July 3, 2015

Low-So Good Fourth of July Recipes

Squash Dog

Happy birthday, America! This past week was a really excellent one. And if you’re like me, you’re ready for some celebrating. And some ribs. And some fireworks (both of the explosive and flavor variety).

This month, I want to talk about low-so tips for BBQ season.

Because these seemingly innocent gatherings around the grill can rack up some major sodium counts. Be aware that you can easily reach close to 1,000 milligrams of sodium (equivalent to two-thirds of most adults’ recommended 1,500 mg daily allotment) with only a single beef hot dog (over 400mg of sodium for most brands), the bun (over 200mg of sodium for most brands), a little relish (over 100mg of sodium per tablespoon, depending on brand), and a squeeze of ketchup (over 100mg of sodium per tablespoon, depending on brand). And that’s not even counting the chips and dips, coleslaw, or second helpings. Or the margarita mix.

But don’t you worry your little buns off. Because we will cover everything from the burgers, to the sausages, to the slaw to make sure you don’t go hungry.

To kick things off, though, here’s a quick recipe roundup for your weekend to get started. And be sure to check out my Huffington Post on Hot Tips for Your Low-So BBQ.


Brocolli Dip

DIPS! Fourth of July is all about dip (and independence and red, white, and blue). But mostly, dip. So whether you are hosting your own get-together or heading to someone else’s pad, be sure to make one or a few of these creamy treats. My favorites are this yogurt and broccoli dip. My smoked white fish spread. A simple toasted pumpkin seed ricotta dip. Or, of course, guacamole with goat cheese and pine nut topping.

Tortilla Hand Pies

TREATS ON STICKS!  Start the celebration with some fun hand-held appetizers. Like these popsicle stick tortilla hand pies. Grilled caprese salad skewers. Tortilla peach and herb pizzas. Or even a build-your-own lettuce cup bar.

IMG_3528

THE GRILL! Finally, as for the real star of the show, forget the high-sodium processed food and get creative. Make your own chorizo sausage. Or go totally-veggie and make squash dogs. Don’t forget to put fruit on the grill, too, to add a sweet smokiness to salsas, salads, or your burger. And as for the buns, here are my tips and low-so alternatives.

Want more? Here and here are some other recipe roundups from years past.

Sam July 3, 2015 at 4:16 pm

Just found and subscribed to your website and am loving it. In a world where most food bloggers are literal salt-pushers, (salted caramel this, salted chocolate that, brined-any-and-everything, etc) you are truly Heaven-sent!

By the way, (you may already know this but, in case not), FeedBurner will not acknowledge nor send subscriptions to Outlook. Fortunately, I have a Gmail account as well, but if I didn’t I would have gotten one just to receive your newsletter.

Leave a Comment

Previous post:

Next post: