It's barbecue season! In summer, what could be more pleasant than eating outside and sharing a picnic or a barbecue with friends? Except that… between the aperitif, the sauces, the accompaniments and the dessert, we quickly made the calorie counter explode at the end of the meal. Here are some rules to follow to avoid that.
The barbecue is convivial… just like the aperitif! But as the fire (often) takes time to start, this leaves plenty of time to nibble on aperitif biscuits and chain caloric drinks. We therefore limit the consumption of beer and rosé, drinks that are not necessarily refreshing and above all very sweet. We think of drinking water (we provide fresh bottles for the meal), sparkling water and why not homemade fruit juices. We avoid very salty aperitif cakes (=it makes you hungry!) and instead offer raw vegetables.
If you want to have a rather light meal, not all fish and meat are created equal. Better to avoid fatty meats like pork chops, lamb or mutton. If you opt for sausages, you prick them during cooking to allow the fat to drain away. It is better to bet on chicken (from which the skin is removed), turkey, ground beef with 5% fat, escalope, veal chop or even flank steak. Fish and seafood are also a light and original alternative (sardines, mackerel, salmon steak, white fish en papillote, shrimp or scallop skewers, etc.).
Barbecue cooking tends to dry out, which explains why we rush on sauces (good, and also because it's delicious). It is therefore important to season the meat or fish well, for example with fresh herbs or spices. Another option:marinate the meat in the refrigerator in a mixture of olive oil and lemon, for at least an hour, so that it is well soaked. We can vary the marinades according to our desires:yogurt, soy sauce, honey, vinegar... As for the fish, we can consider cooking it on slices of lemon or oranges, which gives it flavor and prevents it from glue to the grid.
Avoid industrial sauces such as mayo or béarnaise, which are too greasy. Instead, we make homemade sauces based on yogurt (light if we really aim for a light mixture) to which we mix fresh herbs (chives, mint, thyme, etc.), spices (curry, Espelette pepper, etc.) and shallot or onion. Mustard goes well with meats and is not greasy.
Exit the chips, easy solution. Instead, we prepare mixed salads (based on wholemeal pasta or rice + raw vegetables or homemade tabbouleh) and/or vegetables to cook on the grill (for example on a skewer):large mushrooms, peppers, potatoes in papillote, tomatoes, zucchini... In short, we vary the pleasures!
Two reasons:we are generally not very hungry after a long meal (the barbecue takes longer than a classic meal) and we will not ruin all our efforts! Light options? Salad or fresh fruit skewers, compote, homemade sorbets... The choice is wide.
