Did You Say Fire Up the Grill?  Here Are Some Quick Tips to Fire Flavor Into Your Summer Recipes:

• Lower fat cuts of meat are usually not as tender as the higher fat meats.  Try using a marinade to tenderize the tough muscle fibers.  Marinades add flavor and moisture so your meats don't dry out as fast on the grill.  Meats usually taste best when marinated for 3-12  hours in the refrigerator.  Longer than 12 hours may weaken the meat too much, creating a mushy texture.
   

• Marinades can be as simple as tossing meat into a gallon size plastic zip lock bag with 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar, 1/2 cup pineapple juice, 2 cloves of minced garlic, 1-2 tablespoons honey Dijon mustard, and 1 tablespoon olive or canola oil.  Begin your marinade with some type of acid - vinegar, orange, lemon, or pineapple juice.  Add 1 teaspoon of your favorite dried herb (2 tablespoons fresh).  Don't forget to toss in the garlic and some honey or sugar if you want sweetness.  Add no more than 1 tablespoon of oil to the marinade.  this will help prevent the food from sticking on the grill.
   

• Turn your meat on the grill with tongs instead of a fork so the meat is not pierced and the juices run out.  Turn meat only once to help retains as much juice as possible.
   

• Wrap your favorite vegetables in bundles of aluminum foil.  Toss with imitation butter sprinkles, a tablespoon or two of dry sherry, and some fresh herbs such as rosemary or dill.  Grill until tender.   You may want to precook some of your longer cooking vegetables such as potatoes, carrots, or broccoli.
   

• Fattier meats such as ribs will benefit by baking ahead of grilling.  The baking tenderizes the meat and shortens grilling time.  The fat will go into the baking pan so they don't produce as much smoke when grilling.
   

  Safe Grilling Tips:

  It's a sure sign that summer has arrived when the grills peek out from their vinyl covers and are placed in the their favorite corner of the patio.  Take time to take the grilling checklist for a safe summer of grilling out.

  Setting up the Grill:

  • Place the grill away from your house in a well ventilated area.  Often on rainy days or cold days grills are set up in the garage.  Carbon monoxide can be very dangerous.

  • If you must use a starter fluid, make sure it is one designed specifically for barbecues.  Refrain from using gasoline or kerosene.  Not only can this be dangerous, but you will taste the gasoline fumes on the meat.

  • If your grill happens to be gas, re-read the directions to refresh you with how it works.  If you are connecting a new gas tank, put soapy water around the connections and hoses.  If you see bubbles, then there may be a gas leak.

  Safe Food Preparation For the Grill:

  • Most barbeques grill at 350 degrees F.  Meat cooked above 300 degrees F produces potent carcinogens called heterocyclic aromatic amines (HAAs) which are strong mutagens that cause cancer in lab animals.

  • When food is cooked over high heat, the fat that drips from the meat onto the heat source can form carcinogenic chemicals.  The smoke that forms when the fat hits the coals, carries these chemicals, called polyaromatic hydrocarbons back to the meat. 

  • To lessen the smoke that forms, trim the visible fat from the meat.  Cook the meat in foil or some other solid container to prevent the meat drippings from heating the heat source.

  • Avoid charring meat.  If you do, trim off as much of the charred material as possible.

  • Mesquite cooks hotter than traditional coals and accentuates the smoke that is produced when the meat drippings hit the wood.

  • Pre-microwaving food can help reduce the level of carcinogens that are formed when grilling by as much as 90%.  Microwave meat a few minutes to allow most of the carcinogens to form, and escape in the juice.  Pour down your sink.

  • Don't forget about food safety.  Remember if you use tongs on raw meat, immediately wash in hot soapy water to prevent contamination of cooked meat with raw meat bacteria.  Wash the plate that carried the raw meat to the grill or use a clean plate to hold the cooked meat.

  ADDITIONAL TOPICS TO HELP YOU:

  Casseroles	Salads	Limit Sodium
  Convenience	Preserving Nutrients in your Foods	Flavorings
  Tools for Nutritious Cooking	Increase Your Calcium	Add Fiber with Beans
  Soups	Label Reading	Add Fiber with Veggies
  Nutrient Checklist	Caffeine Amounts	Low-Fat Baking and Cooking
  Food Cooking Temperatures	Fire Up the Grill	Flavor with Herbs and Spices

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Click here for Safe Grilling Tips

ADDITIONAL TOPICS TO HELP YOU:

You will find the following nutrition tools helpful.  Cooking With MyPyramid is a family cookbook with helpful tips, nutritious and delicious recipes, and contains many challenges to motivate you to prepare recipes and make changes.  The book comes with a Healthy Snack Turn™ to help you select nutritious foods at the grocery store and a Your Pyramid Connections Slide Guide™ to help you determine your recommended daily food groups and amounts based on your age, activity, and gender.  Each can be ordered separately or as a set.  The cookbook comes with the tools and is $14.95.  Individually the tools are $3.50 each. 

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