Top 10 Activities for a Healthy 4th of July

July 4th is almost here!  Here are my top 10 ideas for a healthy Independence Day. All of the recipe posts below are from this blog. They are vegan and meat-less dishes that won't ruin your diet.

1) Host an outdoor party for the family.

2) Have a picnic and get family and  friends together for a vegan barbecue. Grilling foods is much less fattening than frying. Add lots of vegetables to the menu, like raw salads and veggie kebabs. For dessert, watermelon is the perfect all-natural treat. Also try these delicious recipes below:

3) Make Frankie’s Vegan Spare Ribs - This recipe sounds tasty, and not too complicated. The meat substitute is seitan. It does call for a food processor, and about an hour of total baking time, which is not too bad. There is a BBQ sauce recipe that goes with the ribs.

4) Make Carolina-style Barbecue Sandwiches - From Vegetarian Times, this one I would like to try, but it calls for a lot of cider vinegar - try reducing it to 1/4 cup. The sauce is supposed to be tangy, and mustardy. The sandwich uses seitan as the protein source. (If you want the sweeter Kansas City BBQ sauce, here is a recipe for Big Al’s K.C. sauce.)

5) Make eco-friendly arts and crafts with family and friends.

6) Try Sweet and Spicy Barbecue Tofu - A simple but appealing recipe for comes from About.com. The only issue I see is the call for 3/4 cup brown sugar. That seems like too much, and could be reduced to maybe 1/4. Marinating takes 2 hours, but everything else is quick.

7) Make Eggplant BBQ with Fresh Chive Vinaigrette - This recipe sounds the most original. It also doesn’t require much time. When can you say you last barbequed an eggplant?

8) Cook up Brazilian Beach Skewers - For people who do eat cheese, there is an intriguing recipe using Halloumi, which is a middle eastern cheese usually only made from goat and sheep milk. You can probably get it at a middle eastern grocery store, and some supermarkets might carry it. (A simple recipe once you have acquired the Halloumi.)

9) Grill BBQ Seitan Ribs - SusanV of the FatFree Vegan Kitchen blog has a recipe for ribs that sounds good, though it is not entirely fat free. This one requires you have your own sauce. She says it is easy to make, but the recipe requires something called liquid smoke.

10) Buy whole wheat bread and buns for your barbecue. They will give you more fiber and are much more more nutritious than empty carbohydrates. Also load up on fresh corn-on-the-cob. It is delicious alternative to the other white carbs.

Enjoy these activities!

OVERALL RATING (of a healthier 4th of July):

Make your own healthy vegan granola!

Here's a great recipe from Tropical Traditions to make your own all-natural, vegan granola. You can find the freshest ingredients at your local farmer's market, or online at Tropical Traditions which has some of the lowest prices you'll find for oats, vanilla and coconut oil.

Servings: 12
Preparation Time: 10 minutes

• 4 cups oats
• 1/2 cup pumpkin seed kernels
• 1/2 cup chopped raw almonds
• 1/2 cup sunflower seed kernels
• 3/4 cup agave nectar (or a little less if you don't like granola sweet!)
• 1/2 cup coconut oil
• 2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 cup raisins or dried cranberries
• 1/2 cup roasted peanuts

Instructions
1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2) Combine oats, pumpkin seed kernels, chopped almonds, and sunflower seed kernels in a large bowl.

3) In a saucepan on the stove, melt together the honey, coconut oil, cinnamon, and vanilla, stirring occasionally, until combined.

4) Pour honey mixture over oat mixture and stir to coat.

5) Spread oat mixture into baking pans (metal pans cook faster than glass). Bake for 20 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes.

6) After baking, add dried cranberries or raisins and roasted peanuts. Enjoy granola with  almond milk or soy yogurt and some fruit!

(Recipe submitted by Rachel, Eugene, OR)


OVERALL RATING:

Cafe Green

I first went to Cafe Green near Dupont Circle just weeks after they opened in April and immediately fell in love! This cozy new place is a cafe downstairs and sit-down restaurant upstairs. They have one of the most extensive menus of vegan and raw food in D.C. including an amazing raw chocolate cheesecake (see pic below) that is simply divine! My favorite dishes are the avocado salad, steak and cheese sandwich (which is with bbq seitan and mock meat) and their vegan sweet potato gnocchi, which is creamy, with a lemony twist. They also have tons of raw salads, fresh smoothies, coconut water and a slew of desserts. While it is a bit expensive for a cafe, the restaurant is much cheaper than other comparable raw restaurants. I was pleasantly pleased to find that raw salads and desserts at Cafe Green are in the $6-$8 range, while desserts are in the $16-$18 at Pure Food and Wine in Manhattan. The restaurant is new  and still in the process of finding its feet. In the mean time, give it a try! It's centrally located at 1513 17th St. NW. Washington, D.C.

OVERALL RATING: A