Here's 6 of the worst, and healthy alternatives
EVERY WINTER, a woman I know carefully manages her calories and gets to the gym regularly. Summers, though, she abandons her workouts. By September, she often finds she's packed on a whopping 40 pounds.
If that sounds like you, you might want to start getting picky about picnic pickings this summer. Classic picnic cuisine - fried chicken, ribs, potato salad, macaroni salad, cheese, chips and dips - is loaded with calories and fat. There are tons of excess calories in beverages like iced tea, lemonade, wine and beer, too.
Last weekend, my husband and I went to a friend's cookout, where they had all the typical fixings. We each enjoyed a grilled burger, then focused our attention on having fun with friends instead of eating ourselves into a coma. Unfortunately, our friends only had beer and soda, so that was a reminder for us to always come prepared with bottled water.
To help you keep those pounds at bay, here's my list of the six worst picnic picks - and healthier alternatives for each.
1.As much as I love them, potato chips just aren't worth it. It's true, you can't just eat one - that's why I try to avoid them altogether.
A mere one-ounce serving (11 to 15 chips) has 150 calories and 10 grams of fat. (Sixty percent of the calories are from fat.) Not to mention the sodium, which is through the roof. In as little as 15 minutes, I could easily wipe out half of a large bag of them.
Light or baked potato chips are an alternative to regular chips. A serving of light chips typically has 140 calories and 7 grams of fat, while baked chips weigh in at about 110 calories with 1.5 grams of fat.
Chip aficionados may find these alternatives are good for their taste and waist.
2. Ground beef burgers remain a barbecue classic, but a typical three-ounce patty is about 218 calories and 13 grams of fat (about 55 percent fat). Some people eat turkey burgers as an alternative to beef, but the calories and fat are about the same, unless you use ground turkey breast.
A three-ounce burger of ground turkey breast has about 160 calories and 6 ounces of fat.
3. Deli meats and cheese are also picnic favorites. Though convenient, they're packed with excess calories, fat and sodium. A typical sandwich or hoagie has more than 1,000 calories and may have sodium levels in excess of 2,000 milligrams.
Also, beware those savory gourmet crackers that we love to eat with deli meats and cheeses. A typical deli sampling - a one-ounce serving of cheese, two ounces of deli meats and five crackers - can weigh in at close to 500 calories and 50 grams of fat.
An alternative to these heavyweights is a crispy, cool crudite platter. Offer your guests the refreshing change of attractively arranged vegetables, and replace high-fat dips with healthier alternatives like hummus or salsa. That way, everyone will get some much-needed fiber and nutrition, too.
4. A little potato in your mayo, Mom?
For years I have teased my mother about her rich, creamy potato and macaroni salads and coleslaw. Though quite delicious, typical potato salads tip the scales at 250 to 300 calories per half-cup serving. And you guessed it: Most of the calories are from fat.
To lighten up your potato salad, try low-fat or nonfat mayo. Better yet, dress your potato salad with tangy Dijon mustard.
5. What's a picnic without fried chicken? Just the thought probably makes your mouth water.
However, fried chicken is loaded with excess calories, fat and dangerous saturated fats: A typical fried chicken breast contains about 500 calories and close to 30 grams of fat.
Nevertheless, you can still enjoy this classic dish and shave ton of calories. Send me an e-mail, and I'll send you my delicious, low-fat recipe for oven-fried chicken.
6. I've never been to a picnic that didn't have all-American apple pie, cakes, cookies or brownies. In fact, if you don't have time for dessert at the picnic, you can usually get a goody bag to go.
Indeed it will go - directly to your waist.
"Goodies" are just plain "baddies," packed with 300 to 500 calories per serving. Enjoy nature's candy this summer. Ditch the high-calorie/high-fat desserts for a beautiful fruit salad, fruit parfait or fruit kebobs, garnished with nonfat vanilla yogurt or a scoop of low-fat vanilla ice cream.
E-mail me for some fruit dessert recipes, too, and enjoy summer picnics this year without packing on the pounds. *