Host a Healthy Summer Cookout

Healthy Summer Cookout: Nutrition Tips, Recipes, and Summer Supplements

By Mareya Ibrahim Jones, Chef Mareya

The grill doesn’t have to be the home of Flintstone-sized steaks, rubbery hot dogs, or burnt burgers. A cookout doesn’t have to throw you off the healthy habits wagon. Grilling can be refined or down-home. You can go around the globe to get inspired, because just about every country has its own spices and flavor profiles to borrow. Knowing how to keep it safe, clean, and flavor-filled is what I’ll share with you in this article. Grilled foods can be some of the most nutrient dense if you know how to do it right. And, with the right food swaps, hydration, and supplementation, it’s easier than you think to host a healthy summer cookout. 

Creating a Healthy Cookout Menu

Maximize flavors and nutrients

My healthy cookout menu is built on vegetables and lean proteins doused in flavor. Spices and herbs are your key to making the blander, more nutritious foods absolutely delicious. 

Let your BBQ take you on a culinary journey with the right flavors. You don’t have to use exact measurements – just borrow the ingredient palette from different countries. 

For a taste of India, try a Tandoori style marinade combining nonfat Greek yogurt, pureed onion, crushed garlic, curry powder, black pepper and a meat of your choice. The yogurt also helps the meats cook faster, which is critical to reducing free radicals as we’ll discuss later. 

If you like Korean BBQ, you can combine flavors like low sodium soy sauce, white vinegar, sesame oil, fresh garlic and ginger. I grew up with Middle Eastern-influenced flavors, which combines citrus, smoky herbs and a little heat to kick it up a notch. You can use a prepared harissa blend and add a little coconut or olive oil to marinate foods. A stand-by is just some good smoked sea salt, fresh garlic and lime - you can't beat it! 

I like using marinating trays to keep food safe and meats separate. The longer your meats get to marinate and pick up those amazing flavors, the better.

• Dry: Keep a variety of spice dry rub blends handy to help vary your flavors and take you on a global tour.

• Wet: use wet marinades to soak in flavor and mop onto proteins half way into the cooking process and keep a cup of it warm to add after cooking.

• Use citrus and grated onions to marinate food, infuse flavor & reduce cook time

• Soak wooden skewers and cooking planks in water with a few drops of essential oils to infuse flavors.

• Combine extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice and fresh herbs in a mister bottle to spritz fish, veggies, chicken and other foods for a simple burst of flavor.
  
  

When it comes to proteins, premium is worth it

I always recommend picking ingredients raised without chemicals, antibiotics or hormones and keeping meats like bacon nitrate-free. Opt for grass fed, free range beef, natural, or organic chicken and wild caught seafood. These proteins have higher nutrient content and less of the bad stuff that your body will need to fight off. It’s pricier, but it’s worth it. 

One way to keep costs down is to keep your guests satiated with healthy, fiber- and protein-rich cookout salads (like my crunchy MedMex or Quinoa Berry Almond salads below) and snacks (like my Crunchy Cumin Chickpeas also listed below). You’d be surprised how small 30 grams of protein in a steak or piece of chicken really is!

Bite-sized grilling makes it portable and easy to socialize and better for portion control. On a stick, or slider-sized, finger foods are key. Skewers, like my Rosemary Garlic Lemon Chicken and Veggie skewers, provide an easy way to alternate protein and veggies. 

Smart sides with seasonal produce

Did you know that when fruits and vegetables are in peak season they are also in peak nutrient content? That’s why I always opt for what’s in season. 

Buy local if you can to reduce the shipping time and opportunity for nutrients to degrade in a truck! I love hitting the farmer’s markets to not only support local growers, but to get my produce as fresh off the vine as possible.

For a big splash of color, choose a selection of fresh veggies and add cloves of garlic, fresh lemon or lime and a touch of sea salt and pepper for a simple preparation. Bell pepper, zucchini, squash, eggplant make a flavorful ‘half the plate’ accompaniment. 

• Lean proteins: grilled chicken, fish, tofu, veggie burgers

• Smarter sides: vinegar-based slaws, grilled veggies, quinoa salad

• Buns & wraps: sprouted grain buns, lettuce wraps

• Desserts: fruit skewers, frozen banana bites
  
  

Healthy Grilling Tips to Minimize Oxidative Stress

Grilling over high heat, particularly with open flame, can generate compounds like heterocyclic amines (HCAs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) that act as free radicals and cause oxidative stress in your body, damaging cells, DNA, and tissues. Over time, oxidative stress damage weakens your immune system, ages your skin, and diminishes the resilience you’ve worked hard to achieve. Yikes! 

