Labor Day was created as a way to celebrate and highlight the struggles of the American worker for organized rights. It has since evolved into a general end-of-summer festival fling. Aside from family and friends, spirits and sun, there’s one other thing that gets folks in the mood to party. So, whether you’re outdoors on the grill or in the car and on the road, blast these tunes to help bid farewell to summer.

If we listed every track we wanted, we’d be here all day, so enjoy the (very) few that made the cut. And remember, while making your playlist, make sure to mix classics with currents, up-tempos with slow jams, and anything and everything that will incite a memory.

More Labor Day Goodies:

5 Foods You Didn’t Know You Could Grill

20 Ways To Enjoy The Last Days Of Summer!

Now that summer is around the corner, we’re looking forward to one of our favorite summer activity: Barbecues! For those who are looking for a compact and innovative grill for their backyard, France-based Focus Fireplace has designed a wall-mount flip-down charcoal barbecue for your day-to-day barbecue needs. This wall barbecue consists of a steel firebowl that folds up when not in use. The generous firebowl allows the barbecue to be used a number of times without having to empty out the ash, so you don’t need to fire up your large-sized pit unless you have friends and family coming over. The wall plate protects the wall from the smoke.

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FANTASY FRIDAY: 12 Must-Have Polka-Dot Pieces

FANTASY FRIDAY: Giuseppe Zanotti “Shield” Sandal

With summer in full swing you may be tempted by all the BBQs you’re invited to. Don’t worry, there are ways to enjoy a BBQ and stay on your diet plan. Check out these tips from SheKnows.com:

1) Veg out
Instead of sitting down to a plate of high-calorie ribs as your first course, load up on salad and veggies before you hit the grilled meats. You’ll not only get a healthy, low-calorie dose of antioxidants, you’ll be less likely to overeat the higher calorie foods. Make eating your veggies convenient and grill them in aluminum foil alongside the other grilled goodies.

2) Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate
Drinking a large glass of water before eating a meal will slow you down and help reduce your caloric intake. It can also help you avoid dehydration, which can sap your energy and cause false-hunger signals.

3) Go skinless
Before eating, remove the skin from chicken and turkey. Additionally, choose skinless ground poultry meat for your burgers. Be sure to check the label and choose the poultry that is lowest in fat.

How To BBQ Meatless

4) Watch your alcohol
Cold beers on a hot day go down fairly easily – but that doesn’t make them calorie- or carb-free. If you’re indulging in alcohol, it’s important to watch your carbs. To help reduce your alcohol intake, drink a glass of water in between each serving of alcohol. Also, to balance out the carbs, eat a few bites of protein for every beer or glass of wine you drink.

5) Don’t let the name “salad” fool you
Avoid potato and macaroni salads – they are loaded in saturated fats, carbs and starches – unless you know they are chockfull of chopped veggies and have been made with a low-fat dressing. Even still, don’t overindulge on the carb-heavy fare.

6) Use whole wheat buns
In addition to choosing whole wheat buns over white, eat your burger open-faced (one half of a bun) to even out your protein and carbohydrate ratio. You can also substitute pita bread for hot dog and burger buns.

For the rest of the tips click here.

Get Rid Of Those Holiday Pounds!

Even if you’re not a veggie someone who shows up to your barbecue could be a non-meat eater. It’s always a good idea to be prepared with some vegetarian friendly options and here’s how you can do it!

Veggie Burgers

The oldest staple for a vegetarian barbeque is the veggie burger. They are produced by a multitude of manufacturers, the most well-known being Gardenburger, Boca, and Morningstar Farms. For those unfamiliar with vegetarian food, there are many varieties of veggie burgers to choose from. The options range from the original Gardenburger, to the Boca Cheeseburger, to the Philly Cheesesteak Burgers by Morningstar Farms. Veggie burgers can be grilled just like normal hamburgers; however, if grilled next to real meat, veggie burgers can be wrapped in foil to keep them from coming in contact with the meat’s juices. Veggie burgers can be garnished any way one likes, with or without cheese, on a traditional bun with lettuce, tomato, and mayo, or on whole-wheat bread with sprouts and honey-mustard.

