Add to your spirited summer celebrations with the good ol’ red, white and blue (and eat healthy, too!).

Start with the red foods. The red hue found naturally in fruits and vegetables comes from anthocyanins, an antioxidant that clears away free radicals from your system. Red foods have even been linked with reducing LDL cholesterol and blood pressure.

Think roasted red bell peppers and juicy tomatoes for burgers; strawberries and raspberries for easy snacking. Watermelon is an obvious choice, and can be used to make salads, salsas and sorbets.

Next, focus on the white foods. Grill white fish, lean cuts of pork, ground turkey or even chicken breasts for a high-protein, low-calorie cookout that can still include burgers and sandwiches.

Greek yogurt will allow you to serve the dips and spreads you love without the fat and calories. Substitute 0% fat plain Greek yogurt instead of sour cream or cream cheese in your recipes for virtually no calories and all of the flavor.

Then, add in the blue foods. The obvious choice is blueberries - plump little berries bursting with a sweet juice and loads of antioxidants. Try a blueberry sauce over your white meat choices. Blue corn tortilla chips are often a slightly healthier choice than many traditional varieties. Usually baked and made with little-to-no added sodium, they even seem a little sturdier when scooping up your favorite dips.

Take it all the way with red, white and blue in one dish! Go for red, white and blue nachos with blue corn tortilla chips, fresh tomato salsa and fat-free sour cream.

Layered gelatin desserts are exciting to serve, and guests love the cool fruity and creamy layers. Don’t forget the drinks! Make a non-alcoholic version of our red, white and blue sangria by simply substituting lemon-lime soda for the wine.

RED

Watermelon Salad

Quick, easy, cool and refreshing...perfect for any summer get-together!

4 cups cubed watermelon

fresh basil leaves

4 oz. crumbled feta cheese

extra virgin olive oil

black pepper

Toss together watermelon and feta. Top with basil leaves, drizzle with olive oil and garnish with pepper.

WHITE

Hidden Valley Yogurt Vegetable Dip

Only 10 calories per tablespoon!

3/4 tsp. Hidden Valley Original Mix

1 cup 0% fat plain Greek yogurt

2 tsp. parsley

2 tsp. dry onion or chives

Blend all ingredients and chill for at least 1 hour before using.

BLUE

Blueberry Meat Sauce

Serve over fish, pork, chicken or beef!

2 tsp. hot sauce (adjust amount to your liking, mild to hot)

2 tbls. lemon juice

salt and pepper to taste

1 tbls. red wine

1 tsp. garlic

1/4 cup blueberries

1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce

1/4 cup brown sugar

Combine all ingredients in sauce pan and bring to a boil over med-hi heat. Lower heat and simmer 15 minutes or until sauce is reduced by about 1/3 and slightly thickened.

Bring Them All Together!

Red, White and Blue Sangria

You can’t get more summer than this!

One bottle white wine of your choice (I recommend Sauvignon Blanc or Pinot Grigio)

1/3 container of fruit juice concentrate (choose white grape, apple cherry, or whatever your preference)

¼ cup blueberries

¼ cup raspberries

½ cup cleaned strawberries

Pour wine into large pitcher, add fruit concentrate and stir. Lightly muddle berries in large bowl until a bit of juice starts to form.

Add fruit to the wine mixture and stir.

Serve chilled.

Red, White and Blue Showstopper Dessert

Prepare with sugar-free gelatins, sugar substitute, fat-free milk and reduced-fat sour cream for a low-cal diabetic friendly dessert sure to WOW!

2 pkgs. (3 oz. each) berry blue gelatin

2 pkgs. (3 oz. each) strawberry gelatin

4 cups boiling water, divided

2-1/2 cups cold water, divided

2 envelopes unflavored gelatin

2 cups milk

1 cup sugar

2 cups (16 oz.) sour cream

2 tsp. vanilla extract

In four separate bowls, dissolve each package of gelatin in 1 cup boiling water. Add 1/2 cup cold water to each and stir. Pour one bowl of blue gelatin into a 10-in. fluted tube pan coated with cooking spray; chill until almost set, about 30 minutes.

Set other three bowls of gelatin aside at room temperature. Soften unflavored gelatin in remaining cold water; let stand 5 minutes.

Heat milk in a saucepan over medium heat just below boiling. Stir in softened gelatin and sugar until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat; stir in sour cream and vanilla until smooth. When blue gelatin in pan in almost set, carefully spoon 1-1/2 cups sour cream mixture over it. Chill until almost set, about 30 minutes.

Carefully spoon one bowl of strawberry gelatin over cream layer.

Chill until almost set. Carefully spoon 1-1/2 cups cream mixture over the strawberry layer. Chill until almost set. Repeat, adding layers of blue gelatin, cream mixture and strawberry gelatin, chilling in between each. Chill several hours or overnight.

Sources: www.tasteofhome.com, www.allrecipes.com, www.webMD.com