Healthy swaps for the fourth of July

The fourth of July is about family, friends, and food. Here are some healthy swaps to leave you feeling guilt free and healthier this fourth of July.

Condiments can add a lot of unnecessary calories and often have more added sugars than you realize.

-Try ketchup without added sugar: Many popular ketchup brands can contain up to a teaspoon of sugar just in a single serving. For reference, doctors recommend that men have no more than 9 teaspoons a day and women no more than 6. Swap your Heinz ketchup for Primal Kitchen or Tessemae’s.

-Use hummus to add flavor to sandwiches and salads: Hummus can be a great swap for mayo or salad dressings this fourth. Hummus is packed with healthy vitamins and minerals. It contains protein, vitamin C, B vitamins, magnesium, and is high in fiber.

-Trade processed butter for grass fed butter: Grass fed butter is basically a butter that is run through a clarification process to eliminate water, creating a higher smoke point when cooking. Grass fed butter has less saturated fat, more heart healthy omega-3 fatty acids, and contains higher amounts of CLA (a group of fatty acids that help lower risk of heart disease).

Liquor as we all know can carry extra sugars and calories that often leave you feeling not too good the next day (especially if you overindulge). Here’s a list of liquors that have under 200 calories:

• Bud light- 110 calories
• Miller light- 96 Calories
• Corona light- 99 Calories
• Coors light- 116 Calories
• Truly Seltzer- 100 Calories
• White Claws- 100 Calories
• Vodka, soda, lime- 75 Calories
• Champagne (150ml)- 105 Calories
• Martini- 100 Calories
• Whiskey Diet Coke- 83 Calories

Grill lean meats- Lowering your fat content can decrease your overall calorie intake. As long as you remove excess fat and watch how and what they’re grilled with,” says Andersen. Most cookouts offer a variety of meats, so choose the leanest cuts of beef, chicken and pork.

When choosing beef, make it lean. Substitute out the fattier cuts of beef, and choose round, chuck, sirloin and tenderloin