Newer options for vegetarian grilling are imitation hotdogs and imitation chicken. These items are usually found next to the veggie burgers in the frozen foods section of your supermarket. Veggie dogs are fairly simple, and do not come in as many varieties as veggie burgers, but they taste like the real thing, and cook quickly. Eat them with or without a bun, with mustard, ketchup, or relish. An added bonus: these dogs are low in calories and fat, so you can eat more than one without feeling guilty.
Imitation Chicken

Imitation chicken comes in almost as many varieties as veggie burgers do. There are breaded chicken patties, chicken nuggets, even buffalo wings. Most of these products, including the veggie burgers and veggie dogs, contain soy as a major ingredient. However, the imitation chicken products made by the brand Quorn contain mycoprotein, a member of the fungi family, as the main ingredient. Quorn’s Naked Chik’n Cutlets are perfect for grilling, and can be dressed with any sauce (including barbeque sauce) prior to setting on the grill.

Of course, the real vegetarian staple–the vegetable–must not be forgotten. One great burger substitute is a large portabella mushroom, grilled on its own or smothered in Worcestershire sauce, and eaten on a bun, perhaps topped with some grilled onions. Shish kabobs are also great for grilling: just cut up any variety of vegetables and put them on a skewer, with or without a marinade. The veggie burgers, meatless hot dogs, and imitation chicken mentioned above are also great over salads; after grilling, just throw them on top of a bed of lettuce and top with some tomatoes, and suddenly eating a salad will become much more mouth-watering.

Read more here!

Whether you’re planning on keeping things low key at home or going all out, here are some simple recipes to help make your life easy this 4th of July:

BBQ Ribs

Ingredients

4 pounds Pork baby back ribs
1 cup Barbecue Sauce

Instructions

1 Cut ribs into 2-rib sections.

2 Place in Dutch oven or large saucepan. Add enough water to completely cover ribs; cover with lid. Bring to boil; simmer on medium-low heat 20 min. Drain.

3. heat grill to medium heat. Grill ribs 10 min. or until done, turning occasionally and brushing generously with barbecue sauce.

4th of July must have items

Home Made Potato Salad

Recipe Ingredients:

8 large baking potatoes.
1/2 white or yellow onion (optional)
4 large eggs
1 tsp salt
2/3 cup mayonaise
8 oz sweet relish
sprinkle paprika

Boil the potatoes until they are done but not overcooked
Boil the eggs over medium high heat until hard boiled.
Allow the potatoes and eggs to cool.
Peel the potatoes and then slice into chunks.
Peel and slice the egg into 1/2 inch pieces.
Chop the onion into very small pieces.
Stir all ingredients gently except for the paprika.
After all ingredients are well mixed, pour into a bowl.
Add the parika across the top.
Store in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

BBQ Chicken

Serves 4
Prep time: 5 Minutes
Total Time: 35 Minutes

Ingredients

vegetable oil, for grates
2 tablespoons paprika
2 tablespoons chili powder
coarse salt & ground pepper
1 chicken (about 3 pounds) cut into 10 pieces
2 cups Barbecue Sauce

1. Heat grill to medium. Lightly oil grates. In a small bowl, combine paprika, chili powder, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper; sprinkle spice rub all over chicken. Reserve 1 cup barbecue sauce in small bowl for serving. Keep remaining sauce in another bowl for basting.

2. Grill chicken, turning often, until cooked through, 15 to 20 minutes (if browning too quickly, move to cooler part of grill). During final 5 minutes of cooking, baste chicken with barbecue sauce. Serve chicken with reserved sauce.

Simple yet satisfying burgers

This extremely simple recipe is good for beef burgers, turkey burgers, and most likely any other kind of burger you come up with.

Ingredients:

Burgers, beef, turkey, or chicken
1/4 cup Teriyaki Sauce
2 tablespoons Onion Powder
2 tablespoons Garlic Powder

Marinate 4 burgers in the Teriyaki sauce, onion powder, and garlic powder for 15 minutes. Don’t worry about exact measurements here, you just want to make sure that both sides of the burgers are well coated and nicely saturated. Grill or cook until desired level of preparedness is done. This is a very simple recipe but kicks up the taste of a plain burger to a very satisfying level.

Patriotic cupcakes for your 4th of July bash