Combating the Cookouts
 

Hey guys,
I was wondering what everyone was going to do to for Memorial Day Weekend. I have 3 cookouts in a row! Friday, Saturday and Monday. I don't even know what to do, lol. I know I shouldn't hit the beer hard, Bacardi and Diet for me probably and not much of it but what do you guys do about cookouts in quick succession and avoiding eating an entire bowl of potato salad and ribs? ...damn, my friend makes the BEST ribs...

Grilled Veggies are really good! Just cut them up add a little olive oil & some seasoning. Throw them in a basket & cook on grill. I've been using a Southwest Chiptole Seasoning. It's really good! Sweet Potatoes cut like frys & seasoned the same way are good also! If you don't consume too many Carbs..maybe you'll be OK! We all have our days off...we'll just have to get back Super Serious after Memorial Day! Good Luck!

Multiple stops will get ya! First, I look to see if there is anything healthy and that's what I zero in on. If there are healthy options, I'm much better at staying away from the potato salad, kwim? Also, if there aren't many healthy options, I will take the smallest plate I can find and use that to measure servings. If there aren't any small cocktail plates, I will use a larger plate and only put food on half of it at a time. Just pretending like I have limited space to put food on helps keep my portions reasonable. Good luck!

I bring something to the BBQ I know I can eat. A veggie plate...a fruit something... etc etc...

OR you can eat before hand and just nibble on the healthier items. That is what I am going to do for one of my BBQ's

I would avoid drinking. I know when I even have one drink I can end up eating handfuls of chips..etc

Remember to drink plenty of water and also remember to HAVE FUN

Some of my favorite summer foods are grilled squash/zucchini and grilled portobello mushrooms. I actually love grilled portobello mushroom no-meat "burgers." Just grill a big mushroom cap, and eat it on a wheat bun with low-fat cheese, lettuce, tomatos, etc. I've read somewhere that mushrooms are a healthy meat subsitute because they're kind of meat-ish. If you're comfortable with it, ask the hosts if you can bring mushrooms and throw them on the grill. Definitely bring something healthy to share that will let you eat without feeling deprived of those ribs. A big fruit plate or fruit salad with a yogurt dip is usually a success. Otherwise, it works for me to eat like I'm hot. I went to a cookout this past weekend and it was already icky hot here in Nebraska. I was so hot all I wanted to eat was the light foods like fruits and veggies anyway and drink water. I knew that eating anything heavy or salty would make me even more uncomfortable and the hotdogs, hamburgers, and chips didn't even appeal to me.