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by Michelle Sutton-Kerchner
Make food the “side dish” of a delicious cookout. Serve up a day of healthy fun for a real summer treat. Here’s how …
Focus on the Fun
Summertime is meant for fun activities as well as food. Unlike indoor gatherings, outdoor parties and cookouts allow opportunities for active socializing. Emphasize this, and stress less over how much mayo is in that salad.
Invite Guests to an Outdoor Event
Call it a Christmas in July party or Backyard Ball Contest. Think outside the grill. Sure, food will be served. However, indicate that as an endnote, near the RSVP date everyone ignores.
Include a Covered-Dish Contest
Most cookouts are covered-dish style. Ask your guests to bring their healthiest favorite sides. Be as specific and creative as you like. For example, request a healthy pasta salad, fruit-focused dessert, or mayo-less potato salad alternative. Everyone can sample a variety of healthful cookout alternatives. Ask guests to bring their recipes so these new favorites can be enjoyed by everyone all summer.
Add a Challenge
Ignite the competitive spirit. Have a fitness theme. Inform guests of games to be played like backyard volleyball, ladder ball, relay races, and frisbee. They can practice technique and start the camaraderie long before you light the grill. Perhaps have a step contest. Whoever arrives with the most steps already underway is the winner.
Prizes are optional. Ideas: a package of training sessions or a smoothie coupon. Get Pinteresty and craft a homemade winner’s ribbon to be used annually as the prize. The sillier, the better!
Attend a yoga class to learn some asanas (poses). Ask a personal trainer to show you a few kettlebell moves. Then, demo these asanas and lifts for your guests. Do them as a group on a picnic blanket. They will leave with a new repertoire of exercises.
Have a Gift Exchange
No need to limit presents to winter holidays. Gift-giving feels good year-round. Offer guests the opportunity to participate in a Pollyanna or white elephant exchange. Secret Santa in July! Who doesn’t want a new set of grill tools, an insulated water bottle, or summer-scented candle? (Summer’s equivalents of hot cocoa gift-sets and pumpkin-spiced pine cones?) Be considerate and set a price limit.
Now, for the Food
Downplay barbeque traditions like beef burgers and hot dogs. Instead, grill chicken, salmon, and plenty of fresh seasonal veggies. Emphasize flavors with bold marinades and guests will be thrilled with these healthier alternatives. Plus, marinades greatly reduce the formation of toxic compounds that can occur when grilling meats.
For those who cannot resist the burger, use lean beef, ground turkey, or a hearty veggie variety. Ditch the bun and pile on more chopped tomatoes, lettuce, and onions. Side dishes can include the buffet of guests’ healthful contributions from the suggested contest. Consider including a tossed garden salad, filled with local produce.
Serve hydrating snacks like sliced watermelon, fresh strawberries, and cucumber slices. Energize guests for plenty more fun. After all, this is a party disguised as a cookout. Turn up the music!
