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It's summer time, and that means time to dust off the grill, pull out the patio furniture and cook outside. For your convenience, we've put together a list of healthy grilling tips. These tips were gathered from information found at the American Institute for Cancer Research web site (the link will open in a second window).
- Grill veggies instead. Muscle meats (red meats )like beef, chicken or fish pose the largest risk of forming cancer-promoting heterocyclic amines (HCA's) when grilled. These compounds, called HCAs (heterocyclic amines), have been shown to cause tumors in animals and possibly increase the risk of some cancers in humans.
Try grilling marinated vegetables on skewers, 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.
- Marinating meats before grilling may significantly reduce the amount of HCA's.
- Trim the fat. Choose lean, well-trimmed meats to grill; they have less fat to drip into the flames. Remove the skin from poultry. Avoid high-fat meats such as ribs or sausages.
- Pre-cook meats, fish and poultry in the oven or microwave, then briefly grill for flavor.
- Keep meat portions small so they need only spend a brief time on the grill. Skewered kebobs cook the fastest.
- 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. Covering the grill with punctured aluminum foil, not placing meats directly over coals and keeping a water spray bottle on hand (for control of flare-ups) are other ways to reduce drips.
- Flip frequently. Recent research has found that cooking hamburger patties at a lower temperature and turning them often accelerates the cooking process, helps prevent the formation of HCA's and is equally effective in killing bacteria.
- Remove all charred or burned portions of food before eating.
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