Gracefoods

As the big celebration approaches many people in the Americas are planning those weekend cookouts, usually bundled with a family get together. We don't want to keep you away from organizing your thing, so here are some quick reminders for the family event planners:

Spend less time in the kitchen… more time having fun
With all your family and friends around and the numerous events, fireworks and concerts to attend around July 4th,  please plan events so you can be apart of it and not just stand on the sidelines looking in. The best way to achieve this is to plan ahead and recruit other family members for help so things can get done quickly.

Try to cook meals that won't take much time. They'll taste just as good as the meals that take 4-hours to prepare! Another handy trick is to use 'ready-made' meals such as Grace's Caribbean Combos, Caribbean Traditions and Ready Mixes.

Preparing meals in advance will also come in handy. Simply cook meals, cool and then refrigerate until its time to serve. You can do this hours before, or even days ahead.

Cater to all diets
Increasingly, the diet types are getting more diverse. Some eat chicken but no red meat, or vice versa, some love pork, others don't. Then there are the fish only types, the vegetarians and the vegans.

The best thing to do is call those family and friends whose diets are different from yours, find out what they can eat and prepare accordingly. You won't want anyone feeling left out at the dinner table. Grace recently introduced a new vegetarian line called Grace Earth Chef that is already getting good reviews from those who have tried it. For now, it is only available in Jamaica.

Bring something new to the table
It's always good to try and add or change menu items at these family events.  It doesn't always have to be a bar-b-que every year. Mix it up by making it a 'B-Q 'n Jerk Day' or a Curry-Q.

If something bombs it simply becomes a conversation piece for the next event. Also think of changing the venue. Instead of a picnic at the park have one at the beach or by a river!

Add some 'Caribbean' to your American menu. We sense that most folks from the islands who now live up north do that anyway. But make it deliberate and get inventive in deciding what to mix with what. Bringing some Caribbean into your July 4th celebrations is also a nice way to celebrate your heritage and culture even as you join and enjoy American traditions.

A family event is a great place to celebrate diversity. Happy July Fourth.

source: http://wendywoocakes.files.wordpress.com/2009/04/flag-cake-003.jpg