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

Are you gearing up for a 4th of July celebration this weekend? The holiday is a perfect opportunity to gather family and friends together for a barbecue. Hopefully, after your holiday feast, you'll be able to catch an awesome fireworks display, too.

But you don't want your 4th of July food to blow up your healthy eating goals, do you? One of the more popular items on the menu for the weekend is probably BBQ chicken. But how many calories does that sweet, tangy, falling-off-the-bone barbecue favorite pack?

When I plan out meals for the week, I often look for ways to cut some corners on time. For example, if I'm going to brown ground turkey for lettuce wraps, I make sure to buy enough meat that I can reserve half of the browned meat for spaghetti or lasagna the next day. (If you're wondering about the lettuce wraps, I brown the meat, add teriyaki sauce and a little garlic, spoon the mixture into romaine leaves, and then top with shredded carrot -- delicious and healthy!)

Cooking Light has some ideas on how you can apply the "cook once, eat twice" principle to grilling. It's a great time saver and, when it comes to outdoor cooking, lighting up the grill only once for two meals is much better for the environment.

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This is one of those long weekends of summer that I truly look forward to. The county I live in has a fantastic fireworks show (the second largest display in our state, in fact). Plus it's just a great time to get together with family and friends. If you've got a 4th of July party to go to this weekend, consider bringing along a healthy and festive dish to pass. Some ideas:

• Blue corn chips and fresh salsa.
• A red, white, and blue veggie tray -- radishes, cauliflower, red pepper, purple pepper (it's close to blue anyway), cherry tomatoes, and so forth.
• Blueberries, strawberries, and star fruit make an all-American fruit salad
• Wrap turkey, tomato slices, low-fat cheese, and sprouts in blue corn tortillas -- cut them into small wedges for a tasty appetizer.

Lifescript has more ideas for healthy 4th of July foods.

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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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Summertime is both one of the easiest times to get in shape, thanks to motivational beach bikini's and outdoor-friendly weather, and one of the hardest, thanks to summer barbecues full of fattening buffet meals and sugary homemade desserts. So how can a person reap the benefits of warm weather, outdoor sports, and skimpy clothes without the downside of fattening foods and too much partying? One solution is to throw a barbecue or two yourself and make all the favorites (like coleslaw, potato salad, and baked beans) but make them healthier by leaving out the unnecessary fats and sugar. Nobody will even notice the difference, seriously!

Barbecue favorites, the healthy (and tasty!) way:

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There's just something about summertime that begs for food to be prepared on a grill. This summer, while grilling out, keep the environment in mind and make your barbeque a little greener:

• Often barbeques focus on the meat. But, when it comes to thinking green, meat production has a big impact on the environment. So, reduce the overall amount of meat you serve and make sure whatever meat you do grill was local, organic, and humanely-raised.
• Visit your farmer's market and buy some locally-grown organic veggies. Peppers, onions, zucchini, and summer squash are delicious when grilled. You can cut thick wedges, lightly brush them with olive oil, and grill. Or, skewer chunks of veggies and grill them like that. Corn is also great on the grill, but avoid the butter because it can really crank up the calories.
• Dice potatoes and grill them in a foil packet. You can also grill potatoes whole -- try a Yukon Gold sliced open and sprinkled with olive oil and rosemary. Thick wedges of sweet potato are also delicious on the grill.
• Serve a mixed greens salad topped with strawberries (all purchased from the farmer's market, of course).
  
• You can even grill fruit for dessert.
  

Your healthy -- and green -- feast is sure to be a hit with friends and family. Enjoy!

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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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As fabulous as we at That's Fit think this blog is, the truth is there are hundreds of wonderful blogs on healthy living to be seen all over the blogosphere. So in this feature, Fit Links, we'll introduce you to some that have caught our eye.

Memorial Day weekend is right around the corner, and for lots of families, that means the beginning of barbecue season! I just love the smell and taste of food cooked on a backyard grill. But depending on how you choose and prepare your food, grilled meals can either be healthy and full of nutrition, or dangerously full of fat and carcinogens. If you're a fan of grilling, get informed on the latest health-related grilling news with these blogs:

Purple Medical Blog features a great article on unsafe chemicals produced by barbecuing meats.

The Green Guide is a production of National Geographic that offers advice on green grilling. No, green grilling isn't just grilling things that are green. It's about making an effort to put the environment first, from using recyclable grilling equipment to environmentally conscious grill cleaning products.

The Livin' the Vida Low-Carb Blog is a great resource for everyone doing the low-carb thing. For starters, check out their recipe for healthy, low-carb grilled shrimp.