Enjoy your BBQ's

Even though summer is almost over we can still talk about BBQ's, we BBQ all winter long at my house:

Having BBQ's are fun but they can pack on the calories, here are some tips to help have a healthier BBQ:

One of the biggest things you can do it watch your portions sizes
The second is making healthier choices, we forgo the regular hamburger now and as a tasty healthier alternative we eat turkey burgers (we get ours from Costco, Kirkland signature ones) they are a 1/3 lb, 200 calories, 6g fat, 35g protein, and gluten free. (you need to still be careful and read your labels not all turkey burger are the same, some are still pretty high in fat and calories, and don’t taste very good, we really like these Costco ones)  We now use Oroweat sandwich thins 100% whole wheat or multi grain for buns instead of regular buns, these are only 100 calories, opposed to around 200 calories or more for regular hamburger buns. (they are a great source of your daily fiber intake also)
We also love Morning Star chipotle black bean burger again we get these from Costco they are 1/4lb 210 calories, 7g fat, 17g protein, these are really good!  (regular ground beef hamburger can run 310 calories and a whooping 25g of fat   opposed to 6 to 7g of fat in either the turkey or black bean burgers!!!! 
If you want a hot dog for your bbq, again you can choose other healthier alternatives.  We now eat Yves meatless jumbo dogs  (these are not for everyone, Roy likes these more than I do but some people probably wont like them)  they are 110 calories 3g fat, 16g protein, again we dont use regular hot dog buns, we use sandwiches thins fill'ems they are hoagie style buns, for 100 calories opposed to a regular hoagies style bun at 200 or more calories, or a regular hot dog bun is 110 so that's not bad, same as the other we use but our jumbo dogs wont fit on reg hot dog buns, but the polish style hot dogs can range from 210 calories & 16g fat, to 360 calories & a whooping 33g fat.
Bone less skinless chicken breast is always a good BBQ option also
condiments you also have to watch, Roy uses light mayonnaise, I now forgo the mayonnaise and just use catchup & mustard, I also found a good flavored mustard at Wallmart (their brand) it's called southwest spicy mustard, there are different spices or different flavored mustard’s to perk up your foods for little extra calories, but watch out for the different flavored mayonnaise, mayonnaise has a butt load of calories, so again just read your labels.  I sometimes will use The laughing cow light spreadable cheese wedges for a condiments on sandwiches or burgers.  Make sure you are getting the light ones and they are only 35 calories per wedge (it's like cream cheese) they come in lots of good flavores.
Side dishes are always good at a BBQ,
Salads:
Potato salad:  I now make my potato salad with potatoes, 4 to 5 hard boiled eggs whites, (egg whites are only 17 calories per egg, opposed to the whole egg at 70 calories, & the whites are much better for you then the yoke)  and one whole hard boiled egg, I measure out  2T of light mayonnaise, (I don’t just take a spoon full & throw that in because you end up putting in way more than you think you are that way, so yes I use a measuring spoon) mustard, and then if you like it more wet I put some fat free Italian dressing on it, & then I add in pickles, garlic, salt, pepper, or whatever you like in your potato salad.  
Noodle salads:
I use whole wheat noodles, and or the tofu noodles I have talked about before.  I either will use a whole wheat elbow noodle and add some veggies, and a couple tablespoon of light mayonnaise, and fat free Italian dressing if you want it more moist. Or I make a noodle salad with the tofu noodles, top roman seasoning packets, only the seasoning NOT the noodles (yes I know this has a butt load of salt, but I love the flavor), carrots, green onion, skinless cooked chicken pieces, fat free Italian dressing and a splash of soya sauce, (again if you are on a salt restriction diet this may not be the best salad for you lol)
Fruit salads:  I just cut up into bite size pieces a bunch of fresh fruit,  no sauces at all, it is very good this way.
Baked beans, I just use canned ones, but you do have to be cautious these have a lot of sugar in them.
Potato chips, we only eat baked chips now, or  Sun chips ( you get more for less calories and much less fat)
Fresh veggies sticks, with out the fatty dips, unless you make a fat free dip.  I make a great ranch type vegetable dip with Tofu, it is delicious and low fat
Deserts:
there is some great no sugar added ice creams, Pillsbury makes a good 50% less sugar cakes mix and frosting, and we have just found they now make a sugar free cake mix and frosting, when I make these I use only egg whites, and I substitute  natural no sugar added apple sauce for the oil, if it calls for a ½ cup oil I just use ½ cup apple sauce instead, these are great and no one knows the difference .  Sherries and Marie Callender's both make good no sugar added pies.

If your eating out at a BBQ at someone else house where you didn’t cook the foods, your main thing will be to watch your serving sizes, you can eat foods that are not so healthy just be careful how much your eating. Even when your eating healthier food choice you still have to be careful not to eat the whole pie LOL.  I would assume when you out at someone else house at a BBQ you will not actually be  measuring out your food so a good rule of thumb is 3 oz of meat will look like a deck of card, or the size of 2 stacked Orbitz gum packs.  Salads or baked beans the serving size is usually ½ of a cup which isn’t much, so try to eye ball that, try it at home first so you have an idea when it should look like on your plate. 
Get out there and enjoy your BBQ and still be healthy about it