Times change, but the tradition of starting the warm season with picnics remains. To ensure that outdoor recreation does not ruin your figure, follow the advice of a FoodEx nutritionist.
Everyone to the barbecue?
No country season is complete without barbecue. 100 g of lamb kebabs contain about 230 kcal, and pork kebabs – 270 kcal. On average, a person eats from 300 to 500 g of the finished dish. So calculate how much running and squatting you’ll have to do to work off that meal.
Alternative:
A dietary substitute can be a kebab made from chicken (140 kcal per 100 g on average), fish, seafood, and vegetables (eggplant, tomatoes, peppers, zucchini, broccoli – 50 kcal). Each of these alternatives contains at least half the calories of traditional kebabs.
We recommend not using alcohol, mayonnaise, or honey as a marinade. Avoid ready-made sauces.
Fresh vegetables – how to dress a salad?
Spring opens the season of fresh vegetables and herbs. Read our article on how to reduce the nitrate content of young cucumbers, radishes and cabbage. And the main rule of spring salads is not to spoil them with mayonnaise (680 kcal per 100 g). This loses the flavor of the food and makes all the ingredients look the same.
Alternative:
We recommend dressing vegetable salads with thermostatic yogurt, olive oil (150 kcal per tablespoon) and lemon juice (16 kcal per 100g). Don’t forget about spices – pepper, ginger, Provencal herbs… Not only do they add a special flavor to your meals, but they also improve digestion.
Bread – what to make a picnic sandwich with?
Traditional picnic “slicing”: cheese, sausage, ham and baguette are consumed while having friendly conversations “for life”… Someone “turns on their conscience” and replaces white bread (361 kcal) with black bread (259 kcal). The trouble is that both are very high in calories!
Alternative:
The first and most difficult option for baking lovers is to give up bread. The second option is not so severe – replace bread with multigrain bread (22 kcal per loaf) or bran bread. The third is to replace bread with vegetables. For example, try wrapping cheese or ham in a lettuce leaf.
How to quench your thirst?
Another bad habit is washing down food with juices. These are not only extra and very insidious calories… When food enters the body, the stomach produces gastric juice necessary for digestion. However, excess fluid reduces its concentration, which slows down the digestion process. Sugary juices and sodas cause fermentation and interfere with the proper absorption of proteins.
Alternative:
Replace with water, tea, or fruit water with mint or tarragon leaves. You can consume the liquid either half an hour before a meal, or no earlier than an hour or an hour and a half after.
What about a festive dessert?
A hearty lunch cannot be complete without an evening tea party. And a walk in the May city is not complete without a portion of ice cream. And then there are the guests…
Will your figure be happy with all these extra calories? Are you ready to lose those extra pounds yourself for weeks afterwards?
Alternative:
The best option is to simply skip dessert. Enjoy the beautiful nature, drink warm herbal tea with honey. Play with your children or dance – your sleep will be sound and your conscience will be clear!
