Dust off your grill and get revved up to prepare and enjoy Memorial Day favorites. The downside is that many of these summer foods are high in calories, artery-clogging saturated fat or added sugar. Instead, try these simple tricks courtesy of nutrition and culinary experts from around the country to help lighten up your dishes — and keep them just as tasty.
[READ: Healthy Barbecue Ideas and Recipes]
Healthy Summer Foods and Drinks for Memorial Day and Beyond
Ten dietitians offer their expert tips for seven classic summer party foods:
— Coleslaw
— Potato salad
— Pasta salad
— Deviled eggs
— Hot dogs
— Burgers
— Ice pops
[READ: Summer Health Advice: Fact or Fiction?]
Coleslaw
Instead of heavy, mayonnaise-based coleslaw, Jackie Topol, a registered dietitian and culinary nutritionist in New York, suggests lightening up your slaw with apple cider vinegar, extra-virgin olive oil, Dijon mustard and a little honey. Topol likes to add nutrition and color to her coleslaw by using purple cabbage and other thinly sliced vegetables, such as red and orange bell peppers.
Potato salad
Dietitians like to play with their potato salads in a variety of ways.
“I routinely tinker with mayo-based salads (like potato and egg salad) for summer barbecues to make them lighter and boost the nutrition,” says Katie Sullivan Morford, author of “PREP: The Essential College Cookbook.” “My go-to is to swap half the mayonnaise for low- or nonfat Greek yogurt, which cuts the saturated fat and increases the protein while maintaining a creamy texture.”
Morford also recommends using olive oil-based dressings in place of creamy mayo ones. “A good Dijon vinaigrette is excellent tossed with halved, just-cooked new potatoes, minced chives or other herbs, and cherry tomatoes,” she says. “Nobody will miss the mayonnaise.”
Karman Meyer, dietitian and author of “Eat to Sleep: What to Eat and When to Eat It for a Good Night’s Sleep,” likes to swap out white potatoes for sweet potatoes, which “instantly makes potato salad more colorful and higher in beta-carotene (the precursor for vitamin A) and vitamin C.” Meyer also suggests adding in other fresh veggies, such as diced green bell peppers, sweet summer corn and diced avocado, for an extra nutrient boost. Once you have the base of your salad, “toss the sweet potato salad in a Greek-yogurt based dressing mixed with ground cumin for a flavorful, lower-calorie alternative to mayonnaise.”
Pasta salad
There are numerous hacks to lighten up this go-to summer salad.
Jill Weisenberger, a Virginia-based registered dietitian nutritionist and author of “Prediabetes: A Complete Guide,” loves stuffing her pasta salad with veggies. “Bulk up your salad with loads of non-starchy vegetables like raw carrots, red onions, cherry tomatoes, snow peas, blanched broccoli and more,” she suggests. “This gives you a bigger portion and more nutrition for fewer calories. Plus, it helps you reach or exceed your veggie goal.”
It’s also a good way to minimize food waste because you can use whatever vegetables you have on hand.
Boston-based nutrition consultant Elizabeth Ward also likes to lighten up her pasta salad — and has a few unique tricks to do so. Ward recommends using whole-wheat pasta and a can of drained garbanzo beans. She also replaces half the feta cheese she loves on her own pasta salad with low-fat cottage cheese.
[READ: The Best Summer Potluck Ideas and Recipes]
Deviled eggs
If you like to start your Memorial Day meal with this creamy appetizer, registered dietitian nutritionist Amy Gorin, who owns Amy Gorin Nutrition in the New York City area, recommends you “swap out the mayo and instead use avocado, lemon juice and Dijon mustard.”
These swaps mean fewer calories and less saturated fat — and the fat that you do get will be the heart-healthy unsaturated type.
Hot dogs
Registered dietitian nutritionist Jackie Newgent, author of “The All-Natural Diabetes Cookbook,” recommends buying whole-grain buns and using your toppings of choice on homemade plant-based hot dogs — made out of carrots.
To make Newgent’s “hot dogs,” use a paring knife and vegetable peeler to sculpt jumbo carrots into “hot dogs” — about 8-inches long and 3/4-inch wide. Then brush with a flavorful sauce mixture of ketchup, olive oil, Dijon mustard, cider vinegar, tamari soy sauce, smoked paprika, salt and pepper to taste, and roast in a 350-degree Fahrenheit oven for about an hour. “You can even make these in advance, then spritz with oil and reheat on a grill for a cookout,” says Newgent, who’s a classically trained chef.
[SEE: 7 Healthy Summer Dinner Ideas]
Burgers
There are many ways to build a better burger.
Registered dietitian nutritionist Bonnie Taub-Dix, author of “Read It Before You Eat It — Taking You from Label to Table,” likes to put a new spin on this old favorite classic dish by adding veggies (such as shredded carrots or diced tomatoes) and spices to the meat mix. “This add-on will not only provide a burst of flavor and color, but it’ll also bring big benefits by increasing the content of fiber and valuable vitamins and minerals,” Taub-Dix says. She also suggests cutting a few calories by swapping out some or all the ground beef for ground turkey.
If you’re looking to get more fish in your diet, registered dietitian nutritionist Mandy Enright, creator of the couples nutrition blog and podcast Nutrition Nuptials, recommends trading your usual beef or turkey burger in for a recipe that features fatty fish such as salmon or tuna. To do so, “cut a pound of salmon or tuna (skin off) into chunks, and place in a food processor. Pulse a few times to chop to the consistency of ground meat. Season accordingly and shape into patties.” Enright says “these burgers will be lower in saturated fat while providing a great source of omega-3s.”
Ice pops
Instead of all those sugary and artificially colored frozen ice pops, registered dietitian Dana Angelo White — author of “Healthy Quick & Easy Smoothies” and owner of Dana White Nutrition in Fairfield, Connecticut — opts for some better-for-you frozen treats. “Frozen slices of mango on sticks (occasionally I’ll dip some in chocolate!) are always a crowd pleaser,” she says.
To minimize food waste, White often pours leftover smoothies into Popsicle molds along with chunks of cut-up fruit.
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Healthy Summer Foods for Memorial Day and Beyond originally appeared on usnews.com
