5 tips for healthy grilling

Posted May 27, 2013, 1:31 pm

Memorial Day marks the unofficial beginning of summer and the official beginning of grilling season. From northern Maine to southern California, the backyard barbeque will be a key part of the holiday weekend. Whether your menu includes simple burgers or something more elaborate, a little preparation can help you serve up a healthy meal.

Start out clean. Don’t let the charred buildup on your grill transfer to your meal. Use a wire brush to give your grill a good cleaning. Then wipe it down with a cloth or wadded-up bunch of paper towels to make sure that no grill-cleaning bristles will get into your food—or your guests.

Smoke and fire. Exposing protein-rich meat, poultry, and fish to high heat and open flames creates heterocyclic amines. When fat drips and burns on the grill, the resulting smoke contains polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. These two groups of chemicals have been linked to various types of cancer. You can reduce the formation of heterocyclic amines and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons several ways: Line the grill with foil perforated with holes. Cook for longer at a lower temperature. Have a spray bottle filled with water handy to control fatty flare-ups.

Marinate. Marinating food for a while before cooking limits the formation of potential carcinogens while grilling. Recipes abound for healthy marinades that will add flavor to whatever you are grilling. If you rely on bottled marinades, choose those that are low in salt.

Give veggies and fruit equal billing with meat. Grilling intensifies the flavor of fruits and vegetables, just as it does for meat. Kebabs that alternate meat with pieces of onion, pepper, or other produce, like spicy chicken kebabs with Moorish flavors, are a great way to increase vegetable and fruit intake. Or skip meat altogether, with something like grilled eggplant cutlets with tomato or portabella mushroom “steak” sandwiches.

Practice safe grilling. Keep raw meat, poultry, and seafood separate from vegetables and other foods. Use a food thermometer to check the internal temperature of grilled meat, poultry, and seafood. Place grilled foods on clean plates, not on the ones that held them when they were raw. The USDA offers other tips for keeping food safe.

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The Guy's Guide to Grilling the Healthy Way

Tips, tricks, and recipes for delicious, heart-healthy meals.Reviewed by Melinda Ratini, DO, MS

Firing up the grill is a delicious summer ritual. This year, before you start shaping your burgers and salting your steaks, check out these four full-flavored recipes courtesy of Dave Grotto, RD, author of 101 Optimal Life Foods  and self-described "dad who grills."

Grotto has a long list of things he likes about grilling. The smoky accent it imparts is No. 1. On the grill, even the veggies his family normally dubs boring are transformed into treats. But Grotto also grills because it's easy on the arteries. A quick spray of cooking oil is all you need to keep things from sticking, lean meats and fish are standouts, and for dads dead-set on steaks, much of the saturated fats found in well-marbled meats drip down into the pit rather than ending up on the plate. That's an ideal recipe for healthy summer eating.

You'd be hard pressed to find a more delicious or grill-friendly cut than flank steak. It's tender, lean, and quick-cooking. And with a tangy papaya marinade, not only does it taste great, but the marinade can help prevent the buildup of potential carcinogens called heterocyclic amines, or HCAs, that form on grilled meats.

Servings: 8

Ingredients

1½ pounds flank steak

1/3 cup papaya juice concentrate

1/3 cup white vinegar

½ cup light soy sauce

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 limes, juiced

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

1 tsp kosher salt

1 tsp ground black pepper

½ tsp ground white pepper

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp chipotle or chili powder

1 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp ground cumin

¼ tsp nutmeg

1 tsp paprika

8 corn or wheat tortillas

Assorted toppings: onions, tomatoes, green peppers, cilantro, grated Monterey Jack cheese

Marinade

1. Place the flank steak in a large glass baking dish.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the papaya juice, vinegar, soy sauce, garlic cloves, juice of two limes, and olive oil. Add in all of the dry seasonings. Whisk until well blended, and then pour it over the flank steak, turning the steak over once to coat both sides.

3. Cover with plastic wrap and marinate at least four hours, but preferably overnight.

Grill Time

1. Heat the grill to medium high. Lightly oil the rack.

2. Grill the flank steak for about 5–7 minutes on each side.

3. Remove the steak from the grill and let it rest on a cutting board for 5 minutes to allow the juices to absorb back into the meat before slicing.

4. While the steak is resting, warm the tortillas in a slightly oiled skillet over low heat for about a minute on each side.

5. Thinly slice the steak on the diagonal.

6. Arrange two or three tortillas on each plate. Lay several pieces of steak on each tortilla and top with your choice of chopped onion, cilantro, tomatoes, green peppers, and cheese. Garnish with lime wedges.

275 calories, 12 g fat (3 saturated fat),40 mg cholesterol, 410 mg sodium, 15 g carbohydrate, 1 g fiber, 26 g protein. Calories from fat: 39%.

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