19 Healthy Alternatives to Popular Barbecue Foods

Many potato salad recipes include gobs of mayo, which tends to make them unhealthy. A typical German potato salad recipe has vinegar as dressing instead of mayonnaise. To make the potato salad even healthier you can try adding tempeh, a plant-based protein, instead of bits of bacon.

Dessert is a delicious end to a meal, but traditional desserts — which are often some type of cake — tend to be just as heavy as the food that came before them. Grilling fresh fruit is a healthier alternative. The grilling caramelizes the fruits’ natural sugars, transforming it into a tasty and sweet dessert. Peaches, pineapples, and mangos are popular grill choices.

Compared with a meat burger, the same amount of eggplant contains less sodium. You can try adding several spices while grilling the eggplant for more flavor. Though you don’t get protein with an eggplant burger, you get plenty of fiber.

Tempeh is made with fermented soybeans that have been molded into firm shapes, which makes them easy to grill. Tempeh has as much protein as chicken but less saturated fat and is not high in carbs, making it a good alternative for people on a low-carb diet.

Vegetables are wonderful sides to burgers but they have little protein. If you’re looking to increase your protein intake, baked beans are a fitting option. Per cup, cooked pinto beans, for example, has 16 grams of protein, which is about a third of the recommended daily amount.