sirloin or skinless chicken or turkey breast.
Serve your barbecue alongside grilled vegetable kebabs with cut-up zucchini, yellow squash, cherry tomatoes, purple onion and sweet potato instead of potato salad.
6. Ribs
Choose leaner beef ribs instead of pork. Opt for baby back instead of regular ribs. Consider brisket, which can be wrapped in lettuce leaves or top off a salad.
7. Burgers
Shop for the leanest ground beef or swap out for lean ground turkey, tuna, salmon or a black bean veggie burger. Top with your favorite spices and rubs.
8. Hot dogs/bratwurst
Lean, all-beef, turkey or soy franks have less saturated fat and fewer calories than bratwurst and are an easy swap. Serve these on wheat buns or corn tortillas.
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Healthy swaps
Looking for more healthy swaps to reach blood glucose (blood sugar) levels and A1C targets? Check out these healthy swaps provided by the American Diabetes Association:
- Choose cauliflower pizza crust with veggies over regular pizza crust to lower the amount of carbohydrates in a meal.
- Cauliflower pasta with veggies, spaghetti squash, or zucchini noodles are great swaps for regular pasta for an extra dose of fiber and veggies.
- Make a fried rice dish using cauliflower rice as the base and adding lean protein, veggies, and egg for a delicious lower-carb meal.
- Fiber can help with managing blood glucose levels. Try to include a source of fiber at every meal by choosing whole grains over refined grains (white bread, white pasta, white rice).
- Make tacos using cauliflower or corn tortillas
- Top toast with sweet potato and scrambled eggs instead of butter
- Flavored sparkling water or seltzer and infused water are great flavored swaps for soda to reduce intake of sugar.
- Choose dark chocolate instead of milk chocolate. Dark chocolate is lower in sugar and higher in beneficial antioxidants.
Being mindful of the foods you put into your body, especially if you are living with a health condition such as diabetes, can be difficult. Remember to give yourself grace, start slow and make a few small swaps at a time until a habit is formed. Once you’ve formed a habit, you’ll find that it’s much easier to make additional swaps to a healthier you.