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.

Summer Produce Hacks

Bump up your nutrition with a few summer produce hacks:

•   Berries - look for color & smell.  Color should be vibrant and especially with strawberries, they should smell very strawberry-ish.  Loaded with Vitamin C, anthocyanin and other antioxidants, they are a boon to your health in so many ways.  Think outside the cereal bowl by making: 

Berry Grilled Cheese Sandwich - Spread one piece of whole grain bread with apricot preserves, layer on some raspberries and slices of havarti cheese then top with the other slice and grill.  Makes a great breakfast sandwich. 

•   Stone fruits - Store at room temperature until ripe, then keep in the fridge. Refrigerate cherries right away separately so they don’t absorb other flavors. Stone fruits contain phenolic compounds that protect against inflammation, diabetes, obesity and cardiovascular disease.  Let them play a starring role by making:

Stone Fruit Stack Caprese Salad – layer nectarines, fresh mozzarella & basil then drizzle with balsamic vinegar & honey.

•   Corn on the Cob - Go with look and feel. It should feel firm when squeezed, have glossy silk, the tight husk should be grass-green in color.  Fresh corn is best within 24 hours, but you can keep it up to 3 days in the fridge.  Corn is good source of fiber and contains copounds that promote healthy vision.  It has the same amount of calories as an apple with less than ¼ of the sugar.  With the leftover cobs, cut off the kernels and make:

Corn& tomato pizza. 

•   Mangoes - I LOVE the easy drinking-glass-peel method for mango prep. Mangoes are great source of fiber, vitamin C and vitamin A.  It's nutrition helps maintain healthy skin and it’s relatively low glycemic index is helpful in maintaining blood sugar. For a healthful and delicious snack on a hot day try:

Frozen Yogurt-Dipped Mango Pops - freeze mango slices, then dip in vanilla yogurt and return to the freezer for 30 minutes.  Wonderfully healthy popsicles are just that easy.

Nutrition for Happy Digestion

Gastritis, ulcers, heartburn, constipation, diarrhea, bloating and irritable bowel are unfortunately common in the lives of many.  Here are some suggestions as to how nutrition can help improve some of your digestive woes. 

       De-stress.  Easier said than done, but stress hormones play a big role in problematic digestion.  Meal and menu-planning ahead of time not only help balance your nutrition, but reduce a lot of the stress involved with mealtime.  Walking or moving around after a meal to helps combat heartburn and bloating as well as reducing stress.  
  

Keep Track.  Digestion problems are vary widely from one person to another and there is no one-size-fits-all answer.  Noting what you eat and what symptoms you have goes a long way to helping you identify what are safe and what are problem foods.  Remember that just because a food may be more problematic doesn’t mean you can’t ever eat it again.  For example, a thick slice of raw onion on a burger may slay you, but a small amount of sautéed onions may be just fine. 

       Step away from the deep-fryer.  Fried foods are notorious when it comes to tummy troubles.  Limit fatty, fried foods in favor of more fruits and vegetables. 

       Fiber-up from real food.  On average, Americans consume about ½ of the recommended fiber we should be getting from our diet.  You may think that a simple solution is a couple extra-high fiber cereal bars, but often the isolated fibers that are added to processed foods don’t provide the benefits of naturally occurring fiber and sometimes cause more bloating and GI issues.  Apples, oats, pears, oranges, plums and carrots are examples of the soluble fiber that can help with diarrhea and IBS.  However, if constipation is the issue, insoluble fiber is the body’s regulator – so go for: bran, beans, corn and whole wheat.

       Go steady with water.  Water should be your beverage of choice.  Alcohol, Caffeine and Carbonated beverages can all cause problems with your digestion.

       3 picks for a happy gut: 1. Yogurt – a low-fat protein source full of gut-healthy probiotics.  2. An apple a day – from applesauce in the “brat” diet your mom fed you as a sick child, to a crisp tart apple as a midday snack, apples not only contain soluble fiber but also appear to improve the bacteria in your intestinal tract. 3.  Oats - a great way to maintain regularity without resorting to laxatives. 
The take-home message is that a balanced diet full of fruits, veggies, whole grains and water coupled with regular nutrition will do more to improve your digestion than any single food product or item.  For more individualized nutrition help with digestive problems contact me for a consult. http://nutritiousintent.com