Heart healthy ideas for the grill
Make your barbeque the healthiest one on the block. Here are five simple ways to make your grilled food as nutritious as it is delicious.
Simplify with the 3 Fs – fish, foil, flavour. Sprinkle some fresh herbs and lemon juice over a fillet of salmon, tilapia or trout. Wrap it up with foil paper (shiny side in) and place it on the grill. The heat steams the fish, and all the flavour is locked in. What a fast, easy and delicious way to enjoy heart healthy fish. Bonus – the clean-up is a breeze!
Go with veggies. Let veggies take centre stage on the BBQ. Grill red peppers, eggplant and zucchini. They’re wonderful in a salad, in a sandwich or on their own as a side dish. Consider veggie kabobs with cherry tomatoes, orange and green peppers, Portobello mushrooms and red onions.
Put fruit on the grill. Wow your family and guests with grilled peaches, pears, nectarines and pineapple. Use fresh, ripe fruit. Halve the peaches, pears and nectarines. Slice the pineapple into thick rings. Grill the pineapple rings until the fruit gets tender or until the grill marks show. Dice the grilled fruit to make a salsa, chop and toss it into a pasta salad or serve it with low-fat vanilla yogurt for dessert.
Keep the meat lean. Skip the chicken wings and pork ribs. Boneless, skinless chicken and pork loin are heart healthier alternatives. Try our Chicken Tikka recipe, which uses a non-fat yogurt and spice marinade, or make our Honey Ginger Chicken Kabobs recipe that perfectly blends honey, ginger, Dijon mustard and other marinade ingredients. And our Gingered BBQ Pork with Fresh Mango Salsa recipe pairs meat with fruit for a refreshing taste.
Try something meatless. Ever tried grilled soy burger? It’s lower in fat than a typical hamburger, and you can still dress it up with ketchup, mustard, relish, tomatoes and grilled veggies. You can even grill tofu. First, cut thick slices of firm tofu and soak them in your favourite marinade overnight. Or buy pre-marinated firm tofu cubes and thread them on your veggie kabobs.