4th of july eating healthy are you?

[reallyshygirl19]

whos having a party on the 4th or social gathering will there be food? tips on eating healthy on the 4th of july? what should i replace with sweets and greasy foods? like pepperoni and cheese chips and dip all populer foods on the 4th should i portion replace it with something else what would you do?

[YorkieMommy]

At our extended family Memorial Weekend camping extravaganza we did something fun. We took our old favorites and gave them a healthy twist. We were inspired after watching the biggest loser when they did the same thing. For example, I made the cold pasta salad. I made it with wheat noodles, lots of veggies and used a low fat/low cal italian dressing. Everybody brought a different dish... some people even calculated the calories in a serving for us.

[julieburns]

Sounds like you have a great family Yorkiemommy. WTG on the converted recipes. I'll be working extra the 5th and 6th to pay for my trip to TJ to get my fill. And of course part of that budget is for shopping!! I didn't do any last time so this time my suitcase is empty and may come back somewhat full.

[jena]

There's a lot of things you can do! Grill your meats of course, but have you thought of kabobs? Thread chunks of chicken and veggies on a skewer and grill.

Make the dip with plain non-fat yogurt instead of sour cream. You can hardly notice the difference and I bet your guests won't know either. It's also great on baked potatoes! I like to use the dry ranch dressing mix with the yogurt.

Make a fruit salad (we call it ambrosia in the south) by cutting up fresh oranges, apples with the skin on, bananas and throw in a few chopped pecans and some grated coconut.

How about Strawberry Shortcake? Angel food cake is very low in calories and has no fat! Serve slices with fresh strawberries and a little light cool whip or low fat frozen strawberry yogurt. Yum!!

Have you ever used Dreamfields pasta? If you haven't, check it out. It's awesome!! Use the twists and make a pasta salad using chopped onions, green & red peppers, mushrooms, garlic, yellow squash or whatever veggies you like. Add low fat Italian dressing and sprinkle low fat Parmesan cheese on last. http://www.dreamfieldsfoods.com/

Instead of potato chips try the baked pita chips. Serve them with bean dip and/or salsa.

How about a Southwest bean salad? All you need is a big bowl, a can of black beans, a can of red beans, salsa, low fat or fat free shredded cheddar cheese, chopped bell pepper, onions and garlic and a small bag of frozen corn. (You can use canned but I like the frozen better) Drain the beans, put beans in the bowl, add the veggies and corn and stir. Add some salsa and mix until everything is coated. Add the cheese last and toss. Keep it in the fridge and serve cold. The measurements of the ingredients are adjustable to what you like best. I like mine heaver on the corn than beans.

Make German potato salad instead of mayo based potato salad. Use Canadian bacon or ham instead of bacon and use a tablespoon or two of olive oil instead of bacon fat for the dressing.

You could make banana pudding by using the low fat vanilla pudding and topping with lite coolwhip. Vanilla wafers aren't too bad calorie wise.

If you don't tell the guests they will never suspect!

[julieburns]

Thanks for the great list of suggestions Jena

[reallyshygirl19]

There's a lot of things you can do! Grill your meats of course, but have you thought of kabobs? Thread chunks of chicken and veggies on a skewer and grill.

Make the dip with plain non-fat yogurt instead of sour cream. You can hardly notice the difference and I bet your guests won't know either. It's also great on baked potatoes! I like to use the dry ranch dressing mix with the yogurt.

Make a fruit salad (we call it ambrosia in the south) by cutting up fresh oranges, apples with the skin on, bananas and throw in a few chopped pecans and some grated coconut.

How about Strawberry Shortcake? Angel food cake is very low in calories and has no fat! Serve slices with fresh strawberries and a little light cool whip or low fat frozen strawberry yogurt. Yum!!

Have you ever used Dreamfields pasta? If you haven't, check it out. It's awesome!! Use the twists and make a pasta salad using chopped onions, green & red peppers, mushrooms, garlic, yellow squash or whatever veggies you like. Add low fat Italian dressing and sprinkle low fat Parmesan cheese on last. http://www.dreamfieldsfoods.com/

Instead of potato chips try the baked pita chips. Serve them with bean dip and/or salsa.

How about a Southwest bean salad? All you need is a big bowl, a can of black beans, a can of red beans, salsa, low fat or fat free shredded cheddar cheese, chopped bell pepper, onions and garlic and a small bag of frozen corn. (You can use ca nned but I like the frozen better) Drain the beans, put beans in the bowl, add the veggies and corn and stir. Add some salsa and mix until everything is coated. Add the cheese last and toss. Keep it in the fridge and serve cold. The measurements of the ingredients are adjustable to what you like best. I like mine heaver on the corn than beans.

Make German potato salad instead of mayo based potato salad. Use Canadian bacon or ham instead of bacon and use a tablespoon or two of olive oil instead of bacon fat for the dressing.

You could make banana pudding by using the low fat vanilla pudding and topping with lite coolwhip. Vanilla wafers aren't too bad calorie wise.

If you don't tell the guests they will never suspect!

nice job jena!! thanks for the advice! it helped me get some ideas on healthy foods on the 4th! hope you enjoy the holiday Regards~ReallyShyGirl19

[reallyshygirl19]

There's a lot of things you can do! Grill your meats of course, but have you thought of kabobs? Thread chunks of chicken and veggies on a skewer and grill.

Make the dip with plain non-fat yogurt instead of sour cream. You can hardly notice the difference and I bet your guests won't know either. It's also great on baked potatoes! I like to use the dry ranch dressing mix with the yogurt.

Make a fruit salad (we call it ambrosia in the south) by cutting up fresh oranges, apples with the skin on, bananas and throw in a few chopped pecans and some grated coconut.

How about Strawberry Shortcake? Angel food cake is very low in calories and has no fat! Serve slices with fresh strawberries and a little light cool whip or low fat frozen strawberry yogurt. Yum!!

Have you ever used Dreamfields pasta? If you haven't, check it out. It's awesome!! Use the twists and make a pasta salad using chopped onions, green & red peppers, mushrooms, garlic, yellow squash or whatever veggies you like. Add low fat Italian dressing and sprinkle low fat Parmesan cheese on last. http://www.dreamfieldsfoods.com/

Instead of potato chips try the baked pita chips. Serve them with bean dip and/or salsa.

How about a Southwest bean salad? All you need is a big bowl, a can of black beans, a can of red beans, salsa, low fat or fat free shredded cheddar cheese, chopped bell pepper, onions and garlic and a small bag of frozen corn. (You can use ca nned but I like the frozen better) Drain the beans, put beans in the bowl, add the veggies and corn and stir. Add some salsa and mix until everything is coated. Add the cheese last and toss. Keep it in the fridge and serve cold. The measurements of the ingredients are adjustable to what you like best. I like mine heaver on the corn than beans.

Make German potato salad instead of mayo based potato salad. Use Canadian bacon or ham instead of bacon and use a tablespoon or two of olive oil instead of bacon fat for the dressing.

You could make banana pudding by using the low fat vanilla pudding and topping with lite coolwhip. Vanilla wafers aren't too bad calorie wise.

If you don't tell the guests they will never suspect!

nice job jena!! thanks for the advice! it helped me get some ideas on healthy foods on the 4th! hope you enjoy the holiday Regards~ReallyShyGirl19