Adding fresh herbs to your barbeque recipes adds low-calorie flavor -- and makes grilling safer.

So, have you done your grocery shopping for the big cookout this weekend? Before you do, think about how comfortable you really are with blowing several days' worth of calories in one big, fatty meal. Since you're here, chances are good you'd rather keep the damage to a minimum. And no, lightening up your Fourth of July spread of food doesn't make you any less patriotic.

Want to cut some calories without sacrificing flavor? The video below has some great tips. We want to hear from you, too. Share your top tips for a slimmed-down barbecue in the comments!

Nothing says summer like a backyard barbecue. And nothing says summer weight gain like heavy potato salads, chips and dip and sugar-rich desserts. In fact, that plate full of food can set you back up to 2,000 calories.

Whether you're hostessing and want to serve up healthy sides to your guests or are bringing a dish so you know there's something you can enjoy without all the extra fat and calories, here are delicious and nutritious tips for your next BBQ:

• Use whole wheat pasta in your pasta salad and go heavy on the vegetables, light on the dressing.
• Grill angel food cake and serve up with fresh strawberries and low-cal whipped topping.
• Roll your corn on the cob in mixed herbs or with a dash of lime sauce, rather than butter.
• Go ahead and serve those baked beans, just skip the meat and add some extra vegetables. Or better yet, try a bean salad instead.
• Skip the dip and serve up fresh, crunchy veggies with salsa or hummus.

It's BBQ season, so if you're looking for more tips on how to make your grilling habits healthier, check out our posts on creative cookouts, grilling fruits and vegetables and good for you BBQs.

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We at That's Fit and AOL Health know you've got a lot going on in your lives besides staying in great shape, and we realize that more than just diet and exercise goes into feeling your best every day. That's why we're sharing some of the exciting reporting going on at AOL Health.

It's almost Memorial Day and that means it's almost summer. But that doesn't mean it's too late to get in gear for the bikini-sporting season. At AOL Health, you'll find a tempting array of lean meals in the "Summer-Body Diet Plan," as well as a few foods you shouldn't eat in our photo gallery of summer health food shockers. Plus, test your knowledge of picnic, barbecue and amusement park fare in our "Which Summer Food is Diet-Friendly?" quiz challenge.

Studies reveal that boiling or grilling meats over too much heat creates chemicals, known as HCAs, that may be carcinogenic. I think it's a fair assumption that nobody wants their summer barbecue to be cancer-causing, so follow these safe cooking tips to reduce that risk:

Marinate your meats before grilling them. Studies have shown that marinating before grilling works very well to reduce the amount of potentially dangerous chemicals in meats.

Don't eat the charred parts. Simple enough, right? If the research is sound and charred meat may be carcinogenic, then an easy solution is to completely avoid any blackened portions while you feast on your beast.

Grill meats at a moderate temperature over embers, not fired-up coals. And flip your meats often, as this prevents charring and also kills bacteria.

Avoid meats that are high in fat, such as ribs or sausage, and remove skin from chicken. The added fat will drip into the flames below and cause smoke and flame flares.

For more ways to keep your summer grilling healthy, follow this link to the website for the American Institute for Cancer Research.

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Here are some "kick butt" tips for keeping fit, active and regret free on the Fourth of July from KickYourButtIntoGear.com. As KickYourButtIntoGear.com is owned and managed by a fellow expert in the field of fitness, Exercise Physiologist, Tracy Benham ... the tips are awesome advice for you and you family to adhere to!

• Sports and summertime go together. Plan an activity early in the day. Play baseball, touch football; go to the local pool or beach.
• Get outside early and see if you can think of and do more than four activities before four o'clock to celebrate the Fourth.
• Eat a bowl of fruit before you head for the barbecue goodies. Tons of fruits are in season. Make a Fourth of July fruit cocktail. Blueberries, raspberries, strawberries...
• Use a plate. You will be less tempted to mindlessly snack.
• Skip the cheese and the Mayo on your burger and load up on lettuce tomatoes, pickles, onions and relish.
• Alternate cocktails and other caloric beverages with a glass of water. Or ... just avoid the high calorie beverages all together!

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Tomorrow is the Fourth of July and chances are you'll be celebrating with family, friends and a big ole' plate of food. But Independence Day doesn't have to mean diet disaster!

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We Canadians just finished celebrating our country's birth on July first, and you folks in the USA will be doing the same this coming July 4th. And chances are you'll be celebrating by spending time with friends and family at a barbecue, where you'll enjoy plenty of goodies and maybe even a few adult beverages. Now, there's nothing wrong with indulging every now and then, but if you're watching what you eat, it's a good idea to get informed and know how many calories you're ingesting.

What foods will you be enjoying at your 4th of July barbecue? One item that's a staple at many of the events I've been to is hot dogs. Juicy, covered in ketchup and served on a fresh bun, few things say 'barbecue' like a dog. But my Spidey senses tell me they're not the best nutritional value out there. What do you think?

