Tips for Navigating Summer Cookouts

Happy Summer, Healthi Family! It’s officially cookout season, which means many of us are attending get-togethers and barbecues (or whatever you call them) and eating all the delicious foods that summer has to offer. For some, this can come with the belief that these foods aren’t healthy or “on plan,” but that couldn’t be further from the truth. Let’s have a brief chat about navigating the summer cookout season in a balanced and nourishing way.

Embracing Summer Cookout Foods

Growing up in the Midwest, I had a very specific idea of how our summer cookout offerings looked. My plate often included a burger, hot dog, grilled chicken, or whatever meat was being cooked, corn on the cob, baked beans, macaroni salad, and watermelon. Now, if you take a look at the makings of that plate, there is a lot of nourishment there. Veggies and fiber are found in the beans, corn, and even in the tomatoes and lettuce I top my burger with. Protein is found in the grilled meat, fat is in the macaroni salad, and carbs are also in the macaroni salad as well as the bun. This is all good! There’s no such thing as bad food. What’s most important here is that we remember to eat only until our body is satisfied.

Eating Mindfully at Cookouts

In the past, I might have told you to eat before you go to a cookout so you don’t arrive hungry and overeat. Well, I have since learned differently. Instead, we are eating ONLY when we are hungry, so you want to be hungry when it is time to enjoy the delicious tastes of summer. Just make sure you are listening to your body and stopping when you are satisfied, not stuffed.

Tips for Balanced Eating at Cookouts

Here are a few ways to help with this:

   
• Don’t Eat Distracted: If you’re chowing down while running around with the kids or as you’re cooking for everyone else, you won’t be able to listen to your body’s signals. Instead, wait to eat until you can be fully present.
   
• Limit or Avoid Alcohol: Let’s be honest, the booze is not helping you listen to your body, and it is using up your body’s limited space for available calorie consumption. If you want to enjoy your cookout meal fully and help your body use it effectively, limit the alcohol.
   
• Plate Less Than What You Think You Want: It’s so easy to fill our plates to max capacity and then feel like we can and should eat all of what we plated. If you’re a card-carrying member of the clean plate club like I used to be, plate LESS. You can always go back for seconds. Just promise me before you do that you will take an honest assessment of your level of hunger and only go back for more if you’re still hungry.
   
• Make Sure All Macros Are on Your Plate: Check for protein, fat, fiber, and yes, carbs. We need them all, my friends, and if all macros are present, your body will register the meal as satisfying.
   
• Save Room for Dessert: If a sweet treat is on the menu (hello, ice cream!), then make sure you save room for it! It’s that simple!

Enjoy what is left of the summer season, my friend. It will be over before we know it!