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Hot 'n' Healthy Barbeque
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With summer upon us, what better excuse (weather permitting) to dust
off the barbeque and enjoy some time outside in the fresh air with
family and friends. If your first thoughts are high-calorie, high-fat
sausages and burgers - don't fret! Chicken, fish, vegetables and even
fruit are delicious cooked on the barbeque.
Take a look at our tasty, nutritious barbeque ideas and your taste
buds, like ours, will be tingling in anticipation!
Kebabs
Tofu is a popular vegetarian substitute for meat, which is very easy
to cube and ideal for kebabs! Alternatively look out for cubed chicken
breast, prawns or lean meats. The beauty with kebabs is that your
imagination is your limit - most vegetables, and some fruits too, are
delicious combined with tofu, poultry, seafood or meat.
Try cherry tomatoes, mushrooms, onion, peppers, courgette or aubergine
(cut into ¼ inch cubes), pineapple chunks, apple slices... whatever
takes your fancy! Simply put your chosen combination onto skewers,
brush with a little olive oil, or find a reduced calorie marinade, and
grill over the BBQ until the meat is cooked and tender and the
vegetables are roasted and charred around the edges.
Note: If using wooden skewers don’t forget to pre-soak them for
30 minutes to avoid the ends burning whilst cooking!
Vegetable Kebabs
"Try vegetable kebabs, peppers, mushrooms, courgette, aubergine, any
of your favourite vegetables, skewer them, wipe with teriyaki sauce or
something else you like, and stick them on the BBQ until ready." MELLY
Marinated Chicken
"4 chicken breasts, 2 tablespoons clear honey, 1.5 tablespoons soy
sauce, juice & zest of one lime, 2 cloves of garlic. Mix up all
marinade ingredients, stir in chicken, leave overnight then BBQ! Can
either leave chicken whole or chop into chunks and cook on skewers.
Enjoy!" BETHCURRIE
Monkfish Kebabs
"I did monkfish kebabs. Monkfish is very meaty so doesn't flake and
fall apart on the barbeque like other fish. It was very simple:
monkfish cubes interspersed with chunks of ripe mango, with a little
oil drizzled over plus the juice of one lime. Delicious!" TAKESHAPE
Simply Salmon
Salmon makes a great alternative to meat. Place a whole fillet onto a
sheet of foil large enough to make a parcel. Slice half a lemon and
layer over the top of the salmon, squeeze the other half over the
fish, season and wrap the foil to make a make a generous parcel and
refrigerate overnight (to allow the flavours to fuse). Cook on the
barbeque for about 10 minutes - depending on thickness of fillet. This
is delicious served with natural, low fat yoghurt, salad and crusty
bread.
Low-Fat Garlic Mushrooms
Take a large square of tin foil, spray with a light cooking spray, add
some sliced mushrooms, a clove of crushed garlic, freshly milled salt
and pepper and wrap up in a parcel. Cook the the parcel on the BBQ for
about 15-20 minutes. Serve with French bread lightly toasted on the
BBQ.
Hot Corn
Sweetcorn cooked on the BBQ is delicious and acquires a taste
unobtainable with any other form of cooking. Pre-boil it until just
tender, to keep it juicy and speed up cooking time on the "Barbie".
Then, place it directly on the grill and turn until charred on the
outside. Resist the temptation for lashings of butter - you won’t need
it!
The adventurous amongst you can try the traditional Mexican option
which involves rubbing the hot, cooked corn in chilli powder. Warning:
HOT!
Grilled Asparagus
Asparagus is said to be a delicacy and barbequed asparagus is no
exception! Simply take a bunch, trim the bottoms, toss in a tbsp of
olive oil and season with freshly milled salt and pepper. Pop on the
grill for 2-3 minutes or until to desired tenderness - this one will
wow your guests!
Marinated Aubergines
"I've never been a big fan of aubergine but I recently had this at a
BBQ and they were fantastic. Slice an aubergine length ways into just
under 1/2 cm slices. Marinate them for about an hour in a small amount
of olive oil (1 tsp), some nice vinegar (eg. red wine, balsamic),
lemon juice and some chopped herbs. Place them on the BBQ and cook
well. I like them quite charred as they go lovely and crispy on the
outside and gooey in the middle. If you're having an okay calorie day
top with a small amount of crumbled feta cheese." LHAINES
Potatoes
Jacket potatoes are one of the easiest things to cook on the BBQ.
Simply wrap them in tin foil and place directly on the coals under the
shelf and leave them for approx an hour, depending on size, whilst you
cook the rest. Don’t worry if you have to wait for the rest - the
potatoes will only improve with time!
"I do something nice (and terribly traditional) with potatoes - boil
new potatoes until just tender, then drain, toss with a tiny touch of
olive oil (1tbsp for four portions), garlic, salt and pepper (rosemary
if available) - then the lot go a piece of heavy-duty foil that's been
sprayed with "pan-coating" - fold the top tightly, then the sides up
and on the grill - turn it every once in a while and you get nice
roasties!" CKENGLISH
On the Side
One of the best things about a barbeque is the variety of foods on
offer - so don’t limit this simply to what you cook on the grill. A
bit of pre-planning will ensure a healthy choice of accompaniments
(steer clear of supermarket coleslaw and potato salad - these are
laced with fat). Try a fresh mixed salad with a reduced fat/calorie
dressing, some freshly boiled rice (toss in some pineapple,
mushrooms... use that imagination!) and some fresh bread - there’s
some delightful wholemeal and granary varieties available.
"For a side salad try cous cous with roasted veg, garlic & herbs - can
be cooked in advance and kept for a day or two" BETHCURRIE
For Dessert
Make up a bowl of fresh fruit salad and serve with low fat yoghurt.
Alternatively whilst the charcoal is dying down, pop some bananas (in
their skins) wrapped in tin foil on the shelf and leave for about 10
minutes. When you unwrap them you’ll have a delicious gooey banana
dessert!
"Peaches and nectarines sliced are very good too - serve with some fat
free yoghurt" HAZELHARRIS
ENJOY!
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