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If you've been elected to host this year's 4th of July party, you have only a few days left to get everything prepared. Sure, people will probably show up with some food and drinks of their own, but let's face it, it's incumbent upon you to make sure everyone's well fed.

As you endeavor to fulfill that obligation -- and while you rethink making the offer of having the party at your place -- there are steps you should also take to make sure your party is safe. Great ... just one more thing to worry about, right? No at all, because we've already got you covered. A tip of the hat to the folks over at HealthCentral.com for coming up with the following list of grilling do's and don'ts:

1. Be organized
2. Gauge your fuel
3. Direct grilling is a high heat cooking method
4. Keep it clean
5. Keep it lubricated
6. Turn, don't stab
7. Know when to baste
8. Keep it covered
9. Give it a rest
10. Never desert your post

I have to be honest, tips 4 and 5 make me wonder exactly what goes on at a HealthCentral barbecue. Nevertheless, you can also find tips on their site on how to keep your 4th of July party safe and fun for people with allergies. To find out more, click here (lubrication not required).

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The smell of barbecue is back in the neighborhood. And how sweet it is.

Do you know anyone who doesn't like a grilled dinner? And most grilled dinners, even the traditional burgers or dogs, can be quite healthy when paired with green salad and fresh fruit. Even the most die-hard heart-attack food lovers can be suckers for grilled veggies. My favorite is yellow squash with olive oil, garlic, sea salt and fresh ground pepper. My almost three-year-old daughter adores corn on the cob fresh from the 'cue. We do all the classics: burgers, dogs, steaks, chicken, various veggies, a mix of stuff on kabobs and more.

This season, I'm looking forward to trying some new things. The Food Network has tons of great spring and summer grilling ideas. Some are really unique. At least to me. What really caught my attention were all the recipes for grilled fruit. If you've never had it, plan it as part of your meal. Tonight. I've done melon and pineapple. But I love the idea of doing nectarines and plums, too. Mmmm.

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Barbecuing is one of the great things about summer. But as I mentioned in this post, all that fatty meat can be a recipe for disaster. So what can you do to make your backyard barbecue healthy and fun for the whole family? Well, we've written a lot on summer barbecues -- there's these suggestions from our own Jessica, these ideas for games, and then there's this article from Glee Magazine, which lists some suggestions for your summer backyard barbecues:

• Have veggie burgers instead of beef burgers
• Replace potato chips with soy chips
• Enjoy a fruit-based dessert instead of s'mores

They also suggest using vegan cheese instead of regular cheese, but being a die-hard cheese fan, I can't advocate that. After all you need to have some fun at the barbecue, right?

Another thing I love at barbecues is fresh veggies cooked on the grill. What about you?

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There are certain factors out there that help make us -- and keep us -- heavy. But in order to achieve our goals, we need to identify those things and stop letting them affect us. Canada.com has identified some factors that might be contributing to our summer weight gain, including:

• Air conditioning: We're more likely to overeat when we're in a cool environment than if we're embedded in overwhelming heat. I guess you could say it's an evolutionary phenomenon -- it's our nature to try to fatten up while it's cold.
• Barbecue: It's way to easy to overdo it on the fatty meats when it's so easy to grill them
• Iced coffee beverages: They're a great alternative to that hot coffee -- but they pack a wallop, both in calories and fat. Yet because it's a beverage, we often don't thing of it as calorie-laden.
• Swimming pools. Do you ever find that after swimming, you're famished, even though all you did was toss a ball back and forth for the last 20 minutes? This swimmer's hunger can lead to over-indulgence -- watch out!

Yikes! Don't let them sabotage your healthy regime this summer!

(via Fitsugar)

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There are not many things I love more than a good summer barbecue, surrounded by friends and family, food and refreshments, fun and laughter. And I was reminded of the good old days of sumer barbecues when I read this post on Fitsugar -- It's a list of fun and easy backyard games, such as:

• Potato sack races: or pillow cases, in this day and age
• Egg-spoon relay races: Try not to drop it!
• Wheel-barrow races: This is a good workout too, if you're the wheel-barrow, that is!
• Water-balloon tosses: This is an especially good way to cool off on a really hot day

I love water games so one of my favourite backyard activities involved the Slip'n'Slide (also known as a Wet Banana, I think?) How about you?

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Summer to me means fresh fruit, herbs from the garden, grilling on the barbecue and long evenings with cool drinks and lots of laughs. It's a season that's not usually conducive to weight-loss, but it can be.

If this summer is the time you're going to lose that extra weight, eDiets has a solution for you -- the Fresh Diet Plan. They've put together a bunch of recipes that combine healthy, weight loss-inducing amounts of carbs, proteins and fats, and the recipes are full of fresh ingredients and flavours that make summer such a wonderfully tasty season.

What's your favourite healthy summer recipe?

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