So many American holidays are surrounded by food, and a lot of times not the healthiest of foods. The summer holidays seem to be based around fried chicken, macaroni salad, potato salad, coleslaw, ribs, and chips and dips. My family grew up with some of those things, but it was never the majority. We always included lots of fruits and vegetables in our party spreads, and tried to always have a balance of healthy and not so healthy. However, over the years we have been including healthier options into the mix by creating holiday meals that are not only delicious, but very good for you.
This past Memorial Day I went to St. Michaels to visit my parents.
We planned a very simple day of just spending time together on the boat, by the pool, cooking out, and hanging out. We started the day with a nice light breakfast and a 2 hour walk in the sweltering 90 degree heat. It was HOT!!
Breakfast was a simple fruit salad with yogurt and coffee. We had strawberries, blackberries, mango, cantaloupe, blueberries, and pineapple.
After our walk it was boat time. We packed up tons of fresh veggies including carrots, celery, sugar snap peas, cherry tomatoes, and cucumbers for the boat ride. We also brought a couple different cheeses, lunch meats, hummus, and jalapeño cheese dip. And of course seltzer water, juice, and white wine.
It doesn’t get much fresher or healthier than this. And there really isn’t that much prep involved besides cutting up the veggies. One of my favorite dips to make for fresh vegetables it hummus and salsa or Greek yogurt and salsa. It’s packed with protein, low in fat and calories, and perfect for dipping.
On the side I made myself a white wine spritzer by using half of an inexpensive white wine and half seltzer water. This was my first time trying this, and it was a perfect summer drink!
After a little more boat time and some lounging by the pool we started our version of a cookout. We decided to keep with the veggie theme and do veggies on the grill, BBQ Chicken, and BBQ pork ribs. While my dad worked on the meat, my mom and I grilled the veggies. This was my VERY first time grilling, and I think I may have gotten the hang of it.
Just a simple drizzle of olive oil, a little salt and pepper is all these veggies needed. But I must say…grilling in that Maryland heat was intense!
Finished product: a Beautiful platter of grilled Zucchini, Asparagus, Eggplant, and Red Peppers.
It was a delicious Memorial Day Meal. I think we gobbled our dinner up in about 5 minutes. There is nothing like BBQ Chicken, ribs, and corn on the cob. But doing it like this gives you a chance to really enjoy the flavor of the food, and not feel too guilty.
Of course I enjoyed some good wine while I was there. I sipped on Mas De Chabert Roussanne 2009 during the day.
This is a medium bodied white wine with loads of stone fruit like peaches and apricots. It finishes crisp and dry and not too heavy. It was great to mix with the seltzer water and even better on it’s own, chilled, by the pool.
With my meal I drank Hillinger Zweigelt 2009.
An Austrian wine that you really don’t hear too much about, but since I love Austrain wines, and I saw this in my dad’s wine cabinet, I couldn’t resist. I don’t think most people would drink this with the type of food we were having, but with a slight chill I thought it was perfect. Especially with the BBQ pork ribs. This is a wine that is full of dark cherries and has hints of chocolate. It is so smooth and velvety on the finish. I could drink this every day of the week just on it’s own.
A delicious, relaxing, healthy holiday was exactly what I needed after working the entire weekend. For other healthy holiday ideas check out these posts!
Now it’s back to work in the sweltering 95 degree heat. And on top of that my AC doesn’t work…oh joy!!! Dreaming of being on the water….
What did you do for the holiday weekend?
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
Looks like a very yummy weekend! My family is like yours in that we like to balance good food with lots of activity – and keep most of the good food healthy! Glad you enjoyed your Memorial Day
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Ah this makes me miss my family so much. All that healthy cooking! Yum!
I had grilled veggies for memorial day dinner, too! I could eat piles…they are so good!
Looks fabulous! Love all the colorful fruits and veggies! I mainly unpacked over the holiday, but also went to a Crabfest with Kelly. I missed my fam though, glad you got to spend time with yours – sounds like a blast!