Heart Healthy BBQ Food: How to make the best choices

Summer is almost here and with summer comes barbeques, full of great food and fun times with family and friends. This also means it’s time to stock up on heat resistant sealant too! While the food may be great tasting, barbeque food is also not the healthiest food to eat on the regular. There are still great things you can eat that will keep your heart healthy, and will let you enjoy those cookouts.

One great healthy option for barbeques is to eat grilled fish more rather than red meat, which has a lot of fatty acids that are good for the heart. Fish such as salmon or trout will be a good meat substitute, and if you can’t go without that long-cooked flavor, many fish smoke well too. If you’re looking for a way to make smoked fish, you could look into what are the best electric smokers for your situation, and the results from your final choice. If you are a big meat lover though, you can still eat chicken breasts, which are white meat and healthier than dark, fatty meat, or consider leaner cuts of pork and beef, such as loin chops and fillet steaks. Make sure to remove the skin before eating as well. Checking out yardripe can also give you information on which barbecue equipment can help you make the healthiest meals too.

When thinking of eating steaks, hot dogs, or hamburgers, you have to be conscientious of the type of meat you are buying. Buying “round” or “loin” cuts of red meat and pork are best to eat. If you wanted to be a little more adventurous, why not try a Beef Sausage instead? You should also be buying “select” or “choice” grades beef instead of “prime”. These meats are known to have the least amount of fat on them, but that doesn’t mean you still can’t trim off more fat once you start preparing and cooking the meat. If making cheeseburgers, you can buy low fat or fat free cheese. Use meat racks as well so the fat drips away from the food.

When thinking of salads, you may not want to have them at a barbeque, but they are good healthy alternatives for people watching their weight or their health. Having leafy greens is good, as well as a serving fruit salad. Fruit is great in the summertime because many fruits are in season. Also watching your portion control when using salad dressing is another way to keep healthy with a salad while giving it some added flavor and taste. Although lowfat and fat free salad dressings can be great, sometimes the sugar content is high so you will need to read your nutrition labels. Instead of serving potato chips, which are greasy and fattening, serve celery sticks or carrots as healthy alternatives. For many drinking at barbeques is a necessity, so if you have to, alternate your drinks with a glass of water or use seltzer as your mixer of choice.

Barbeques are supposed to be fun, and by making small changes in the food you serve, you can still enjoy them and will barely notice change at all. Using substitutes are great small changes, and focusing on eating more salads and vegetables are