BBQ

Okay, so my aunt and uncle and 2 young cousins are coming to visit on Friday, and as the weather has been good and is forecast to stay that way, i decided to have a BBQ :)

So, here's my reason for posting! Healthy BBQ?

I'm making some salad stuff, mixed lettuce, cherry tomatoes, cucumber sticks, carrot sticks, celery sticks, mixed peppers, a potato salad (need a recipe!) and maybe some rice and pasta stuff.

I'm thinking burgers and sausages for the kids (8 and 12) but what goes with eating healthily and having a great BBQ?

Ideas plllease! (oh and a tater salad recipe if anyone has one ;) )

Min, for the grown-ups, how about some grilled boneless, skinless chicken breasts or even grilled fish?  I only have my Mom's tater salad recipe and that is not healthy so....maybe try foodtv.com.  Lots of good stuff there.

The other ideas sound good!  I hope you have great weather!

Ooh! Yumm. I'm a veg and I like to do veggie kabobs on the grill. They can be as a side dish or replace the meat. Just soak a bunch of wooden skewers, and then create kabobs with slices of sweet potato, plantain, green pepper, and cherry tomatoes. Cook them on the grill and brush them with BBQ sauce :)

Also, my dad used to make cabbage on the grill. He would slice a head of cabbage in half, placing each half on a large sheet of tin foil. Then he would brush each half with Italian/Sun-dried tomato salad dressing and grated Parmesan. Then just wrap it up like a Christmas present and place it on the grill! Sooo good :P

Oh yeah, grilled corn on the cob rocks as well.

Can you tell I'm a Midwestern gal? Lol . . .

Sounds good ;)

my aunt and uncle are splitting up the end of this month so i'm trying to compensate through interesting food i think. It doesn't really bother me they are splitting, it happens but i know my oldest cousin is upset, the youngest doesn't know yet. And i guess if there's enough food to eat and that i can take him aside and let him know it'll be okay.

Wow min, that is a lot to take on.  kudos to you!

Oh i mean take the oldest aside just to be clear. I am NOT breaking that news to the youngest. But i've been through it twice (don't remember the first though was 18 months old hehe) and i'm doing great so i need the oldest to know he'll be fine :)

politica
how long would you grill the cabbage for ? that sounds great

mmm...grilled corn.  If it wasn't raining.....

Corn on the cob is so great on the grill - any veggies really!

Try a german potato salad instead of the american variety.  They use vinegar as the dressing instead of mayo, and sometimes also some delicious veggies like real finely chopped broccoli.

We barbecue all the time, even when its raining.  You can do lean meats fabulously.  Pork Tenderloin, Tritip (trimmed of most of the fat), chicken thighs (cook with skin on to keep them moist, but don't eat the skin).  Chicken breasts are easy to over cook, but are fine if you pay attention, maybe baste with marinade.  Aidel's chicken sausages are not that bad for you, and make great appetizers. Slice em up and serve with mustard.  For veggies, zucchini and squash sliced in long, quarter inch slices are great to grill.  Marinade and baste with balsamic and olive oil dressing (Newmans Own is good), or make your own with balsamic, oil and italian seasoning.  Asparagus too.   Happy Q-ing!

cucumber salad is always good.  http://www.justhungry.com/2004/08/scandinavia n_cu.html.

nevins- I think he usually leaves it on for about 15 min. or however long it takes the meat to cook . . .

Here's a Potato Salad recipe NO mayo but olive oil.  Not sure if this is really low in calories but it's really gooooood... Lots of flavor.  If you don't use the sardines it's lower in cals.  about 184 if this is to serve 6, but I didn't do a complete analysis. 

1 1/2 pounds yellow-fleshed potatoes, scrubbed
Coarse salt
1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved (quartered if very large)
1 small red onion, thinly sliced
1/3 cup oil-cured black olives, pitted and halved
2 tablespoons salted capers, well rinsed and drained
1/3 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
Pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 cup olive oil
1 (3.75 ounce) can sardines in olive oil

Preparation:
Put the potatoes in a pot, cover with cold water by at least an inch, add a good pinch of salt, and bring to a boil. Cover partway, reduce the heat to medium, and cook until the potatoes are tender. Drain on a rack set in the sink and leave them there until cool enough to handle.

Peel the potatoes and cut them into 1/3-inch cubes. Drop them into a mixing bowl, separating the cubes as you go. Add the tomatoes, onion, olives, capers, parsley, and red pepper. Toss gently. Crumble the oregano over the top, pour in the oil, and toss gently. Transfer the salad to a large serving dish. Drain the sardines and blot them with paper towels, then arrange them over the salad. Let this sit for 30 minutes, and serve it at room temperature.

SHRIMP!!! It is soo low cal and everyone loves it. Either shrimp coctail to munch on while everyone chats or grill em up with yummy cajun seasonings. (could do this and serve over rice)

My favorite thing to grill out is seafood kabobs.  I use shrimp and big scallops and fresh pineapple chunks and bell pepper and onion and any and every veggie that seems tasty.  I season with some Mrs Dash or something similar.  Yum!

I don't really do seafood, fish yes, seafood no. Never liked it hehe

I second politicia's veggie kabobs - my personal favorites are mushrooms, squash, and peppers. Grilled portabello mushrooms almost taste like chicken, MMM. I need to try that grilled corn idea... I hear that banas, oddly enough, are also good grilled.

Seafood and chicken is low cal, like others suggested. But, if you want this to be an old fashioned BBQ with burgers and hotdogs, you can go for the meatleass ones - they're VERY low cal. Meatleass hotdogs such as smart dogs, Morning Star, or Yves range from 45-100 calories and are DELICIOUS grilled.

As for burgers, Morning Star and Boca burgers are the way to go. They range from 90-150 calories and come in a variety of flavors (my favorite is Morning Star's spicy black bean burger). If you love ribs, then Morning Star also has those, along with many other fake meats!

So you can enjoy an 'old fashioned' BBQ with burgers and 'dogs without the calories, grease, and fat. I really hope you enjoy your BBQ - now you've got me in the mood. :D