Great Grilling: Bump Up the Nutrition at Your Next BBQ

6 nutrition-boosting tips 

Tip 1: Start with a Clean Your Grill 

Scrubbing keeps the buildup of carcinogens left on the grill grates to a minimum and makes your food taste so much better.

Tip 2: Marinate Your Meat 

Marinating meat helps to reduce carcinogens. Multiple studies show up to 1/3 less carcinogens are formed when the meat is marinated before grilling.

Tip 3: Use a better oil 

You want to avoid burning and grilling is considered "high heat".  Some oils are better than others for this.  Maintaining healthy cholesterol levels is important to heart health, and when it comes to impact on cholesterol, not all cooking oils are created equal. In fact, the Journal of Clinical Lipidology has published a study that found that corn oil, like Mazola, can help lower cholesterol more than extra virgin olive oil. Corn Oil has more cholesterol-blocking plant sterols than other cooking oils – four times more than olive oil and 40 percent more than canola oil. and it is these plant sterols that reduce absorption of cholesterol in the gut.  Choose your oil wisely.

Chipotle-lime marinated flank steak - recipe to follow

Tip 4: Watch for Flares - choose lean meats 

When you cook a fatty piece of meat, the fat that drips onto the flames creates smoke which may contain the much talked about carcinogens. If you grill lean meats, poultry, and fish, you'll have less fat = better.

Tip 5: Beware Bacteria 

To kill the common E.coli bacteria, the USDA recommends cooking ground beef to 160 degrees. Don’t add foodborne illness to the menu.

Tip 6: Think outside the grill. 

Often we focus on the grilled entrée and don’t plan much in the way of sides.  So when it comes to the chips and dips that often make an appearance at the BBQ buffet, here’s my take on keeping your nutrition high.  When it comes to the chip, choosing something with a short ingredient list is key.  Ruffles has three simple ingredients – potatoes, oil and salt – that’s it. For dinner guests with celiac or gluten intolerance, they are gluten-free.  And to keep that nutrition high, chips should be a vehicle for a nutritious dip – an edible utensil.  We’ve got a zucchini dip made with greek yogurt that really ups the  nutrition. 

Recipes:

Zippy Zucchini Dip

Ingredients:

1 zucchini, shredded

1 cup nonfat, plain Greek yogurt

1 teaspoon garlic, minced

Salt to taste

Directions:

Mix zucchini, yogurt and garlic together in a small bowl. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. Serve with Ruffles potato chips.

Chipotle Lime Marinade

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Marinate Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

4 chipotle chiles in adobo sauce, finely minced

1/4 cup minced fresh cilantro

2 Tbsp. chili powder

1/4 tsp. kosher or sea salt

1/4 cup lime juice

1/4 cup water

1/4 cup Mazola® corn oil.

Instructions:

Combine all ingredients in a large resealable plastic bag.  Add 1-2 pounds meat or poultry (flank steak is pictured).  Marinate in refrigerator for 30 minutes.  Remove from marinade, and grill, discarding remaining marinade.  Cook to desired doneness.