9 Tips for Healthy Grilling
Summer’s long, warm evenings offer great opportunities to enjoy the outdoors, with many turning to grilling and barbecuing with family and friends.
With July designated National Grilling Month and July 13 designated National Barbecue Day, your local Capital Women’s Care team of women’s health professionals offers you helpful tips to create healthy, nutritious grilled and barbecued foods. We also share the best practices for grilling and barbecuing low-fat foods that are healthy, nutritious and tasty, plus healthful menu ideas you and your family can incorporate into your grilling and barbecuing repertoire for delicious, healthy al fresco eating.
- Location, location, location. Where you grill is key to safe outdoor cooking. Avoid placing your grill under an overhang, in your garage or screened-in porch to avoid potential fire hazards; this holds true for both charcoal and gas-powered grills. Also, position your grill more than 10 to 15 feet away from your home to avoid fire danger. If you’re hosting families with kids, be sure to keep young children away from food prep and grilling areas.
- Choose the best proteins. Boneless and skinless chicken breasts, boneless fish filets, turkey burgers and pork tenderloin all are excellent choices for healthy, low-fat main dishes that are also high in protein.
Wrap fish in foil or use a grill basket so it doesn’t fall through grill grates. You can add flavorful, aromatic vegetables (onions, leeks, garlic cloves, tomatoes, or bell peppers.) Citrus juices, wine and vinegars with various spices also add healthy flavor while keeping proteins moist. Low-sodium dry rubs are also a great way to add flavor. Oil-based marinades (especially those created from scratch) stave off potential carcinogens associated with grilling.
Other seafood options ideal for grilling include shrimp, salmon, scallops, tilapia, cod and lobster tail.
Create flavorful turkey burgers with chopped mushrooms, pepper and onion or chicken kabobs featuring colorful cubed or sliced fresh fruits and/or vegetables.
Maintain healthy portions by keeping single protein servings to the size of your palm, or roughly 3 to 6 ounces a person.
- Create colorful, low-calorie sides. Be creative with side dishes. You can avoid saturated fat-laden items by offering low-calorie sides. Add a variety of both fruit and veggies to ramp up your family’s nutrition. Use a grill basket and sprinkle with olive oil and spices to augment natural flavors. You can also make individual, customized foil packets of different fruits and veggies ahead of time.
Some fresh foods to consider include squash, bell peppers, tomatoes, onions, mushrooms, potatoes, eggplant, asparagus and zucchini, to name a few.
Fresh fruit ideal for grilling includes pears, peaches, pineapple chunks, apricots, cantaloupe, honeydew and mangoes, among others.
- Make your own marinades, sauces and rubs. Healthy marinades and sauces use olive oil as a base and oftentimes incorporate vinegars, fruit juices, wines, spices and fresh herbs to create low-calorie, low-sodium unique flavors to enhance grilled or barbecued proteins and sides.
Highlight foods’ simple grilled goodness and flavors. Don’t drown your grilled masterpiece dishes in salty sauces, sugary condiments or heavy dressings.
You can make large batches of marinades or sauces if you frequently grill or barbecue and store unused portions in an airtight container in your refrigerator. By making your own marinades, sauces and rubs, you avoid consuming excess sodium, a noted contributing factor to high blood pressure.
For marinades, mix ingredients together and let proteins marinate prior to grilling in the refrigerator to mingle flavors and help proteins tenderize. Try this simple marinade recipe or find other healthy marinade alternatives here.
Make a simple rub of your favorite spice (like allspice, chili powder, cinnamon, cumin, garlic powder, paprika or rosemary) and black pepper.
Safety tip: never reuse marinade or rub after raw meat, poultry or fish has touched it.
If sugar is included as a sauce ingredient, be sure to brush the sauce onto foods later in the grilling process to avoid burning or charring.
- Eliminate and trim fat. Trim proteins of excess fat and be sure to remove skin prior to marinading, saucing or adding rub. Use healthy fats to brush onto proteins during grilling or in your favorite marinade recipe. Make sure fat drips away from all food surfaces while grilling so it burns off while cooking.
- Lighten up traditional side dishes. Avoid the heavy, saturated fats and excessive sodium and sugars often found in deli-prepared foods like baked beans or potato and macaroni salads by making your own healthier versions. You can also swap out these traditional barbecue favorites with a lighter leafy green and/or mixed fruit salad, homemade coleslaw with raspberry vinaigrette dressing, or a 3-bean salad using items from your local farmers’ markets or backyard veggie garden.
- Include whole grains. Use whole grain buns and rolls to add fiber, flavor and texture or elect to offer lettuce wraps as a healthy alternative.
- Finish your meal with natural summer sweets. Cut out heavy, fat- and added sugar-laden desserts like pies, cakes and cookies and offer grilled fruits, homemade frozen fruit popsicles or frozen grapes, or even a tossed fruit salad as nutritious, low-calorie dessert options.
During grilling, natural fruit sugars caramelize, heightening fruits’ natural sweetness.
Try serving sliced grilled apple, pear or pineapple or halved bananas, figs, nectarines, peaches or plums. Serve as dessert on their own or over a serving of banana-inspired “nice cream” for a healthy, nutritious finish to your meal.
- Keep it clean. Be sure to follow safe food preparation guidelines and clean your grill racks and all used equipment and accessories after each grilling adventure. Follow manufacturers’ recommendations regarding proper surface cleaning of your grill so you and your family can continue to enjoy grilling through the summer and beyond.
Fun Summer Activities
There are many fun things you can incorporate into backyard grilling and barbecuing with family and friends.
Some family friendly activities include:
- catching lightning bugs.
- star gazing, either lying down on a blanket or using a telescope to stare at stars and planets.
- yard games like volleyball, dodge or kick ball, badminton, croquet, corn hole, Frisbee or tag.
- sidewalk chalk.
- enjoying an outdoor movie using a sheet as a projection screen.
- adult-monitored campfire or sparklers.
- or any of these other summer activity ideas for kids of all ages.
Your Capital Women’s Care team of expert women’s health care professionals is here to address your questions and concerns relating to healthy nutrition plus any women’s health issue. Our premier group of doctors, nurses and support staff prioritizes comprehensive care and treatment to help you optimize your personal health and wellbeing, so you enjoy a long quality life.
Sources:
https://nationaltoday.com/national-grilling-month/
https://www.brighamandwomensfaulkner.org/about-bwfh/news/tips-for-healthy-and-tasty-backyard-cooking
https://www.heart.org/en/healthy-living/healthy-eating/add-color/top-ten-tips-for-healthy-grilling-and-barbecuing
https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/5-tips-for-healthy-grilling-201305276318
https://www.livestrong.com/article/13719671-healthy-grilling-tips/
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/healthiest-way-to-cook-meat
https://www.cookinglight.com/cooking-101/is-grilling-safe
https://runwildmychild.com/100-outdoor-summer-activities/
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