We love barbecue but we have to admit that it’s not the healthiest food in the world. Eating big thick juicy steaks and grilled burgers covered in cheese are a fast track to high cholesterol if you eat them too often. Sometimes we just have to ignore the fact that eating a full rack of barbecue ribs probably isn’t something that our doctors would recommend. It’s obviously important to think about health these days since a poor diet and bad eating patterns can have such a tremendous impact on us in the future. Sometimes it’s difficult to find a balance when you love barbecue food so much, but you also don’t want to die of a heart attack. One solution is to use moderation and make sure to include healthy dishes every time you have a barbecue in your backyard. That means you get to enjoy the fatty greasy stuff on occasion, but you also have to eat some healthy dishes as well. There might even be times when you have to forgo some of your high-fat favorites altogether, while spacing out the occasions that you get to enjoy them. The good news is there are plenty of healthy dishes you can service your barbecue that should be tasty enough to temper your cravings.
Salads – every barbecue has to have a great salad, and we’re not talking about coleslaw or potato salad (although those are certainly tasty choices). You should always take the time to prepare a fresh garden salad filled with a variety of vegetables, while leaving the dressing on the side. In fact, try to use as little dressing as possible because that’s where the main fat and cholesterol content comes from when eating salad.
Grilled Veggies – speaking of vegetables, make sure to include some on your grill and don’t be afraid to have them on skewers or placed directly on your barbecue. There are many great vegetables that work extremely well with barbecue and all of them will make a nice complement to meat dishes. Asparagus and zucchini are to vegetables in particular that have a wonderful taste and texture that worked incredibly well with barbecue food.
Corn on the Cob – we realize that corn is a vegetable but were giving it a special mention because it’s such a mainstay of backyard barbecues. The main problem associated with corn is the fact that most people drench it in butter before they eat it. But if you buy it in season and you make sure it’s fresh, some corn is good enough that you don’t need to add a drop of butter at all.
Seafood – try to have a fish dish at every barbecue you hold from now on. Salmon is probably the most popular choice but you can work wonders with trout and red snapper as well. In fact, if you are a bit of a fisherman then there’s nothing better than a freshly caught fish that goes directly on the grill just a few hours after coming out of the water.
One very simple thing that you can do to improve the health of all of your dishes is to use the freshest ingredients possible. Stay away from anything packaged or processed, and even pre-prepared burgers should be avoided. It’s far better to use quality meat and fresh produce so that there are no added preservatives and rescue put them there yourself. You can also come up with alternatives to traditional barbecue sauce or dry rubs that use ingredients that are more healthy for your overall system. Creativity is your number one asset use it at any time to great effect when it comes to Homestyle barbecue. If you do it right, no one will even notice that your entire barbecue menu is a lot healthier than it used to be. People will be too busy enjoying themselves with great fresh barbecue food that simply can’t be beat.
Of course there is no rule that says you have to have a healthy barbecue, and you can choose to pig out like you normally do. But since barbecue is suffering a bit in reputation these days due to health concerns, you can help to alleviate them by finding interesting ways to incorporate new types of dishes. After all, it’s far better to be able to enjoy barbecue meals in the long term without having to worry about overloading on cholesterol or fat. You can also cover your bases with all of your guests by ensuring that you have a little bit of something for everyone. Even vegetarians can get in on the action with barbecue meals since there are so many ways to bring vegetables to life using a gas or charcoal barbecue. Healthy barbecue doesn’t have to taste bad either and you will be mixing various dishes with traditional meets anyways. They key is to find that perfect balance, and it’s entirely possible to do it while enjoying every bite of your meal. Health and barbecue no longer have to be mutually exclusive, and it will make you feel a lot better about firing up your grill as often as you do.
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