Are you thinking about increasing your vegetable intake? But it’s the summer and that BBQ grill is calling your name? Now you have to pick between vegetables or BBQ. But wait, what if we told you that you could have both! Yes, you read that right, let’s bring vegetables into your BBQ in a delicious and easy way.
We sat down with registered holistic nutritionist, Amy Longard for fresh ideas and easy tips to bring more vegetables to your BBQ this summer.
But why eat more vegetables?
Vegetables hold many nutrients and bioactives that are essential for health to support the body’s functions and processes. These properties and beneficial effects of vegetables can reduce the risk of chronic diseases which are on the rise in our society today.
“If you are eating more vegetables and fruits, you might not be getting thirsty as often because you are getting water through what you are eating.” – Amy Longard
What can I grill?
Mushrooms are a great replacement for meat because of its meat-like texture and ability to soak up flavor when marinated. Amy recommends teriyaki mushrooms with ginger and tamari or add pineapple with cayenne and sea salt for a sweet & salty combination.
Use romaine lettuce by splitting it in half with a bit of oil and salt. Summer squash is similar to zucchini and can be grilled the same way! Potatoes, garlic scapes, cauliflower are great alternatives.
Kohlrabi is also a great option and tastes like crunchy broccoli stem. You can also use the leaves as a bitter green. Try it in stir-fry, a soup, curry dish or sauté it with garlic, salt, dash of vinegar.
Or try cooking bitter melon with spices like mango powder, fennel, cayenne, salt, cumin, turmeric to slight bitterness but explosive flavors with spices.
How can I use my grilled vegetables in my meals?
Go for Skewers. Amy recommends a stack of grilled eggplant, grilled onion and sweet potato, drizzles with Good Food For Good BBQ Sauce or our Spicy Taco Sauce and tahini. You can also add zucchini, onions and cherry tomatoes. You can also explore adding grilled vegetables into your pasta.
“Don’t limit yourself. For burgers, don’t just eat tomatoes and lettuce and some mustard. Load the vegetables on!” – Amy Longard
Add greens such as kale and arugula and grilled vegetables is a great alternative. Try adding sauerkraut, kimchi, tofu and tempeh. Or add grilled fruit into your burgers with BBQ Sauce or Ketchup. A fan favourite is Baked sweet potatoes with Good Food For Good Ketchup.
“When you look at ketchup there’s a lot of sugar usually in there. It’s fine to have sugar from time to time. It’s going to come in our diet. But when you are making something like a nice, savoury meal, it’s nice to get the sugar from a fruit source like dates.” – Amy Longard