

Burgers

It's not a cookout without burgers and dogs. If you're heading to a barbeque, opt for grass-fed beef, which is higher in anti-inflammatory omega-3 fatty acids compared to grain-fed beef.

Turkey or chicken burgers are leaner options and even veggie burgers can give you the burger experience with no meat.

Additional tips:

• Pile on the lettuce, tomato, and onion, and choose small portions of mayo or cheese.
• Choose whole-grain buns, breads, or crackers. Or, have your burger on a leaf of lettuce and skip the bun altogether.

Chips, Dips and Sides

Arguably the best part of a cookout, try swapping plain Greek yogurt for most or all of the sour cream or mayonnaise based dips.

For another healthy side, serve hummus with vegetables or baked whole-grain pita chips, or salsa and baked tortilla chips.

Other salads and sides:

Forgo the processed potato and macaroni salads that can be high in poor-quality fats and sodium; try our Light and Fresh Potato Salad and Confetti Slaw with Poppy-Seed Dressing.

Grilled vegetables – such as mushrooms, zucchini, onions, peppers – are a way to get your grill flavor somewhere other than meat.

Grilled corn on the cob is a great BBQ option, plus it comes in its own wrapper. For a picnic, you can cook or grill corn at home and wrap it in foil to take along.

Fresh green salad can be colorful with lots of seasonal vegetables and fruit. Skip the creamy dressing, cheeses, and bacon and opt for a light dressing to keep it healthy.

Salad swaps. Try whole-grains – quinoa, brown rice, barley – or chopped vegetables in place of pasta in pasta salad. Or try a broccoli or bean salad in place of coleslaw or baked beans.

Desserts

So much produce is in season now, so pick your favorites and eat them whole or make a colorful fruit salad for dessert.

Kids will love slices of watermelon, and a large wedge has just 86 calories plus vitamin C, beta carotene, and lycopene. Use fresh fruit to top low-fat angel food cake.

Drinks

One of the biggest things to consider when opting for healthier options at a BBQ is making sure you don't drink your calories. Skip soda or other sugary drinks, instead, choose water or unsweetened tea.

If you choose to drink alcohol, choose wine or light beer over high-calorie mixed drinks.

For more nutrition tips, Well Together has you covered!

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