Healthy Summer Grilling
It wasn’t until our grill, full of burning coals, literally fell apart during a party last Summer that I realized what everyone knows: the star of a Summer cookout is the grill. Summer means grilling for most people in the Pacific Northwest and I feel the same way. Summertime is the perfect opportunity to celebrate beautiful weather outside and the bounty of local farms through sharing favorite recipes with our fam.
I love grilling and indulging in delicious Summer dishes as much as you, but at the same time I am always thinking of ways to improve health through diet and lifestyle at all times of the year. As a Naturopath, my practice is focused on prevention of disease so, naturally, I’ve found room for improvement in Summer cooking’s status quo.
Here are a few small changes you can make this Summer to maximize your nutrient intake and wellness this season:
Max the Anti-Ox
Make antioxidant rich foods a part of every meal -- especially when eating grilled meats. Grilling meats over open flame produces compounds linked to cancer and happens more so in meats with higher fat content. These compounds can occur even without grilling, such as cooking over or under high heat as in pan frying and broiling.
What to do
Choose leaner cuts of meat to grill, grass-fed where possible; Marinate and top your meats with antioxidant rich herbs like thyme, turmeric and sage; Fill your green salads with antioxidant-rich dark berries like blackberries, strawberries and blueberries.
Stock up on Veggies
Now as in all times of the year, I recommend focusing the bulk of a diet on plants, especially colorful veggies. Eating vegetables is one of your best defenses against heart disease, cancers and weight gain. Take advantage of a the rainbow of colorful veggies in season right now -- spinach, chard, beets, peppers, squash -- cooked and raw, they are essential to keeping you healthy.
What to do
Commit to trying one new veggie or veggie-centric recipe per week; Make sure at least half of every plate is veggies; Along with a variety of veggies eat them a variety of ways -- both raw and cooked, Raw greens are full of fat soluble vitamins, which are best absorbed when eaten alongside a high quality fats like avocados or extra virgin olive oil.
Eat for Healthier Skin
Folks in the Pacific Northwest know how to take advantage of the sun when it comes out. Along with that wonderful warmth can come skin damage. Of course I recommend my patients use high quality mineral sunscreens, but aside from topical options, did you know you can help protect your skin from the inside out? Foods rich in lycopene, beta-carotene and polyphenols assist in warding off sun damage, as does taking Vitamin D3.
What to do
Eat those heirloom tomatoes! Tomatoes are rich in lycopene -- which is best absorbed when eaten with fats; Treat yourself to a salad every day this summer and fill it with carrots, spinach, broccoli & tomatoes and top with your own homemade olive oil vinaigrette; Green tea is rich in polyphenols -- try it iced with fresh blueberries and raspberries for a delicious cooling drink.
