BBQ and Picnic Foods

How to survive BBQ's, Picnic's and other Summer Time Outings. 

Tips and Tricks:

• Offer to Bring Something- "Thank you for inviting me, can I bring a veggie tray or deviled eggs?", "How about a green salad?", "Would you like me to bring some finger food like pinwheel sandwiches or roll ups?", "How about some unbreaded chicken wings?" if you bring something Low Carb then you at least know that you can eat something there.
•  Be Prepared- Whenever I have to go to a gathering and I'm not sure what food people are bringing or what might be in something I always try to pack a small lunch bag and keep it in my car or have a protein bar or ziploc bag of bacon in my purse as a back up.
• Food Allergies- If someone asks why you're eating something different you don't have to say that you're Low Carb or that you're trying to lose weight. You can just say that you have food allergies or you're allergic to sugar and carbs or  you can't eat it. I normally say "I'm allergic to Sugar, Flour and Soy" or "I can't have sugar or carbs".  Some people will ask if I have Celiac and I say no, but it's kind of similar. They usually don't ask more after that unless they also have problems with certain foods.
• Don't Trust Gluten Free- Gluten Free does not equal Low Carb! A lot of times I've found that Gluten Free items actually have more carbs than the normal product does. If you can't check the label and see what's in it then don't trust that any Gluten Free item is Low Carb because it's probably not. 
• Beverages- I always bring my own water bottle or a bottle of something that I can drink and no one ever acts put off by it. Lots of people carry water bottles and especially in the heat I doubt anyone would make a big deal about it. You could even offer to bring Crystal Light Lemonade or offer to bring soda and then make sure some of it is diet. It's certainly not the most healthy option and I don't recommend drinking soda all the time, but it's better than filling yourself full of sugar in my opinion. 

Food Suggestions (as shown above):

1. Garden Salad
2. Garden Salad with Tuna, Chicken, Steak, or any unbreaded meat.
3. Hamburger patty without the bun.
4. Low Carb Pinwheel Sandwiches.
5. Cream Cheese and Lunch meat Roll-ups.
6. Bacon Cream Cheese Squares.
7. Celery with Cream Cheese and Bacon.
8. Celery and Carrots with Ranch.
9. Chicken Wings - Unbreaded with Buffalo or Garlic Parm sauce.*
10. Deviled Eggs.
11. Any kind of unbreaded meat that isn't covered in BBQ sauce.**
12. If bringing a sandwich tray make yours with lettuce instead of bread. 
13. Bell Pepper and Onion kabobs to add flavor to your bunless burger.
14. Macaroni Salad with Dreamfields Low Carb Pasta***

* Most are kinds of Buffalo Sauce are fairly low sugar, but not all. Ken's is ok and the kind from Buffalo Wild Wings has 2 carbs for 5 wings in both the Buffalo and the Garlic Parm.

**Some sauces have 17 grams of sugar per tbsp. I look for pieces not drenched sauce or if possible ask for one with no sauce or rinse it off or at least scrape off the excess.

***It's very important to follow the cooking instructions on Dreamfields pasta and DO NOT overcook it. Drench it in cold water and keep rinsing it until it's cold. Don't reheat it either. I've never had any issues with it but I'm also OCD about the cooking process so that may be why. If it stalls you then don't eat it. I like it and use it sparingly and have no issues with it. 

Good Luck! Enjoy your time with friends and family and if you do eat something questionable don't beat yourself up too much, just make sure you get right back on track with the following meal.