Nutritionwise: Get Fired Up for Some Meatless Monday Grilling

These Meatless Monday Grilling Tips

 Will Fire You Up for a Healthy BBQ Season

As you fire up your BBQ throughout the summer, instead of the typical meat-focused fare why not cook up some grilled veggies instead? Vegetables are amazing on the grill, plus meatless grilling is an easy way to add vitamin-packed, healthy seasonal produce to your diet, which can help reduce your risk of certain chronic diseases. So get grilling and take a break from meat with these 10 easy summer grilling tips:

1. Many vegetables can be thrown right on the grill with just a light brushing of olive oil (with delicious results)! Fresh corn, tomatoes, asparagus, eggplant, zucchini, squash, bell peppers and jalapenos are just a few to try.
2. Kabobs are a BBQ staple that make the perfect meatless entree. Add tofu cubes, cherry tomatoes, mushrooms, roasted potatoes or just about any other vegetable that strikes your fancy.
3. Grilled fruit is amazing too. For a sweet side dish or dessert, try peach halves, pineapples, plums, melon, kiwi, bananas, pears or figs with a touch of honey marinade.
4. Swap a hamburger for a portobello mushroom burger or grilled eggplant slices. Put the BBQ’d veggies on a bun and add your favorite toppings, like avocados, caramelized onions, roasted red peppers or an olive spread.
5. Try a veggie burger recipe that celebrates hearty ingredients like black beans, lentils, quinoa and chickpeas. You can also find healthy pre-made patties at supermarkets and natural food stores.
6. Make a delicious, smoky pizza pie right on the grill — all you need is pizza dough, sauce and your favorite vegetables thinly sliced or pre-grilled.
7. Use your favorite marinade recipe to add flavor to extra firm tofu cubes. Grill them up and add them to a salad, serve them with veggies or enjoy them on their own.
8. Add grilled vegetables to a filling summer salad. Garnish fresh lettuces with a bit of fruit, feta cheese and olive oil to complete the dish; or think beyond lettuce and whip up a bean or grain salad.
9. Consider your sides when planning a meatless BBQ. Pasta salads, raw vegetables and hummus dip are great ways to turn your plant-based dishes into a full meal.
10. End the meal on a healthy note with a tray of fresh fruit, a parfait or homemade smoothies.

Looking for even more great summer grilling ideas? Sample some of our favorite meatless burger ideas in our free online Monday Burgers Cookbook.

Nutritionwise: Healthy Cooking Methods for Optimum Nutrition

Do you realize that the cooking methods you choose could negatively impact the nutritional benefits of your meal? The nutrients in our foods are very important to us.  They build and repair our tissues, regulate our body processes and are converted to and used as immediate energy...a miracle, spiritually speaking.  And our bodies look for them as we eat.  But, cooking  foods, especially vegetables and fruits using high heat, water, or both can destroy some of their nutrients. Heat, from a cooking method can break down and destroy about 15 to 30 percent of some vitamins in vegetables.  Raw foodists, who favor primarily unprocessed and unheated food, or food cooked to a temperature less than 104 °F to 115 °F, have believed this for a while and chooses to go the uncooked route for meals. They claim that uncooked food maintains all of it’s nutritional value and supports optimal health. But, don't fret, other studies suggest certain foods actually benefit from some heating. With carrots, spinach, and tomatoes, for example, heat facilitates the release of antioxidants, which are the nutrients in our foods that breaks down and repair any damaging cell walls, whereby providing an easier passage of the healthy components from food to our body...keeping our immune system healthy. There are many cooking methods, but below are some of the healthiest.