Monday, July 25, 2011

Healthy BBQ Ideas

Yahoo! The heat is here and it's time to stoke up the bar-b-ques and pour ice into our drinks. It's summertime - and, here are some great items to add to your next BBQ menu.

Delicious Discs
Dice the following foods into discs. Brush them on both sides with a bit of olive oil and BBQ until desired softness. It brings out a smoky, sweet flavour in these healthy food items...a nice change to the everyday boring burger affair.
- Pineapple, carrots, zucchini, sweet potato, eggplant, parsnips...(any more ideas...let us know.)

More Delicious BBQ Items to Try
Drizzle a little olive oil on these tasty foods and give your mouth a new summer favourite!
Cherry tomatoes on the vine, peaches (cut in half), hot peppers, mushrooms, corn in the husk.

And, don't forget broccoli. Chop it up with some cauliflower, mushrooms, onions, butter, salt and pepper and wrap into a flat package with aluminum foil...heat until desired tenderness.

My Confession - sure, I am well aware of the health concerns with eating BBQ'd blackened foods - and you should be too. Studies show that cancerous compounds can be found on blackened or charred BBQ foods. Even the best BBQ master can burn the odd piece so keep your eyes open...and, maybe cut those off.

And, be savvy. Eating BBQ foods everyday is not a great idea. If you are at risk (particularly breastfeeding women as these compounds are transferred into breast milk) it might be best to avoid BBQ feasts.

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Say "YES" To Food

Most of our daily food choices are about saying "no". No, I can't eat gluten. No, I shouldn't eat ice cream and cake. No, that's not a healthy choice, I shouldn't eat that, or this. Why has making food choices turned so negative? Society is full of media reports about which foods you should NOT eat, and marketing companies convincing us that certain foods are BAD choices. What happened to being excited about what you eat? Food should be fun. We should be spending our days saying, "YES! I'll eat that!"

Shout out "YES" to an afternoon snack of yogurt. Lick your lips when looking at fresh fruit at the market this summer. Smile when you sit down at the table and feast your eyes on the delicious colourful dinner plate in front of you. Feel good about your food. And, enjoy every bite.

So, take a pack with me. No longer will we suffer in the pantry of NO. No longer will our food decisions be haunted with negativity and darkness. Instead, we will smile when we see a food we are going to eat. We will rejoice in excitement about saying YES to a food. Make a pack that your diet will become fun, positive and exciting. Change around your mentality about food. Say "yes" to food.

My Confession of the Day? To keep my food experiences positive, I fill my fridge with all YES foods, so there is never the opportunity to say NO. And, sure - I may have baked some cookies on the weekend but I see them as a YES food. Instead of telling myself all day, NO - don't eat those...I say, YES, I can enjoy one cookie after dinner with my herbal tea - why not, right? Food is supposed to be fun. We eat every day - why not enjoy the experience.