Spending free time with friends and feasting together is a great way to relax after a hard week’s work. The increasingly longer and warmer days invite you to spend time outdoors. I don’t see any reason why you should give up this form of relaxation. Admittedly, many people believe that grilled dishes are unhealthy and are the enemy of a slim figure. It’s hard to disagree with it, although it concerns the stereotypical way of grilling, which is based on a fatty sausage or pork neck with mustard and ketchup, and necessarily a few bottles of beer. By choosing the right products, you can prepare healthy, low-calorie and very tasty meals on the grill. They will certainly add variety to the summer menu, and will perfectly fit into the dietary menu.
Which products to choose?
1. Vegetables
They can be added to meat in the form of salads or salads, or they can be put on the grate by themselves. Vegetables are the perfect choice – they provide a lot of vitamins and minerals, and at the same time are low in calories. They also contain large amounts of antioxidants, which will certainly help protect the body against possible harmful substances contained in the smoke. You can use virtually all available vegetables for salads. On the other hand, the best for barbecuing are: peppers, tomatoes, onions, garlic, zucchini, squash, corn on the cob or eggplant. To shorten the grilling time (thanks to which vitamin losses will be lower), cut the vegetables into smaller pieces and gently brush with olive oil or rapeseed oil.
2. Poultry and meat
When choosing meat, one should always follow the rule: “the leaner, the better”. Chicken or turkey breasts are perfect – without the skin, of course. An equally good option will be veal, as well as less popular rabbit meat. For the meat to be tender and aromatic, it is worth marinating it in olive oil and your favorite spices. Oil will speed up the time of grilling meat, and spices (e.g. savory, basil, thyme, tarragon, cumin) will make it easier to digest. Depending on the type of meat, it should stay in the marinade from a few to several hours.
3. Fish, seafood
Their relatively low popularity is probably due to the fact that their preparation seems very laborious. But nothing could be more wrong. It takes no more than a few minutes, and often all you need is olive oil, lemon juice and your favorite spices. The taste of fish prepared in this way will positively surprise even the most ardent fans of grilled sausages. The choice is wide, because both freshwater fish (trout, perch, zander, eel) and sea fish (e.g. halibut, cod, tuna, salmon) are perfect. due to the high content of valuable omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids. If you are a fan of seafood, you will surely be delighted with grilled shrimps, lobsters or oysters.
What to avoid
If you want to grill healthily, you need to limit mainly fatty meat and its products – incl. sausages, pork neck, black pudding. Preserved and cured products are definitely not suitable. You should also avoid ready-made marinated dishes, a wide selection of which can be found primarily in supermarkets. Although it will cost us a little more time, it is worth making the marinade yourself. The selected products should be of high quality and, above all, fresh.
In order for grilled dishes to be harmful to us, the basic principles of healthy grilling should be followed. They are described in detail in the article: For the city, for a barbecue … 12 rules of healthy grilling.So, Mrs. Agnieszka, remembering these tips, weekend barbecuing will certainly bring many pleasant moments, and at the same time will not negatively affect your health. I wish you a lot of fun and good luck 😉