Most men love having a cookout with their buddies. You may like to invite your friends and family members. The more people who are there, the more you need to remember that you are feeding for the health of all those people. While some people may not care about eating healthier, you can still do a good deed for all of them and yourself by making the cookout healthier. There are foods that you may typically have at a cook out such as desserts, side dishes, hot dogs and other foods. You need to find the best ways to make these things healthier and you are about to find out just how to do that.
Before You Start the Cookout
Before you start the cookout, there are some things you need to be doing. You should first make sure to thoroughly clean the grill. You should just soapy hot water and before you cook the food, be sure to turn up the heat on the grill to get rid of the possible bacteria. Additionally, you need to have the right cookout tools before you start the cookout. You can’t just guess if the meat is properly cooked. You need a thermometer to check on the temperature to ensure it is safe for you and everyone else to eat. You also need to make sure you have enough utensils and plates so you can separate the cooked meats from the raw meats. It is not safe to put cooked meats on the same plate you had the raw meat on and it is not safe to use the same utensils you used to pick up raw meat for the cooked meat.
Preparing Your Menu
When doing a cookout, you likely want to have tasty foods and that makes sense. However, you should also make sure your menu is filled with healthy choices as well.
One of the best ways to have a healthier menu is to cook up lean foods. You can start off with turkey burgers and marinated mushrooms. Some turkey burgers can be found at 99% fat-free. You can add in some chili sauce or cilantro to spice up your food. You can also mix in pepper and feta cheese to change up the flavor of the food. Make sure you have that thermometer ready as well so the food reaches a bare minimum of 160 degrees Fahrenheit.
In addition to the meat, you should grill your vegetables. You can do this for onions, mushrooms, cherry tomatoes, eggplant, corn, red peppers and many other vegetables. If you want more flavoring for the vegetables be sure to add in herbs. To properly cook the vegetables, you grill them until they are slightly brown on each side.
Lastly, you can add in the dessert to your cook out. Some excellent ideas for healthy cookout desserts are peaches, pineapples and fruit kabobs. These are all things you can grill up on a very low heat. You will grill them until they are golden brown and hot. These make for a tasty addition to your cookout. You can even grill up watermelon for about half a minute on each of the sides.
Now that you have some more information on how you are going to make your cookout healthier, you can start planning. It is quite easy to make a healthy cookout menu. You can even search online for healthy cookout recipes as well. There are many things you can grill that you may not have thought of before. If you are ready to impress your buddies and family, set up some tasty and healthy recipes. You may be surprised at the compliments you get from those who come to your cookout. From now on, you may be the one hosting all the cookouts.
