Grilling – Another Great Option for Healthy Eating

Atlanta Personal Chefs love to grill!  Grilling is tasty, low-fat, and with a gas grill, relatively easy to clean up afterwards.  With various options including citrus marinades, cedar plank fish, grilled veggies, or even fruit, the grill never gets boring.  Keep these tips in mind to maximize your grilling experience:

• Marinade!  Not only do marinades add tastiness and tenderness to grilled meats, they are also a key component to reducing cancer causing agents which can form on meats when they become charred.  This happens when fat from the meat drips and causes flare ups, which temporarily overheat the food on the grill, causing charring.  When this does happen, be sure to cut off the charred part of the meats so they are not ingested.
• Variety!  Think outside of the box and past your meat-only tendencies.  Corn on the cob, sliced peppers, onions, and pineapple all make for great grilled treats.  I continue to come across recipes for grilled pound cake with grilled peaches, but have yet to give it a try myself.
• Herbs and Spices!  Using herbs and spices such as sage, thyme, basil, and oregano is a health-friendly way to infuse great flavors into your meats without adding unnecessary calories.  Using herb and spice rubs is also an effective way to reduce the formation of those cancer-causing substances mentioned earlier.
• Choose Lean Meats:  When you’re grilling, the heat of the grill will naturally bring out the best in taste and tenderness of your meats.  A lean cut will taste great on the grill, and your body will thank you as well.  If you do have a piece of fatty meat, be sure to cut off any excess before you take it to the grill.
• Maximize the grill:  Understand that all surfaces on your grill don’t heat evenly.  Cooking wisely, you’ll utilize the right heat zones to control the speed of cooking and the temperature of your grill surfaces.  Areas closest to the source will be the hottest, and those further away, or elevated, will be cooler, and are often ideal for your more tender items, like your vegetables.

Atlanta Personal Chef Service loves to incorporate grilling into the diets of our clients.  For those clients who have easy access to a grill, we’ll prepare great grilled dishes that are healthy for you as well.