I find it hard to keep on track in the summertime with barbques and lots of activities that center around eating. Lets help each other and list some suggestions and recipes that are YOU approved.

I found this recipe on BCB site...and its delish!! Not sure who the person is who posted it but thank you very much

Bean salad

1 can of black beans
1 can of corn niblets
Drain both can in a colender and rinse with water, give a shake to dry them.
Add:
1 red onion , chopped
1 red pepper, chopped
6 tsps olive oil
juice of 1 lime
Mix alltogether,,,let sit for a while in your fridge. Enjoy!!!
Today I brought this in for lunch and stuffed it in a pita..yummm

Cindy,,Ive gone out with friends to play cards..and I told them right from the start to keep the chips and goodies down at THEIR end!! I told them i was losing weight and they respected that. I also kept something to drink close by me all the time.

I bought myself some of those popsicle molds at the dollarstore this weekend...Im going to juice some fruit and pour them into the molds...easy to make and good for you!

Black bean, Corn and Shrimp Salad

Serve this with toasted ww pita wedges

1 T. Chile powder
½ t. garlic salt
½ t. ground cumin
1.5 # medium shrimp, deveined
Cooking spray
2 T. lime juice, divided
1.5 c. frozen corn, thawed
¾ c. bottled salsa
¼ c. chopped fresh cilantro
1 15oz. can black beans, rinsed and drained
(I sub pinto beans)

Heat large nonstick skillet over med-high heat.

Combine first 3 ingredients in a large bowl. Add shrimp, toss to coat.

Coat pan with cooking spray. Add shrimp; sauté 3 minutes or until done. Add 1 T. lime juice. Remove shrimp from pan. Add corn to pan, sauté 1 minute. Stir in salsa, cilantro and beans; cook 30 seconds or until thoroughly heated. Stir in 1 T. lime juice.
Serve shrimp over bean mixture.

Yield: 4 servings, 1/3 c. shrimp and about 2/3 cup bean mixture.

Calories 354
Fat 4.8g
Protein 43.3g
Carbs 34.9g

While playing cards in the Summer, which is an every weekend day occurance for us, I like to have the following around:

Lowfat Ranch dip w/baby carrots, cucumber slices, and/or red pepper slices
Triscuits with low fat cheese
Shrimp cocktail - frozen shrimp (thawed) from Sam's Club, and Trader Joe HFCS-free cocktail sauce
Lipton Diet Green Iced Tea

My challenge with these is keeping everyone else from eating all of MY stuff!

Any other suggestions would be welcome. Sometimes we do some fancy appetizers, sometimes its pretty casual. But always finger food, and lots of it!
Cindy

What about a big bowl of popcorn Cindy? sometimes when I feel like nibbling on something in the afternoon I will make a big bowl of popcorn. When I drink a big glass of water with it..it fills me up! I use the microwave bowl popcorn maker ..found it at walmart. If I need to get my oils in..i add a touch of oil to the maker..if not it will air pop it as well. I add the half-salt I use to the oil before I pop it and it mixes in nicely while its popping.


My gf will take a huge container and puts all types of veggies..ready to eat. Same thing with fruits... she makes sure its displayed nicely inthe container. No dip nothing...but it looks so mouthwatering you forget your eating healthy!! I need to keep a couple of these in my fridge this summer/

Patti....wonderful idea about adding the salt before the corn pops. You got the bowl at walmart? The condensation from popping doesn't make the popcorn soggy?

No it dosnt...just make sure you take the lid off as soon as its done popping.

this is more of an idea but its sooo good

wasa crackers
cottage cheese-I use the 1percent
chopped green onions
spread the crackers with cottage cheese and sprinkle the green onions on top..very fresh with lots of taste

Hmmm....... I actually find it EASIER to stay on an eating plan like this in the summer. When it's hot, I am more likely to reach for cool raw vegetables and fruits, and cooling salads with legumes or some seafood or chicken on them, maybe. I'd say skip the red meat and stuff that people are serving and eat the fruit or veggie trays or salads that are being served on the side. And---Eat something healthy before you go to someone's BBQ, so that you don't 'have' to eat the junk. There's almost always a way around it.