Fourth of July: why I went hungry while the country celebrated

Fourth of July is a holiday everyone enjoys, isn’t it, a time for backyard barbeqcues and fireworks. But when you’re on a restricted diet, it becomes something different; it becomes a day when you can’t eat like other people.

We spent the day at a friend of my wife’s who traditionally makes all the usual Fourth favorites, none of which are on my low-salt, low-sugar, low-fat diet plan, unfortunately.

Let’s go through the list:
* Hamburgers – too much fat
* Hot dogs – too much salt and too much fat
* Corn – too much starch (i.e. sugar)
* Potato salad and cole slaw – too much fat and too much salt, depending on the variety made
* White bread buns – too much salt and too much starch
* barbecue sauce on anything – too much salt and too much sugar

And so I sat there watching everyone else eat and getting hungrier and hungrier. In the evening, rather than see our local fireworks display, I instead returned home and made myself some salmon and a green salad.

My advice if you know you may be in similar situation – bring a watermelon as your contribution to the party, you can eat plenty of that. Or bring along a chicken breast or low-fat burger you make at home and ask your host to cook it for you.

And if you want to celebrate at your house with a cookout, try these barbecue items I’m now making for myself:

• Salmon dressed with lemon or a low-salt marinade
• Chicken breasts in a low-salt marinade (Mrs. Dash or another brand)
• Hamburgers you make with the leanest possible beef; I have found 96% lean beef in my area.
• Low-fat hot dogs (Hebrew National makes them, look for those or similar brands).
• Grilled vegetables brushed with olive oil and Italian spices
• Tilapia made in aluminum foil to hold in the flavor, garnished with lemon slices and lemon juice.
• Whole wheat or Ezekiel bread and buns
• Home-made fruit salad for dessert or fat-free ices or sherbets

I thought my grilling days were over after my angioplasty, but I’ve found these adjustments allow me to continue cooking out and enjoying it.
John