
Hosting a healthy barbecue: Planning the menu
Barbecues are a great way for people to get together and socialise, particularly during the warmer months. With a bit of planning, you can still offer your barbecue favourites while also promoting healthy eating.
Try some of the tips below to provide some barbecue favourites, while promoting healthy eating. The Sample menu and event plan will assist you to plan the finer details of your event.
Tips for providing healthy barbecue foods
- Avoid over catering on meat - offer only one piece of lean meat or a burger patty (or vegetarian equivalent) per person.
- Choose lean cuts of meat. Refer to the table on the following page for ideas.
- Provide a range of seasonal salads and vegetables.
- Offer reduced salt varieties of sauces (tomato, BBQ, sweet chilli) and let people add the sauce themselves.
- Offer unbuttered wholemeal or wholegrain bread.
- Ask people to indicate any special dietary requirements one week in advance of the event. This will help your budgeting, shopping and avoid wastage. If asking people to bring a plate of food, provide a list of suggested salads and/or fruit platters on a notice board and ask people to choose an option each. This will ensure a variety of healthy dishes are offered.
Healthier alternatives to traditional barbecue ingredients
Instead of... |
Choose... |
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Meats |
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Regular sausages |
Tip: Cut some large sausages in half to provide smaller portions for different appetites. |
Regular commercial burgers and patties |
Tip: Making your burger patties can be cheaper and healthier than store bought patties. |
Meat kebabs in cream or oil-based sauces/ marinades |
Tip: Kebabs are easy to make. Alternate between a piece of lean meat or seafood and a variety of vegetables – this will also lower the cost. |
Breads and potatoes |
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White breads and rolls |
Tip: Avoid using spreads on bread. If you must, offer olive or canola oil based margarine for people to spread themselves. |
Creamy potato salads |
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Side dishes and sauces |
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Creamy coleslaw |
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Potato crisps |
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Cream, cheese or ‘chunky’ nut-based dips (e.g. French onion, smoked salmon, pesto dips) |
Tip: Serve dips with vegetable sticks and/or plain wholegrain crackers or pita bread as they are lower in fat and salt compared to most crackers. |
Tomato sauce |
Tip: Serve sausages/burgers without sauce. Have a bottle on hand for people wanting to add it themselves. |
Desserts |
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Cheesecake/pavlova |
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Ice-creams and icy poles |
If offering ice-cream, icy poles, frozen yoghurt or gelato, provide reduced-fat or juice-based varieties and offer in small serving sizes. |
Drinks |
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Regular soft drinks |
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