Healthy Cookout Ideas

bumping for ideas!

Watermelon wedges, turkey burgers, an array of several kinds of mustard, Dave's Killer Bread whole-grain hamburger buns, water with cucumber or lemon slices in it, roasted sweet potatoes instead of chips or white potato fries. Low-calorie sorbet, light beer. Mixed-greens salad instead of potato or macaroni salad.

Cold quinoa salads are great in hot weather and offer a healthier alternative to the potato and pasta salads. Recipes often include ingredients like corn, black beans, avocado, cucumbers, and there are a million dressing variations. Just google it or check out allrecipes.com or a similar website. Even non-healthy-eaters often like these.

I always serve a LOT of sides (fresh vegetables) and try not to serve bread. I never make those pasta salads that seem to be an integral part of cookouts. Dessert is a light sorbet and lots of fruit options, with cake/cookies for those who want it. Drinks are lots of ice water, diet drinks, sometimes a nice sangria. (we aren't big booze drinkers so i can get away with no beer).

Meat - i focus on chicken and turkey, and grill vegetables before i put on the meats so there is something lighter to nibble on.

Here is a great turkey burger I made this weekend - it doesn't taste like turkey (for those who dislike turkey): http://theshiksa.com/2013/06/27/turkey-burgers/?recipe_print=yes

Servings: About 10 burgers
Kosher Key: Meat
Prep Time: 15 Minutes
Cook Time: 20 Minutes
Total Time: 35 Minutes

Turkey Burger Ingredients

1 1/4 lb lean ground turkey (1 package)
1 slice white bread, crust removed
1 1/2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus more for brushing the burgers
1/4 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley, finely minced
2 tbsp onion, very finely minced
1 egg
1 1/2 tsp smoked paprika (NOTE: I didn't have so i used a grilled chicken spice)
3/4 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp garlic powder
Heaping 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp salt, or more to taste
1/2 tsp pepper, or more to taste
1 1/2 tbsp applesauce (NOTE I used sugar free)
Vegetable oil, for frying (optional, if not grilling)
10 slider-sized buns for serving (NOTE had them without the buns and mayo)

Lemon Herb Mayo Ingredients

1/2 cup good quality mayonnaise (I like Spectrum)
2 tbsp fresh basil, minced
1 tbsp fresh parsley, minced
1 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 1/2 tsp lemon zest

Optional Toppings

Baby kale or butter lettuce, fresh tomato slices, dill pickle slices

You will also need

Mixing bowl, grill and grill-safe spatula or frying pan, pastry brush

Cut the crust off of your piece of bread. Pour olive oil onto a small plate. Soak the crustless bread in the olive oil, turning the slice once, till all the oil is soaked up by the bread.
Place ground turkey in a medium mixing bowl. Shred and crumble the oil-soaked bread into tiny pieces and add it to the meat along with the parsley, onion, egg, smoked paprika, cumin, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, salt, pepper and applesauce.
Stir ingredients with a fork and/or clean hands until the spices and herbs are well blended with the meat. Gather the meat mixture in 1/4 cupfuls and make small, thick patties (they will shrink up to slider sized during cooking). The patties will initially be soft, but will firm up as they grill.
If grilling, grease the preheated grill well before you start cooking. Cook the patties by grilling or frying (I recommend grilling). I like to brush the burgers with olive oil periodically as they grill to keep them nice and moist.
Grill for 15 - 20 minutes or until thoroughly cooked. Cooking times may vary by grill type.
I also like to grill the buns. If you're doing this, brush the internal sides of the buns lightly with olive oil, then grill them open-side down for 2-3 minutes till they are warm and golden crisp around the edges.
If you prefer not to grill the burgers, you can cook them in a skillet using 1/4 cup of vegetable oil. I like using olive oil; any oil with a somewhat high smoke point will do. Heat the oil over medium heat till hot but not smoking. Fry the burgers for 10-15 minutes, flipping occasionally, until thoroughly cooked.
Serve turkey burgers on slider-sized buns with Lemon Herb Mayonnaise and your choice of toppings.
TO MAKE LEMON HERB MAYONNAISE: Mix mayonnaise together with herbs, lemon juice and lemon zest in a small bowl till well blended. Serve as a sauce for the Turkey Burgers.