Summer Health Food: 5 Simple Swaps For Your Picnic Infographic
Skip Lemonade. Go for Iced Tea.
Yes, lemons are fruits. But lemonade is essentially sugar water. Green tea, on the other hand, might protect against certain cancers or slow their growth.
Lemonade
- Calories per cup = 100
- Grams of sugar = 25
Unsweetened Iced Green Tea
- Calories per cup = 2
- Grams of sugar = 0
Ditch Fried Chicken. Bring Grilled Chicken.
Believe it or not, grilled chicken can be just as flavorful as fried chicken. It's all about seasoning. The nutritional payoff is noticeable.
Fried Chicken
- Calories per 3 oz = 250
- Grams of fat = 15
- Grams of protein = 19
Grilled Chicken
- Calories per 3 oz = 130
- Grams of fat = 3
- Grams of protein = 26
Forgo Potato Salad for Cucumber Salad.
A simple cucumber salad — sliced cucumber and onion in vinegar — adds a punch of flavor to a picnic side dish without the added fat of traditional, mayonnaise-based potato salad.
Potato Salad
- Calories per cup = 358
- Grams of fat = 20
- Grams of Carbs = 28
Cucumber Salad
- Calories per cup = 115
- Grams of fat = less than 1
- Grams of Carbs = 15
Corn On the Cob, But Make It Healthy
Cutting out the butter and swapping ground pepper for salt makes this picnic basic easier to swallow, nutrition wise.
Corn On the Cob With Salt and Butter
- Calories per cob = 160
- Grams of fat = 12
- Milligrams of sodium = 2,475
Corn On the Cob With Ground Pepper
- Calories per cob = 60
- Grams of fat = less than 1
- Milligrams of sodium = 150
Ditch Apple Pie for Fruit Salad
Even if you don't make the fruit salad at home, a pre-packaged alternative might be just as healthy — as long as you get the kind canned in water, not sugar-heavy syrup.
Apple Pie
- Calories per slice/cup = 397
- Grams of fat = 16
- Grams of carbohydrates = 61
Fruit Salad
- Calories per slice/cup = 74
- Grams of fat = less than 1
- Grams of carbohydrates = 19