Patriotic RWB foods for Memorial Day weight loss

 At Memorial Day or Fourth of July picnics, you can usually find patriotic cookies, flag cakes and red,white and blue goodies? But what about those poor dieters who are trying to lose weight? What can they eat that's patriotic and fun? How 'bout these red, white and blue vegetables? Here are patriotic salads recipes, RWB appetizers and American themed veggie trays for weight loss, even on Memorial Day. 

Red vegetables: 

Tomatoes: vine-ripened, cherry, grape tomatoes are the best for patriotic salads. 

Radishes: perfectly patriotic vegetable with bright red skin and nice white flesh. Hold that thought, because we're going to get a little blue into our radishes later on. 

Red Peppers: Cut into strips these can be the stripes on your patriotic flag vegetable salad. Cut star shapes from red peppers and garnish potato salad or cole slaw. 

Red potatoes: Pierce skins, brush with cooking oil and roast on grill. Dice red potatoes with skins on for patriotic potato salad! 

Beets: Add peeled diced fresh or canned beets to potato salad. 

Cut star shapes from canned beets with cookie cutter. 

Blue vegetables: Purple cabbage: chop or shred for field of blue on the flag salad. Add shredded cabbage to patriotic potato salad. 

Purple Peppers: Cut into stars and stripes as you did red peppers. 

Eggplant: blue on the outside and white on the inside, here's a perfect patriotic vegetable.

Dye vegetables blue. Remember those blue radishes I promised? Here's how to get 'em. Tint water blue with food coloring, grape or blueberry juice. Place stem and root vegetables in water upright to absorb blue and dye the flesh. Dye lettuce leaves, celery, parsnips, cucumbers, bok choy, onions and cauliflower. Obtain natural dye, soaking purple cabbage

White Vegetables: Cauliflower: Chop fine and use for stars on patriotic flag salad. 

White sweet onions: dice or cut star shapes. Cucumbers: Peel, slice and cut star shapes. The inside already has a star pattern. 

Green cabbage appears white closer to core. 

Patriotic salads and vegetable appetizer recipes for weight loss

American Flag mashed potatoes. Smooth white mashed potatoes. Place diced or star shaped eggplant or purple peppers in the upper left hand corner and red pepper stripes. 

Stars and Stripes Vinaigrette: Toss red and purple pepper, cucumbers and onion stars with sliced grape tomatoes. Marinate in a sauce of half cup olive oil, 1 cup acai vinegar, 4 Tablespoons of mayonnaise, salt and pepper, garlic and celery seed. 

Patriotic Memorial Day slaw: Chop radishes, onions, white cabbage and purple peppers and blend with mayonnaise, horseradish and pepper. 

Patriotic potato salad: Cook peeled white potatoes or unpeeled red potatoes. Cube and add diced radishes, purple peppers, dyed celery, egg whites, cauliflower and onions. Blend with mayonnaise (light tastes just as good and saves tons of calories!)

Even if you're trying to lose weight you can still enjoy other foods on the Memorial Day picnic menu. Just remember moderation, or mind over platter, is the key. Eating these foods is part of how I lost 100 pounds.

Have a blessed Memorial Day and don't forget to give thanks for those who made it possible.