Every year there are countless articles and blog posts that provide tips on how to stay on your diet over the 4th of July weekend.  These articles generally tell you to have one beer, eat a hamburger with no bun, stay away from anything that contains mayo, eat fruit salad and bring your own healthy foods with you to the party.  Sounds like a really fun bbq, right?  And on a personal note - when you are bringing food to someone's party - for the love of god - bring normal food.  You are the only one eating your fake cheese, low sodium, fat free everything dip.

When I go to a bbq, I want to have fun.  And I want you to have fun.  Of course I want you to be healthy and not screw up your diet - but in order to do this you need to put the day in perspective.  It's not your last meal, but it's also not a normal day.  Find balance and you'll find that staying healthy at a bbq is no big deal.

Here are some tricks of the trade that I've picked up over the years:
1.  Food is great, but there are other reasons why we go to a BBQ.  Remind yourself that you are there to spend time with your friends (not hover over the buffet).  Try and switch your perspective and remember that the purpose of the bbq isn't JUST to eat - sit in a chair and enjoy being outside, catch-up with your family and friends.  Eat when/if you're hungry.

2.  Play "Let's Make a Deal".  I love salty and savory foods - I like dessert but it's not a deal breaker for me.  So that means that I'll make a deal with myself to enjoy a handful of chips and dip and skip dessert.  And if dessert comes, and it looks amazing - I have one bite, hey, I made a deal (and at least I got my chips).

3.  Know When to Stop.  I find them sometimes when I am at a BBQ - I just keep picking at food all day long, even when I'm no longer hungry.  Think about it - that's insane.  Eat like you would on any normal day - with normal portion sizes.  Would you eat 4 hamburgers and a pound of dip after work on a Tuesday?  No? Then don't do it at a bbq.

4.  Outdoor activities are your friend.  Sneak in a little exercise where you can.  Are people playing bocce?  Play with them.  Lawn darts? Just do it.  Keep it moving and you're likely to eat less.

5.  Stay light when it comes to alcohol.  I'm not going to tell you to have one beer and 8 glasses of water.  Drink your beer, wine or whatever it is that you drink.  Just think about what you are doing.  Pick light beer if possible, and if it's margaritas - consider having just one (the sugar and calories in a margarita are just not worth it to me). 

6.  Have breakfast.  Arriving at a bbq ravenously hungry is a bad idea.  You know it, and I know it.  So eat something.

Remember, you aren't going to gain 5 lbs in a day.  Take it easy on yourself and have fun - and remember that you can go back to your healthy lifestyle tomorrow.  The day after a bbq - wake up, have a big glass of water - and declare the pig-out over.  Then stick with it.

Have a great 4th of July weekend everyone!  If you eat anything awesome that I need to know about - tell me in the comments.

Do you drink beer or do you fear its carbs?  Do you often find yourself drinking beer that tastes like crap simply because you don't want to consume the extra calories?  Do you gaze longingly at others as they drink their crisp, refreshing beer with reckless abandon?

Friends, do not be afraid of beer.  It's not beer's fault that its carby goodness is so appealing.  It's not beer's fault that it's hard to drink just one.  And in this heat, it's most certainly not beer's fault that it is both refreshing and delicious.  And when it comes to light beers, you have options that reach beyond Bud Light and Coors Light.

As a very dedicated blogger, I decided to help you make a healthy-ish (and delicious) beer decision, so on Sunday I sent Jared to Bierkraft in Brooklyn to pick up as many light craft beers as he could find, along with a few well-known domestic brands.  Then I invited several of my closest friends (and fellow beer aficionados) over to my apartment to taste beer and eat cheese and chocolate (this is where the "ish" in healthy-ish really comes in).

Now, before I get into the reviews - let me tell you a bit about our testers.  Lauren and Christina are two of my best girlfriends.  Lauren is actually the person who introduced me to the deliciousness of beer back in college - and since then, both of us still enjoy beers but really try to be more conscious about the food (and drink) that we put into our bodies.  She's totally healthy-ish and you can trust her opinion.  Christina is another college friend who is a fellow foodie and a walking guide to NYC.  She'll actually be doing some guest-blogging for me later this summer.  Jason is Lauren's husband - he's awesome - he loves the Yankees and beer and hates hummus and tofu (the perfect person to test healthy-ish recipes on - but I'm not saying no to cheese and chocolate - ever).  Jared is my boyfriend - he eats whatever I cook, brews his own beer and was more than happy to provide his distinguished opinion.

So we blind taste-tested 13 light (and light-ish) beers.  I won't bore you with the details of all 13 beers (for now, but I plan to post all reviews over the course of the summer), so I'll give you the top and bottom 3. 

In general light beers have anywhere from 120-140 calories per beer (some have more, and some have less).  We rated each beer on the following:  Look, Smell, Taste, Mouthfeel and Drinkability.  And without further adieu, here are the results  (warning, some of these results might shock you):

Drink These Beers This Summer:
1.  Lake Placid Honey Rye:  This was the hands down winner of the night.  We all agreed that this beer can be considered light-ish, because while it's not a traditional light beer - it was light tasting, and didn't have a super high alcohol content.  It's slightly hoppy and doesn't have a strong honey flavor (which is why it had great drinkability - the sweetness of honey doesn't get in the way).  Lauren described it best and said it was, "excellent, with a full body and flavor - with a light taste."

2.  Sam Adams Light:  Sam Light got high ratings across the board.  This beer has a great amber color, and Christina's feedback was that she could "drink a bunch of these in a row" (yay for Drinkability).  I totally agree - this doesn't taste like a light beer, it's got a really full flavor and it's nice and refreshing.

3.  Bud Light Golden Wheat:  Ahhh the power of a blind taste test.  This was our most shocking result.  We were not expecting to enjoy this beer at all, but low and behold every one of our tasters found it refreshing.  It's also a bit more carbonated than the other beers that we tried.  It was light, it was tasty and surprisingly (to us at least) it actually was, according to Jason, "wheat-y"

Do NOT Drink These Beers This Summer:
1.  Michelob Ultra:  This stuff is the worst.  Who cares that it's 95 calories, it's 95 calories wasted.  It's odorless, colorless and tastes like water - in fact, you may as well drink water.  In fact, Lauren described it's drinkability as "sick."

2.  Amstel Light:  When I'm out, I always order Amstel - and I honestly believed I liked it.  Apparently this is false - considering my blind review said that it "tastes like college."  Which really means that it tastes like bad decision making (ha!).  So from here on out, just say no to Amstel Light.  When you don't see the branding, the flavor is actually not so good.

3.  Tire Bite Golden Ale from Flying Dog:  This light-ish beer was a bit too heavy tasting for our liking.  It wasn't super carbonated, and according to Jared (and agreed upon by all of us) it was "too creamy."

What about the other 7 beers, you ask?  Well, as I mentioned above, I'll roll those out over the course of the summer.  I wanted to get you started on some light and delicious beers that you can buy today.

My takeaway from this experiment?  Light beers can be really good - and if you find one you like - drink it.  And let go of the crazy idea that healthy people can't drink beer.  Swap in light beer when you can, and if you are planning to throw back a few - do it responsibly. 

What's your favorite light beer?  Let me know in the comments, and I'll wrangle up the crew to give it a try.