Healthy Ideas for a Labor Day Barbecue

Summer is fading and Labor Day is on the way. This means a three-day weekend for most folks, and grilling or barbecuing is the obvious choice for a three-day weekend. Plus, Labor Day sort of represents the last holiday and hoorah before summer ends and the work/school season of fall begins. Sending summer out in style and spending Labor Day outdoors just makes perfect sense.

If you're health and heart conscious, and everyone wants to grill, you might find that most things cooked on the grill aren't all that healthy--hot dogs, hamburgers, and bloody fire-seared red meat. However, there are healthy alternatives for grilling, things you might have never considered grilling.

Let's look at some healthy Labor Day grilling ideas for you and your family.

Grilled Chicken

Grilled chicken that has been de-skinned and de-fatted can be a great healthy alternative to red meat.

Grilled Vegetables

Some vegetables are perfect for the grill, and some are tough to grill. The ones that are easy to grill include the larger and tougher veggies or the ones that can be sliced into long pieces so they fit on the grill without falling through the grate. However, other vegetables that aren't great for the grill by themselves can be put on skewers and grilled over the coals or on the grate, by placing the skewers over them.

Grilled Tomatoes

Tomatoes are a great grilled fruit/vegetable. You can slice the top off a tomato and core and fill it with spices and other diced vegetables, replace the sliced top you took off, and then place the entire tomato on the grill. The result is steamed diced vegetables inside and a juicy, squishy grilled tomato on the outside. It's a great dish though, if you've never tried it.

Tomatoes can also be grilled on skewers. Slices, chunks, or cherry and Roma tomatoes can all but put on skewers (go great with grilled onions, and those are very good for you too!), and then grilled.

Grilled Fruit

Yes, grilled fruit. Rather than go over the specifics, I'd like to direct you to my full article on grilling fruit. It's quite yummy and quite unique, and your guests at your Labor Day BBQ will be shocked and then surprised when they see these tasty grill fruit treats.

Grilled Skewers

Making vegetable shish kabobs is a very healthy grilling option for your Labor Day BBQ. Using onions, squash, zucchini, mushrooms, potatoes and other vegetables, you can make colorful and healthy grilled vegetables on skewers.

Grilled Seafood

A healthy Labor Day grilling dish is grilled shrimp or large grilled bay scallops. You can alternate them on skewers with vegetables or grill them on their own.

Fish can be grilled, and there is nothing healthier or that means summer more than fresh fish from the lakes or oceans. Fish means outdoors and summer, so it is a great meat to serve for someone wanting a healthy grilling recipe for their Labor Day party.

When celebrating Labor Day this year, consider these healthy grilling options. Red meat is not the only thing you can cook on the grill, and vegetables, chicken, seafood and yes, even red meat, are all healthier and more flavorful on the grill because you use fewer fattening products and keep most of the natural vitamins and nutrients in the foods.

Enjoy your Labor Day holiday with grilling and celebrate the ending of summer in style with these healthy grilling options.

Please check out some of my other articles on grilling:

Save Money by Grilling
How to Grill Shrimp