Oh the cookout. The traditional American gathering with all the food one could ever want. The red and white checked table cloths, the smell of the grill, cold lemonade and beer all contribute to one of the best pastimes of America. We love to grill year-round, from everything to roasts, to burgers to turkey. You really can't beat the flavor. The grill brings my husband back to his primal instincts. Any event with food and fire he can be found at. There are several thing we have had to change when we switched to our low carb diet. For starters, the pasta salad had to go.
It is not hard to eat low carb durring a cookout. Even if you are not the one hosting. First, there is typically good meats served at a barbecue. Burgers can be easily eaten without a bun. Chicken is always good on it's own. I even don't mind eating a chopped up hot dog dipped in mustard. Whenever our friends throw a cookout, we always bring the low carb side. This way we know there will be something to eat with meat. Our favorite is a salad made with onions, cucumber, tomatoes and a good vinegarette.
Drinking is tough for us as well. Ever since college introduced me to beer, I have been a Bud Light Girl. Drinking beer all day is not the best when looking to cut carbs. The standard beer has about 10g of carbs. And if you like the craft beers, like my husband, they can get up to 30g of carbs per beer! This routine obviously had to go. We cut back on drinking in general, but started buying liquor to substitute. There are some great low carb drinks for the summer too. I am a huge fan of gin and tonics, as well as rum and diet coke. So good!
The last indulgence I gave up was sweet tea. This one was tough. My mother used to make it weekly and it was always a huge part of our summers as a child. Everyone would drink it all day, we even made frozen popcicles with it. Now that the low carb diet is on, I have switched to tea with sweet and low. I know there are tons of people who hate the taste of the stuff, but I really don't mind. It's as close to my sweet tea as I can get.
Even with all of these great substitutes, water is still my drink of choice. I always keep a water bottle by my side. After those long walks, there is no replacement for a nice cold glass of water.