7 ways to slim down your Memorial Day celebrations

(Shift the focus from the picnic table to the park with summer-time games like volleyball, badminton, croquet or soccer).
By Brittany Anas
Classic, all-American fare like hamburgers, hot dogs and calorie-laden potato salad will fill up picnic tables this weekend as we celebrate Memorial Day and usher in the summer season. But there are a few tricks for lightening up the table because afterall fruits like watermelon and berries and activities like swimming and an impromptu volleyball game are summer staples, too.
Here are 7 unique ways to slim down your Memorial Day celebrations this weekend:
- Top you salad with watermelon. Skip the dressing all together and garnish salads with fresh chunks of watermelon. The fruit is super juicy this time of year and is a delicious mix with arugula and goat cheese.
- Can’t skip the hamburger? We totally get it. And fortunately, there’s a few ways to “slim down” your burger. Save carbs by trading out the bun for grilled portabello mushrooms (they are comparable in size to the buns). Or, load up your picnic plate with fruits and veggies and indulge in a mini, slider-sized hamburger. Another trick for trimming the fat: Mix chopped veggies like celery and onion into your burger mix.
- Draw the attention away from the picnic table. Pop up a volleyball net and the party will migrate away from the potato chip bowl and to the game. Other summer-time activities that make for fun at picnics: A croquet course or a slip and slide. Find summer-time games at K-Mart and earn up to 7 percent Cash Back on your purchases at Kmart when you shop with ShopAtHome.com.
- Diversify the grill. Some leaner options for grilling include barbecue chicken breasts, chicken-and-veggie kabobs or grilled shrimp kabobs.
- Trim the fat. Before you grill, cut off the skin from chicken and trim the fat on your steaks. If you’re worried about drying out your meats, marinate them in your fave marinade prior to grilling.
- Trade pretzels for chips. If the table is not complete without a salty snack, ditch the potato chips and swap them out for pretzels or popcorn which are both much lower in calories and fat content.
- Hydrate! Make sure you’ve got lots of bottled water in the cooler and as an alternative to the sodas and beer.
Read more articles about KMart here.
Other articles you might also like: