HOT Grilling Safety Tips

When It’s Hot, The Grilling is Easy

When the warm weather arrives, our meals often take us out of the kitchen and in front of a grill. But research has shown that turning up the heat may allow cancer-causing substances to form in our foods. Carcinogens form when meat is cooked at high temperatures, or over longer periods of time, or when meat juices drip and the flames hit the meat. Vegetables, mushrooms and bean burgers are the safest choices when grilling, and are a staple in the Nutritarian way of eating. If you love the taste of grilled food, here are some suggestions to help you reduce your exposure to harmful substances.

Make Vegetables the Main Attraction Grilling often brings out the sweetness in certain vegetables, such as onions and tomatoes. If you have a grilling basket, fill it with your favorite sliced vegetables, or make veggie skewers. Mushrooms, onions, garlic, cherry tomatoes, zucchini and summer squash all go great together. Get creative and toss them first with a little water, balsamic vinegar and fresh or dried herbs such as oregano, basil or rosemary. Or get out your blender and add walnuts and a bit of your favorite flavored vinegar to create a sauce. Frequently brush it on the vegetables while grilling to create a new flavor profile. If you are grilling starchy veggies such as corn, parsnips, yams, potatoes or squash, first soak or marinate them in a water-vinegar mix. This minimizes the production of acrylamide, a carcinogen formed when starches are cooked at high temperatures.

Redefine the boring burger. Portabella mushroom caps, marinated in your favorite vinegar, make a delicious and meaty alternative to traditional hamburgers. Studies show women who eat mushrooms everyday lower their risk of breast cancer by 64 percent. Add to the mushrooms’ health benefits by serving portabellas on a whole grain pita with sliced tomato, raw onion and a pesto dressing made from basil, avocado and pine nuts. For those who enjoy the flavor of meat yet strive to reduce their overall consumption, try this recipe with just one ounce of meat per burger.

Better Burgers
Serves: 9
Preparation Time: 45 minutes

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups old fashioned rolled oats
1 cup ground walnuts
1 cup water
1/4 cup tomato paste
1/4 cup Dr. Fuhrman's MatoZest or other no-salt seasoning blend, adjusted to taste
1 cup diced onion
3 cloves garlic, minced
6 cups finely minced mushrooms
2 teaspoons dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
freshly ground pepper, to taste
2/3 cup frozen chopped spinach, thawed

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Combine rolled oats and ground walnuts in a bowl. Set aside.

In a small saucepan, whisk together water, tomato paste and MatoZest. Heat over medium high heat until boiling. Pour over rolled oats and walnuts. Stir well and set aside.

Heat 2 tablespoons water in a sauté pan and add onion and garlic. Sauté until onion is translucent. Add mushrooms, basil, oregano, parsley and black pepper and additional water if needed, to prevent sticking. Cover and cook for 5 minutes, or until mushrooms are tender. Drain any excess water.

In a large bowl, combine sautéed onions and mushrooms, rolled oat and walnut mixture and spinach. Stir well to combine. With wet hands, shape 1/3 cup of mixture into a well-formed burger. Place on a lightly oiled baking sheet and repeat with remaining mixture. Bake for 15 minutes. Turn burgers to bake the other side for another 15 minutes.

Remove from oven and cool slightly. Serve on small whole grain hamburger buns or whole grain pita bread halves. Top with thin sliced, raw red onion and a no-salt-added ketchup such as Dr. Fuhrman's Ketchup.

Makes 8 burgers

NOTE: For the meat lovers in your group, show them how good this can taste with only one ounce of meat or turkey per burger mixed in.   Great meat flavor; very little meat.

Per Serving (without meat or turkey):

CALORIES 151; PROTEIN 6g; CARBOHYDRATES 19g; TOTAL FAT 7.2g; SATURATED FAT 0.7g; SODIUM 25mg; FIBER 3.9g; BETA-CAROTENE 924ug; VITAMIN C 8mg; CALCIUM 65mg; IRON 5.1mg; FOLATE 58ug; MAGNESIUM 43mg; ZINC 1.1mg; SELENIUM 14.5ug

This flavorful burger will satisfy even the most hardened meat eater your group. The phytates in the beans reduce toxicity by soaking up the meat’s hydroxyl radicals and excess iron.

Super Simple Grill corn on the cob in the husk or husk the corn, spray it lightly with a mix of extra-virgin olive oil and water, and sprinkle with your favorite herbs. Place on the grill for six to 10 minutes, rotating frequently to minimize browning. A General Tip: Avoid eating the blackened portions of grilled vegetables.

A Nutritarian style of eating delivers a broad array of micronutrient-rich foods and a wide spectrum of food choices consisting of green and colorful vegetables, beans, nuts and seeds, and delicious fruits. These superfoods protect our health, keep us slim, increase our energy and reduce our risk of illness. For optimal well-being, it is the most powerful disease-protecting and therapeutic way of eating.