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Watching your weight as weekend parties abound and 4th of July bashes draw near can be downright exhausting. But you don't have to munch on celery sticks while everyone else is chowing down on creamy potato salad this summer. Just lighten up those traditional side dishes with these speedy makeovers.
1. Corn on the cob. All you need to do here is dodge the butter. Easy. Like tequila, corn's terrific with a squeeze of lime juice and a little salt. Or brushed with a little olive oil fired up with red pepper flakes. Or rolled in mixed herbs -- try basil-oregano or ginger-curry powder. But if you just plain like your corn buttered, try a spray-on, no-cal butter substitute -- it works better then you'd think. Or if you've lucked into just-picked, unbelievably sweet fresh summer corn, do the most delicious thing of all: Eat it naked.
2. Cole slaw. Substitute light mayo, use fat-free Italian dressing, or try these low-fat Broccoli Slaw or Cool Zucchini Slaw recipes from Eating Well. And make it ahead. Savvy cooks swear the secret to great slaw is to make it the night before so the veggies have time to absorb the dressing's flavors.
3. Baked beans. The nutritional wonders of antioxidant-rich, protein-packed beans can be undermined by the fattiness of added bacon. Ditch the meat -- and as much as 16 grams of fat per serving with it. Add chopped onion, bell pepper, and liquid smoke for flavor, and no one will miss the fat.
4. Potato salad. This picnic favorite is notorious for its high glycemic index (GI), which sends your blood sugar soaring. To keep it on an even keel, cook the potatoes the night before and refrigerate them. Make the salad the next day German style, using white vinegar and olive oil rather than mayo (use 2 parts oil to 7 parts vinegar, seasoned with mustard, parsley, and a smidge of sugar). The refrigeration combined with the vinegar creates some nifty kitchen chemistry: It neutralizes the potatoes' blood sugar hit.
5. Pasta salad. Instead of refined white pasta -- another high-GI, low-nutrient food -- use whole-wheat pasta, which has a lower glycemic index, plus filling fiber and more good-for-you nutrients.
6. Chips and dip. Serve pretzels or baked chips, and dunk 'em in salsa or a spicy nonfat bean dip, like Desert Pepper Trading Company's Fat Free Black Bean Dip or EatSmart's Jalapeno & Lime Tres Bean Dip.
7. The dessert buffet. Start with watermelon -- it's traditional, irresistible, and remarkably healthy too. If you're ambitious, scoop out the insides with a melon baller, mix with berries and mint leaves, and mound back into the green shell.
Or go for grilled fruit -- the heat heightens the flavors and it's fun to do as the embers die down. Brush the grill with light vegetable oil to prevent sticking, then lay out bananas in their skin (sliced lengthwise), sliced peaches, pears, pineapple, papaya, cantaloupe...any firm fruit.
For extra zing, baste the fruit with 1½ cups orange juice that has been cooked over medium-low heat, stirring frequently, until it's reduced by half. Add a little brown sugar if you like. Serve the warm fruit with frozen yogurt and nuts for healthy summer sundaes.
For a baked dessert, make an angel-food cake -- it's naturally low-cal and also great grilled -- and/or whip up an old-fashioned apple crisp; leave the peel on to retain the antioxidants and fiber. Not bad for a party dessert!
The payoff? Avoiding foods with saturated and trans fats, simple sugars, or processed grains --everything we've sidestepped with these simple makeovers -- can make your RealAge 3.6 years younger.
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