Aside from being an incredible fireworks extravaganza and one of the most important holidays celebrated in the US, 4th of July is also one of the biggest grilling events of the year.
The weather is usually nice enough to be outdoors the whole day, and other than playing, swimming or chatting, we eat.
Grilling is the most fun for Independence Day, since it's no fun sitting in the overheated kitchen, and it's also easier to grill the amounts of food needed for all the guests than prepare them in pots and pans.
Throwing some ribs and burgers on the grill is just a matter of seconds, and every household has that master of charcoal who will make sure the meat is perfectly done.
But what if there are some vegetarians in the company? We all try to put out a couple of different salads and other side dishes, like corn on the cob, that can be enjoyed by our vegetarian friends, but why not go a bit further? And for that matter, why not put together a meal everybody will be able to enjoy no matter what their nutritional restrictions? Keeping in mind that we have guests who avoid certain foods not only makes us considerate hosts, but also allows for more variety at the table.
Let's say we want to accommodate those not eating meat.
If they are not avoiding seafood, all we need to do is make sure we have some fish to toss on the grill, maybe shrimp or soft shell crabs to make sandwiches.
If we add for example crumbled bacon or ham to a salad, it's easy to do that in the end, and just before getting to that step we can put part of the salad in a separate container, so that everybody can enjoy it.
For those watching their diet, let's remember to include items that are healthy, but still delicious.
If somebody is watching their carbohydrate intake, they will skip pasta salad and a burger roll, but they can still have green salad with grilled shrimp or a soy burger on low carb bread.
Those avoiding fats should also have a choice, so if there are chips and dips, let's make sure that next to potato chips and cream cheese based dip we have salsa or low fat spinach dip served with tortilla or baked pita bread chips.
After we stick to all different dietary needs, we may feel that serving a pie and ice cream is okay for a nice finish.
Keep in mind, though, that dairy and flour may be allergens, not to mention that after a day of eating, your guests might feel heavy.
Sometimes it's best to serve a lighter treat, like grilled fruit, rhubarb compote, homemade Popsicles with fruit pieces or frozen grapes.
Your guests will definitely be grateful to you for having their sweets craving taken care of in a low calorie, low carb, low fat and non-meat way.