Picnic food ideas: make healthier choices

Being mid-July, picnic season is now in full swing. Picnics are cheap, fun and convenient venues for enjoying time outdoors with family and friends. Unfortunately, typical picnic food choices in the United States are, well, fattening and devoid of  important nutrients, such as vitamins and minerals!

Poor Picnic Food Choices

If you are not careful, you can down over 2,000 calories easily by loading your plate with common picnic food choices, such as a loaded hamburger (with cheese and a white bun), coleslaw, baked beans, potato salad, chips and dip, beverages and desserts, such as cookies. Even ketchup isn’t ‘free’ at 20 calories per tablespoon. While that might not seem like much, check this out: a 1-cup scoop of traditional potato salad, a true picnic food staple, can set you back nearly 400 calories!

It doesn’t take long to fill up on poor picnic food choices. What’s worse is that during most picnics, you are sitting, which burns few calories. Making a few smart trade-offs and adding physical activity can literally save you hundreds of calories. Over time, trading in high-calorie foods with lower-calorie foods can help keep the pounds from piling on. Keep in mind that consuming an extra 100 calories each day (beyond what you need to maintain your weight) over a year can mean a 10 lb. gain. And many Americans consume picnic food fare throughout the summer.

Better Picnic Food Choices

Trade-in that 1/4-pound hamburger on a white bun for a grilled 5-oz. chicken breast on a whole wheat roll for a savings of approximately 150 calories. An ear of sweet corn and a cup of fresh fruit provides about 210 calories. Salsa, with its chunky tomato-base, vegetables, and fresh herbs, offers a mere 5 calories per tbsp. Use it as a dip for raw vegetables and baked tortilla chips. Swap sugary beverages for low-cal lemonade, water or unsweetened iced tea. For dessert, fill your cooler with homemade Popsicles or fruit ice. Other diet-friendly picnic food choices include: hummus with pita wedges, three-bean salad, grilled veggies, fresh watermelon and toasted marshmallows. Play softball or throw around a Frisbee for exercise and fun and you’ll walk away having consumed fewer than 800 calories and expending, on average, 175 calories.

Body weight exercises: introduction

Body weight exercises use your own weight as resistance instead of equipment that provides ‘external’ resistance, such as dumbbells. However, you can always add resistance to make these moves more challenging. In general, body weight exercises are effective, fun, require little to no fancy exercise equipment and can be tweaked to challenge beginner to advanced exercisers. You probably already are familiar with many classic body weight moves already: military-style push-ups, pull-ups, triceps dips, forward and backward lunges, squats, step ups and the like. However, there are endless variations to these standard exercises – probably more options than you can imagine.

Choosing Body Weight Exercises

What do you need to know, or keep in mind when choosing which body weight exercises to include in your strength training routine? Consider ‘compound’ exercises, or those that work multiple muscle groups versus those that isolate specific muscles, unless you have a lot of time to devote to exercise. Choose moves that work all major muscle groups, if possible (eight to twelve exercises).

Select moves that aid in stabilization (balance), strength (building muscle) and power (explosive movements such as jumps) for the ultimate challenge. Keep in mind that ‘power’ moves may be too advanced for novice exercisers. There are body weight exercises that are double-duty moves: they improve your balance AND enhance strength. Summertime is a great season to shake up your routine. Many body weight exercises for the upper, lower body and core can be done outdoors, allowing you to enjoy the weather and watch your kids while building a stronger body. If you have access to a playground, all the better. You need a platform, rack or bar to ‘pull’ towards and ‘push’ from. This is just an introduction to this series. In subsequent articles, you’ll learn unconventional, effective body weight exercises to add to your ‘library’ for different muscle groups.

NOTE: before initiating any exercise routine (especially on your own), get clearance from your doctor. This is a general, informational series. All exercises are NOT appropriate for all individuals. If you have back problems/knee pain or injuries, you should seek personal, professional advice on designing an appropriate routine with your specific needs in mind!

Hot Dogs Nutrition Facts: Limit the Damage

Hot dogs, synonymous for many with ‘summertime’ food, will never be mistaken for a health food. But how bad are they? Can you do minimal diet damage and still enjoy an occasional hot dog as a treat? Why are they so unhealthy to begin with? First, the bad news: hot dogs are processed meat products, full of calories, sodium, cholesterol and fat. This processed ‘cured’ meat product contains sodium nitrite, a preservative that gives hot dogs a pinkish-red color and helps to prevent botulism food poisoning. Cooked over hot coals, nitrite can react with naturally occurring compounds in processed meat to form nitrosamines/ nitrosamides, connected with the development of certain types of cancers. Add to that the fact that consuming a diet rich in red meat alone is connected with an increased risk of developing colon cancer…for overall health, it is best to limit red meat consumption but be particularly cautious with processed meats (deli meats, bacon, sausage, hot dogs…).

Now for some good news: hot dogs can be a better choice than regular hamburgers (calorie and fat-wise) and don’t have to be ‘off-limits.’ Choose wisely when you can and balance less nutritious food items (like processed meats) with better choices (whole grains, fruits and vegetables). Here are some guidelines for limiting the damage in your favorite summertime treat:

• Choose small or regular-sized pork or beef hot dogs over ‘jumbo’ hot dogs. A smaller-sized hot dog (around 40 to 50 grams) typically offers less than 150 calories per wiener but a jumbo dog (close to twice the size) can provide, predictably, twice the amount of calories, and that’s before the hot dog bun and condiments.
• Look for brands of hot dogs that are low in saturated fat (providing no more than 3 grams per wiener, 2 grams is even better) and not too high in sodium (about 400 to 450 mg per wiener).
• Try a veggie or turkey dog instead. You may not save much on sodium, but you will on calories and fat, and consume no  saturated fat by choosing these dogs. A veggie dog offers, on average, 60 to 70 calories, less than 2g fat and less than 400 mg sodium. Veggie hot dogs are also sodium nitrite-free.
• Finally, choose a whole grain hot dog bun and be careful with high-calorie toppings. Try a squeeze of yellow mustard, onions and tomatoes. Keep in mind that most condiments are sodium-rich. Balance your plate with healthy choices, such as fresh watermelon and a three-bean salad.