5 tricks to grill your way to better health

Via Eating Well/Brierley Wright

This time of year my husband is chomping at the bit to grill, grill, grill! He wants to grill everything—which is fine by me because not only is grilling a super-quick way to cook, but when it comes to lean proteins it guarantees flavorful, juicy results—without having to add a lot of fat or calories. (Or do extra dishes!)

As a nutrition editor I’ve read some studies that suggest cooking meat at the high temperatures you use to grill (as well as broil and fry) produces compounds linked with cancer—heterocyclic amines (HCAs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). But he risks associated with eating grilled meats are relatively small when you look at the big picture.

So we’re still firing up the grill and using tricks that have been shown to reduce HCAs and PAHs. Here are 5 tips to grill your way to better health:

1. Add cruciferous vegetables. Cruciferous vegetables, such as broccoli and cabbage, contain sulforaphane, a compound that may help the body clear DNA-damaging compounds more quickly. In one study, men who ate about 2½ cups of Brussels sprouts every day for three weeks reduced their DNA damage significantly.

2. Marinate meats. Marinating can reduce HCA formation by as much as 92 to 99 percent, according to the American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR). One study in the Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry showed that marinating red meat in beer or wine for two hours significantly reduced HCAs. Scientists believe the antioxidants in these marinades block HCAs from forming.

3. Try fish. Seafood forms less HCAs than beef, pork and poultry because of its lower amino acid content and shorter grilling times. 

4. Go lean. If you prefer meat or poultry to fish, trim excess fat, remove poultry skin and select lean cuts of meat to minimize flare-ups. Flare-ups happen when fat drips onto the heat source and catches fire. This causes PAHs—compounds that have been associated with increased risk of breast cancer—to form and accumulate on your food. You can also keep a squirt bottle of water near the grill to quickly douse any unexpected flare-ups.

5. Flavor meats with rubs. A Kansas State University study found that rubbing rosemary—an herb known for its high level of antioxidants—onto meats before grilling cut HCA levels by up to 100-percent. Herbs including basil, mint, sage and oregano may have similar effects.

Three-Course Salmon and Asparagus Menu for Spring

Via Eating Well

Love Asian-inspired food?

CHECK THIS OUT: Three delicious courses for a special occasion meal with a total nutrition per serving of:

• 683 calories
• 20 grams fat (only 4 grams saturated, 16 unsaturated good fats)
• 43 grams of protein!

Cashew Salmon with Apricot Couscous

4 servings

Active Time: 35 minutes

Total Time: 35 minutes

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup nonfat plain yogurt
• 3 scallions, sliced, greens and whites separated
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 3/4 teaspoon salt, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper, divided
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup chopped dried apricots
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
• 1 1/4 cups water
• 1 cup whole-wheat couscous
• 1 pound salmon fillet, preferably wild Pacific, skinned (see Note) and cut into 4 portions
• 2 tablespoons chopped toasted cashews (see Note)

Preparation

1. Preheat grill to medium-high or position rack in upper third of oven and preheat broiler.
2. Combine yogurt, scallion greens, lemon juice, cilantro, cumin, 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in a medium bowl. Set aside.
3. Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add apricots, ginger, the scallion whites and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Cook, stirring, until softened, about 2 minutes. Add water and bring to a boil over high heat. Stir in couscous. Remove from heat, cover and let stand until the liquid is absorbed, about 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork.
4. Meanwhile, rub salmon with the remaining 1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper. If grilling, oil the grill rack (see Tip). If broiling, coat a broiler pan with cooking spray. Grill or broil the salmon until browned and just cooked through, about 3 minutes per side. Serve with the couscous, topped with the yogurt sauce and cashews.

Tips & Notes

• Ingredient note: Wild-caught salmon from the Pacific (Alaska and Washington) are more sustainably fished and have a larger, more stable population. To skin a salmon fillet, place the fillet on a clean cutting board, skin side down. Starting at the tail end, slip the blade of a long, sharp knife between the fish flesh and the skin, holding the skin down firmly with your other hand. Gently push the blade along at a 30° angle, separating the fillet from the skin without cutting through either.
• Kitchen tips: To toast chopped nuts, cook in a small dry skillet over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until fragrant and lightly browned, 2 to 4 minutes.
• To oil a grill rack, oil a folded paper towel, hold it with tongs and rub it over the rack. (Do not use cooking spray on a hot grill.)

Nutrition

Per serving: 487 calories; 15 g fat ( 2 g sat , 6 g mono ); 73 mg cholesterol; 65 g carbohydrates; 35 g protein; 9 g fiber; 527 mg sodium; 621 mg potassium.

Asparagus with Curry Butter

4 servings, about 1/2 cup each

Active Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

• 2 teaspoons butter, melted
• 1 teaspoon curry powder, (see Tip)
• 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste
• 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 shallot, finely diced
• 1 bunch asparagus, (about 1 pound), trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces

Preparation

1. Combine butter, curry powder, lemon juice and salt in a small bowl.
2. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add shallot and cook, stirring, until softened, about 2 minutes. Add asparagus and cook, stirring, until just tender, 3 to 5 minutes. Stir the curry butter into the asparagus; toss to coat.

Tips & Notes

• Tip: Check the ingredient label on your brand of curry powder: if it has added salt (as some do), you may omit the salt in the recipe or salt to taste.

Nutrition

Per serving: 67 calories; 5 g fat ( 2 g sat , 2 g mono ); 5 mg cholesterol; 6 g carbohydrates; 3 g protein; 2 g fiber; 161 mg sodium; 262 mg potassium.

Double-Ginger Frozen Yogurt

4 servings, 1/2 cup each

Active Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 pint nonfat vanilla frozen yogurt,softened
• 1/4 cup finely chopped crystallized ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 4 tablespoons chocolate syrup, (optional)

Preparation

1. Place frozen yogurt in a mixing bowl. Use a potato masher to mix in crystallized and ground gingers. Cover and freeze for 15 minutes, or until ready to serve.
2. Scoop frozen yogurt into 4 serving dishes and top with chocolate syrup, if desired. Serve immediately.

Nutrition

Per serving: 129 calories; 0 g fat ( 0 g sat , 0 g mono ); 2 mg cholesterol; 28 g carbohydrates; 5 g protein; 0 g fiber; 68 mg sodium; 216 mg potassium.

The best fitness foods: What to eat before, during and after a workout

I get questions about this subject all the time. I hope this helps! -Joe

Via Eating Well

Getting a great workout goes beyond the number of reps you do or the miles you log on the treadmill (though that does help too). In all the running road races I've trained for—from 5Ks to marathons—I know that what I put into my body before and after a race or a training run can either help or hinder my performance.

Regardless of what type of exercise suits your fancy, here are some tips on what to eat before, during and after a workout, as previously reported on in EatingWell Magazine.

Pre-workout:

A low-glycemic-index meal: If you're the type of person who can't work out on an empty stomach, you may want to try this to boost your fat burn: eat a meal made with "slow-release" carbohydrates (think: oatmeal, bran cereal, a whole-wheat bagel or toast) three hours before you work out. In a study published in the Journal of Nutrition, researchers assessed the rate of fat burn among eight healthy women after they ate two breakfasts: muesli with milk, peaches, yogurt and apple juice on one day; cornflakes with skim milk, white bread with margarine and jam and an energy drink on another day. Both meals contained similar amounts of calories, but the first breakfast (muesli) was a low-glycemic-index (GI) meal, meaning it produced smaller spikes in blood sugar than the second breakfast, which was a high-GI meal. Generally, foods that contain protein, fat and/or fiber—and are digested more slowly—fall lower on the GI scale than those that consist mostly of carbohydrate (e.g., white bread). On the days when the women ate the low-GI breakfast, they burned nearly twice as much fat during a 60-minute walk as they did on the days when they ate the high-GI meal. Why? The muesli (low-GI) breakfast was more slowly digested so it didn't spike blood-glucose levels as high as the cornflake (high-GI) breakfast did. In turn, insulin levels didn't spike as high either—which probably explains why the muesli-eating women burned more fat, says Ian MacDonald, Ph.D., director of research at the University of Nottingham Medical School. Insulin plays a role in signaling your body to store fat. So, lower levels of insulin might help you to burn fat.

Water: Staying hydrated can help you perform better: in one study, people who were just slightly dehydrated were typically only able to run, for example, about 75 percent as hard as usual. Hydrate pre-exercise with 2 to 3 cups of water, 2 to 3 hours before exercising.

During your workout:

Honey: To boost your energy during endurance activities, recent research suggests that carbohydrate blends (foods containing fructose and glucose) may be superior to straight glucose. But before you reach for a sports drink, consider honey: like sugar, it naturally has equal parts fructose and glucose, but it also contains a handful of antioxidants and vitamins. (The darker the honey, the more disease-fighting compounds it contains.)

Flavored water. Drinking flavored water while you're working out might make it easier to stay hydrated. In one study, people given flavored water while exercising drank more than exercisers given plain water. Choose wisely though: some brands can deliver as much added sugars as soft drinks while others use artificial sweeteners to cut the calorie load. What about coconut water and sports drinks? Find out what to drink, when, here.

Post-workout:

Chocolate milk : If your workout lasts an hour or more, have a glass of chocolate (or plain) milk. The carbohydrates in it will help replenish the energy stored in your muscles (called glycogen stores) and aid in muscle recovery—more so than a carb-only drink. Don't like milk? Substitute with a post-workout snack of banana and peanut butter.

Tart cherry juice: Tart cherry juice delivers antioxidants that mop up the harmful free radicals produced when you exercise. And research shows that a daily dose of cherry juice may help ease inflammation that causes sore muscles. A 2010 study in the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition found that runners who downed 24 ounces of tart cherry juice (about 480 calories) for seven days before a long-distance race, and again on race day, reported fewer aches afterward than runners who drank a placebo. Skip the juice right before or while you're exercising, though: fructose, the primary sugar in fruit, takes longer to digest than other sugars (like those in sports drinks), so drinking juice before or during exercise may cause stomach cramps.

Healthy Restaurant Eating

Avoid derailing your diet when eating out

Via Women's Health magazine

You consume 36 percent more calories at a restaurant than when you eat at home. But these three simple strategies will help you decrease the damage.

PASS ON BREAD
Ask your server to remove the bread basket from the table. Each dinner roll can have 100 calories or more.

GO GREEN
It's very hard to overeat vegetables, but rice, potatoes, pasta, and bread are carbohydrate and calorie-dense foods that can sabotage your weight-loss goals. If your meal comes with fries or chips, ask if you can swap them for a veggie like raw carrot sticks.

STAY DRY
Ask for sauces and salad dressings on the side. That way, you can add them as needed and avoid the excessive amounts most restaurants dish out.

Simple Slimming Snacks

Via Food Network

Who says tasty snacks can't be good for you? These three recipes show you that you can enjoy cheese and even butter in small portions, so you'll never feel deprived. The secret is portion control. All three are small-sized, so you get all the flavor without undoing your hard work at boot camp.

Apple Moons

Directions

Slice an apple into crescents. Spread with peanut or almond butter and press granola on top.

Cucumber-Butter Tea Sandwich

Directions

Mix 4 tablespoons softened butter, 1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest and 1 tablespoon chopped fresh herbs. Spread on white bread and sandwich with sliced cucumber. Trim the crusts and cut into pieces.

Pretzel Melts

Directions

Sandwich small slices of cheddar between mini pretzels. Put on a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake 10 minutes at 425 degrees F. Serve with mustard.