Healthy Red, White & Blue Recipes for Memorial Day

What’s red and white and blue all over? We hope it’s your diet this weekend!

Let the patriotic theme of summer commence as we unofficially kick-off the season this weekend. Memorial Day means the kids are out of school, the pool is full, and the grills are firing up. And when the grills fire up, the mayonnaise-laden salads make their debut, too.

Stop.

You don’t have to overdo it to enjoy your holiday weekend. You don’t even have to under do it to avoid any post-weekend regret. Just enjoy a little bit of everything, serve healthier sides and dishes, and get up and move when the pool, volleyball or bocce starts.

If you’ll fill your table with red, white, and blue foods, you’ll be on the right track. Plus, it will match your T-shirt. Or your aunt’s flip flops.

Start with the red foods. These are one of the brightest colors in the food rainbow and provide a laundry list of vitamins, minerals and even fiber. Bell peppers roasted for sandwiches, juicy tomatoes sliced for sandwiches and watermelon diced for easy snacking are just a few of the red foods we insist you eat this weekend!

We also think strawberries and raspberries are pretty darn good for you (and tasty) and you’ll love them in our Red, White, and Blue Sangria. Berries, white wine, and a little fruit juice concentrate is all you need for this refreshing, healthier cocktail.

Next, focus on the white foods. These are not breads, crackers and pasta. Instead find the white foods that actually boast a lot of nutritional value. Like the other white meat, and the other, and the other. Grill white fish, lean cuts of pork, ground turkey or even chicken breasts for a high-protein, low-calorie cookout that can still include burgers and sandwiches.

As well, we’ll argue for the whiteness in a big portobello mushroom cap. Grill these and dress them like any other burger for a meatless cookout meal that’s a winner. Or, try this Raw Portobello Mushroom Stuffed with Basil Pesto.

Finally, fill up on the blue foods. These foods are a rich source of antioxidants as well as vitamins and minerals.

The obvious choice is blueberries, one of the sweetest tastes of summer. We used them to a make a blueberry balsamic reduction and then topped our Red, White, and Blueberry Turkey Burger Sliders, made with roasted bell peppers and feta cheese.

Blue corn tortilla chips are slightly healthier than the regular varieties. They are usually baked and made with little-to-no added sodium, and even seem a little sturdier when scooping homemade guacamole.

Image by Dana Shultz for DietsInReview.com