GUILTLESS SUMMER GRILLING



Teryaki glazed chicken, grilled pineapple, asparagus, and watermelon 


Nothing says summer like the smell of grilling out in the backyard! Summer cookouts provide a great opportunity to visit and impress friends and family with your skills at the grill. For your health's sake, be choosy about what you put on the grill. Steaks, hamburgers, and hotdogs can be loaded with calories, saturated fat, and cholesterol! This summer, add variety and healthy options to any cookout by grilling fruits and vegetables.

Grilling Fruits and Vegetables:
• Cooking vegetables right on the grill adds flavor to any meal. Baste firm vegetables like peppers, corn, eggplant or onions. Season them with herbs and place on a hot grill until they are tender and brown—usually about 10 to 15 minutes.
• Place sliced zucchini, tomatoes and carrots on heavy-duty foil and sprinkle with a olive or canola oil and seasoning. Wrap the foil and grill 6 to 8 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Minced garlic works great and also pick up an oil mister from Williams Sonoma to control calories.
• Make kabobs out of pineapples, peaches and bananas and grill on low heat until the fruit is hot and slightly golden.
• Grill asparagus, green beans, or broccoli and add, sprits of olive oil, minced garlic, lemon juice, and freshly cracked pepper for a delicious side dish.
• Use black beans and add to avocado, corn, red pepper, green pepper, Poblano peppers, lime juice, cumin, minced garlic, fresh ground black pepper, Tabasco sauce, tomatoes and use as an excellent dip for a party or serve over grilled chicken or fish (always a crowd favorite).
• Make a quick and easy Summer side salad with Spinach, grilled chicken or salmon, sliced onions, strawberries, blueberries, apples, walnuts, and reduced fat gorgonzola cheese with balsamic vinaigrette.


Another great reason to add fruits and vegetables to your outdoor cooking repertoire: With the abundance of produce available this time of year, it’s easy to eat your recommended 2 cups of fruits and 2 ½ cups of vegetables a day for optimal health. Remember: In order to make half of your plate fruits and vegetables, your grocery cart must be filled with half fruits and vegetables from the produce section.


Grilling Meats
Follow these tips when deciding what foods to include for the celebration:
• "Prime" cuts usually have more fat than "choice" or "select." Choose lean cuts of meat such as sirloin, ground round, etc.
• Look for ground beef with the lowest percentage of fat on the label. Try to choose 4% fat or lower.
• Grill lean turkey dogs, chicken sausages, buffalo burgers or veggie burgers in place of full-fat options, but make sure to compare the fat on the back of the nutrition facts label as marketing will fool you on many of the hot dog nutrient comparisons.
• Instead of fatty steaks, ribs, and chicken wings, try skinless boneless chicken breast or kabobs, and grilled fish such as salmon, halibut or shrimp
• When purchasing ground turkey, make sure to choose ground turkey breast as it will save you calories and saturated fat (the naughty artery clogging fat)
• Buy skinless, boneless, chicken breast without any added flavorings and use your own marinade to add flavor and decrease sodium.
• Instead of sautéed onions, put onions on the grill for great smoky flavor
• Go meatless and grill portabella mushroom burgers or black bean burgers, check out meatlessmeals.com
• Choose Healthy burger toppings such as grilled veggies, caramelized onions, spinach lettuce, tomatoes, pickes, spicy brown mustard, avocado, ketchup, portabella mushrooms, and laughing cow cheese wedges
• Use whole wheat buns or sandwich thins to increase your daily fiber intake from whole grains.


For side dishes, there are great tasting alternatives to heavy, mayonnaise salads and spreads. If a recipe calls for full-fat mayonnaise or sour cream, substitute a low-fat variation or you can use nonfat- plain Greek yogurt. I am personally a fan of Chobani or Fage. Greek yogurt can be used as a perfect substitute for mayo, sour cream, cream cheese, etc.. The tart flavor of non-fat plain Greek yogurt has double the protein of regular yogurt and less sugar. Your potato salads, chicken salads and baked potatoes won't know the difference.

Focus on Nutrient Rich Fruits and Veggie! Drop the DIET eat for LIFE!

Ok, so we all know we need to eat more fruits and veggies, but HOW can we possiblly fit 7-9 servings of fruits and vegetables into our daily meal plan. Well, I have listed some quick and easy tips and tricks to squeeze those antioxidant packed foods into your life for good!


Fill up on fruits and vegetables first! One of the main reasons that people eat fewer fruits and vegetables during the winter months, and particularly during the holidays, is because they fill up on other types of food first. Try to prioritize fruits and vegetables, and eat other types of food once you have reached your quota for fruits and vegetables.

Keep it simple-Do not over think this whole fruits and vegetables idea—just work it into your daily plan. Try these ideas:
Look at every time that you eat as a challenge and an opportunity for creativity. Work some produce into the mix, even if it is not a full serving.

Here are 20 Tips to Sneak Vegetables into Your EVERY MEAL!
*Twenty Ways to Increase Your Veggies*

1. Eating vegetables, whether canned or frozen is better than not eating any vegetables at all.
2. Grow a vegetable garden. There is nothing like the flavor of a homegrown vegetable. If space is limited, try planting in a pot of soil.
3. Change the texture of vegetables from cooked and soft to raw and crunchy. For example, instead of serving cooked carrots with a meal, try crisp raw carrots instead.
4. Adorn a favorite food with vegetables. Try topping your pizza with chopped bell peppers.
5. Do not be afraid to add a little butter or margarine if that makes the difference between eating vegetables or not. Also, try different recipes and cooking methods for preparing vegetables. MIX IT UP!
6. Enhance veggies with fresh herbs: such as garlic, ginger, and basil. YUM
7. Steam in a flavorful broth: such as low-sodium chicken or vegetable broth.
8. Throw some vegetables on the grill, either whole or large skewer pieces.
9. Always double your normal portion for vegetables and decrease your starches such as bread, pasta, and sugar. 1/2 of your plate should be fruits and veggies, 1/4 lean protein, and the remaing 1/4 starches.
10. Try low sodium v-8 juice for a beverage-it counts as a vegetable serving.
11. Try one new vegetable or vegetable based recipe each week.
12. Take advantage of packaged fresh salad greens like romaine, spinach, and spring mix blend for an instant easy salad.
13. Serve a festive vegetable-snacking platter at home or for parties. Include bell pepper rings and broccoli in addition to the usual veggies. You can make a quick dip like hummus or yogurt based ranch dip.
14. Add chopped tomatoes and other vegetables to burritos, tacos, and wraps.
15. When eating out, plan your meal around vegetables.
16. If eating fast food, try adding a side salad with your meal and always double your veggies.
17. Chop a variety of different vegetables and toss them in your salad.
18. Add leftover vegetables or frozen veggies to your favorite soup.
19. Stock your freezer with frozen vegetables so that even if you have been on vacation or haven't gone grocery shopping-you have no excuse not to eat them.
20. Trade out one meat dish for a vegetable based dish at least once per week. (for example, meatless monday)
See, you can do it, just have to put a little effort and pre-planning and now you can create a nutrient rich, high fiber powerhouse of fruits and vegetables. If you follow these tips- you won't have much room for other junk!