The WM Parenting Connection

This weekend is Memorial Day weekend - a time to remember fallen heroes that died serving our country and protecting our freedom. So please take a moment of your time to remember the fallen and honor the freedoms that their ultimate sacrifice provides us.

Besides being a day of remembrance Memorial Day weekend also serves as the official kick off celebration to summer. Many of us will be hosting or attending some sort of holiday festivities probably along the lines of a BBQ or picnic.
Very often the food prepared for these events are steeped in tradition, made with love and let's be honest; full of fat.

But with our nation holding the title of one of the fattest countries in the world and with the number of people suffering from diabetes, heart disease and a host of other diet and exercise related preventable diseases, maybe it's time for us to rethink our summertime BBQ food fare.

So here are a couple of ideas for yummy, non-artery clogging, non diabetes inducing food swaps so we can all live to see many, many more Memorial Day, kick off summer, BBQ's!

Hamburgers
-use extra lean ground beef
-ground turkey
-ground chicken

Potato/Macaroni salad
-broccoli salad (I know, I know.. there are some great recipes on the web)
-fruit salad
-pasta/pesto salad

Chips/dip
-veggie plate with lite ranch
-whole grain crackers with hummus
-lite quacamole
-salsa with baked tortilla chips

Apple pie
-berries with nonfat cool-whip and angel food cake
-fruit kababs
-big bowl of grapes

These are just a few ideas of easy ways to swap out some foods to make our BBQing experience a little healthier.

For some great recipe ideas check out these websites: http://www.sparkpeople.com, http://www.foodfit.com, http://www.eatwell.com

Making Memorial Day Healthier