Grilling the Healthy Way!
Last post we learned about the link between grilled meats and cancer. The bottom line is that grilling is a healthy way to prepare food, and is a great option if done right.
Grilling is a good way to cook meat without adding fat, and it tastes good too! To keep from increasing your risk for cancer, here are some tips from the American Institute for Cancer Research on making the most of your grilling.
1. Grill veggies instead of meats
- Try grilling marinated vegetables on skewers, on a grilling tray, or wrapped in foil
- Other healthy barbecue choices are veggie burgers, pizza, tofu, or quesadillas
- Grilled fruit makes a sweet, healthy dessert
2. Marinate meats before grilling to reduce the amount of HCAs.
3. Trim the fat
- Choose lean, well-trimmed meats to grill, as they have less fat to drip into the flames
- Remove the skin from poultry
- Avoid high-fat meats such as ribs or sausages
4. Pre-cook meats, fish and poultry
- Use the oven or microwave to cook the meat, then grill briefly for flavor
- Keep meat portions small so they only need to spend a brief time on the grill
- Skewered kebobs cook the fastest
5. Fix the drips
- Avoid letting juices drip into the flames or coals, which causes smoke and flare-ups
- Use tongs or a spatula to turn foods instead of piercing meat with a fork
- Cover the grill with punctured aluminum foil, do not place meats
directly over coals and keep a spray bottle of water on hand (to
control flare-ups)
6. Flip frequently
- Recent research has found that cooking hamburger patties at a lower
temperature and turning them often helps prevent the formation of HCAs - Veggie burgers cook very quickly on the grill, so you don’t have to cook them for as long as you cook beef burgers.
7. Try to keep flames from touching food directly and remove all charred or burnt portions of food before eating.
Now that Spring is here, it’s time to get out the grill. Be sure to use these tips and make your grilled food healthy and cancer free!
– Julie
