If you love grilling out as much as we do, here are a few healthy grilling tips to make eating from your BBQ much healthier:
1. Don’t char your food: Although charred meat can look and even taste good, it’s been found to be carcinogenic. When meat or fish is grilled there are 2 kinds of chemical compounds that form, and that are of great concern. HCA’s form at high temperatures and are found particularly in the charred edges of the food. HCA’s are also found in cigarette smoke and are anticipated to be a carcinogen. PAH’s form when the fat or juice drops onto the hot coals and forms smoke, which swirls around your food. To mitigate these dangerous compounds I recommend that you: Remove any chargrilled skin, cook at a lower temperature or even pre-cook food first, and finally marinate using lemon juice and fresh rosemary (both of which will help to mitigate these compounds too.)
2. Pre-clean your grill: Because of the aforementioned compounds, it’s really important to scrub your grill, particularly the grates,
very clean before heating. Make sure any old bits of char-grilled food and fat have been completely removed.
3.Baking Soda to the rescue: Cover the drip pan/tray of your grill with a 1-inch layer of baking soda. This will help to absorb a lot of the fat and grease and thus lesson the amount of smoke that hot grease produces.
4. Say no to nitrates: Nitrates in meats have been linked to cancer. Make sure you always buy “nitrate-free” hot dogs, ham, bacon and cold cuts. I like Applegate Farms meats.
5. Search for some tasty meat alternatives: Veggie Burgers and meatless sausages are better than ever. My favorite Veggie Burger is made by Wildwood and by favorite veggie sausage by Field Roast.
6. Healthy Coleslaw: Coleslaw is a BBQ staple – make it healthier by using equal parts mayo and plain
low-fat yogurt for the dressing.
7.Think outside the box: Try grilling fruits and veggies that you wouldn’t normally think about throwing on your grill. I love to grill Romaine lettuce, Raddiccio, plums and peaches.
8. Grass-fed: If you’re going to grill beef, make sure it’s organic and grass-fed. Grass-fed, organic beef is way healthier because it contains less fat and more good Omegas. Bison or buffalo is also a good choice.
9. No to Mercury: Avoid mercury-laden fish such as swordfish and all kinds of Tuna. Sole, Black Cod, and Tilapia are often healthier and more sustainable.
10. Go Veggie: My favorite veggie things to cook on my grill are Portobello Mushrooms and Grilled Pizza. My family and I are veggie 90% of the time. This saves us money and helps us to stay healthy.