How to Reduce Oxidative Stress While Grilling

The good news is a few simple tweaks can turn a free radical party into a healthy cookout:

1. Avoid the char.
   The idea of just throwing food on the grill and cooking to a carbon pulp is not the objective. Using a moderate fire, avoiding flare ups and char is key to a healthy bbq.

2. Warm up the grill.
   Make sure the grill has had at least 5–10 minutes to heat before placing food and avoid walking away. Just make sure you have something good to drink in hand and keep your eyes on the prize!

3. Cook with rosemary.
   To avoid free radicals from overcooking, place a branch of fresh rosemary across meats - the natural oils in rosemary work wonders! Soak rosemary branches in water for 30 minutes and place on top of your cooked meats and veggies. Rosemary can help combat the free radicals created by that char. Adding fresh rosemary can also help with preventing bacteria infection from foodborne pathogens, not to mention infusing fabulous flavor and aroma to foods.

4. Use indirect heat.
   Place veggies and other foods that don’t require as much direct heat on an upper rack. Use liners and grilling baskets to keep foods from dripping and baskets to keep items together and away from direct heat.

5. Sous-vide thicker proteins in advance.
   Chef tip: This is how some of your favorite restaurants prepare meats. They cook low and slow for perfect tenderness, then throw on the grill to get that crunchy browning. This not only maximizes flavor and texture, but minimizes time in the high heat and all the problems that come with it. 

6. Cook just enough.
   Rely on a thermometer to know the ‘doneness’ of your foods. Remember, you can’t judge a bird by its color.
   
   

Summer Supplements to Avoid Oxidative Stress

Those tips will help you minimize free radicals in your grilled foods, but I still like to take supplements to ensure I have enough antioxidants to fight off the free radicals in the smoke and everything else I may encounter. These powerful antioxidants get the job done.

• Glutathione
  This is your body’s master antioxidant. It helps prevent and reverse oxidative stress while recharging the other antioxidants in your body. Glutathione production wanes as we age (when we need it most!), so as a midlife lady, I always take my supplement.

• Vitamin C
  Not only is Vitamin C a potent antioxidant that helps regenerate glutathione, it is a key summer supplement to support skin in the sun. Vitamin C feeds your collagen production factories to help keep skin healthy, even, and firm.

• Alpha Lipoic Acid (ALA)
  This universal antioxidant fights oxidative stress in every tissue in the body. It’s also a major component of carbohydrate metabolism and helps keep blood sugar in check. Even at the healthiest cookout, one of you guests is likely to bring a sugar bomb of a dessert; I love tossing back a shot of Lypo-Spheric® R-Alpha Lipoic Acid before a meal to mitigate any ill effects on my blood sugar. 

Hydrate to Replenish Nutrients

When it’s hot out, hydration is more important than ever! We lose so many important nutrients in sweat, so I like to use my healthy cookout beverages to replenish.

1. Infused water
   A pitcher of sparkling “spa water” is always a big hit. On a hot, sunny day, it can be just so much more satisfying than plain water. Cucumber lemon and raspberry mint are go-to combos. 

2. Limit sugary and boozy drinks
   Alcohol and sugar are both major free radical generators, not to mention dehydrators and nutrient thefts in their own right. That’s why I love a summer mocktail. Particularly if you incorporate fresh fruits, you’ll feel even better after a few sips. 

3. Electrolytes from natural sources and supplements
   Some of the first nutrients your body sweats out are electrolytes — potassium, sodium, magnesium, and calcium. So, make cocktails with aloe vera juice, coconut water, and watermelon. And don’t skimp on the salt! I love to have electrolyte supplements and my Lypo-Spheric® Magnesium on hand to replenish in a pinch. 

4. Fruit is your friend
   Eat your hydration! Packed with water, nutrients, and just enough sweetness, fruit makes the ideal base for a healthy cookout dessert. Try mixing fresh fruit and no-sugar-added lemonade into popsicle molds and freezing for a couple hours before your BBQ.

My Blueberry Bliss Mocktail (below) checks all the boxes.

Healthy Cookouts Should Be Fun

From the accessories to setting the tone and flavor of the meal with décor, friends, music and fun, this is where you get to put your name on it. Make it your own.

• Wear a fun apron with room for your tools.

• Put it on a stick and make it easy to eat in mini bite-sized portions. If you can hold your food in one hand and your drink in another, you’re proving the host can have as much fun as any guest.

• Fill your ice cube trays with chili peppers, citrus, fresh mint and herbs so everyone can add their own flavor to their drinks.

• Keep your drink chilled in an insulated martini glass – and always have a dispenser of something yummy for your crowd. A spiked watermelon is a good time, too.

• Create a fun and inviting atmosphere where your grill is – lights, umbrellas, comfy seating, cute platters, tiki torches, lawn games – you get the drift.

• Ask everyone to brings an ingredient for a grilled pizza and s’mores party.

• Use heavy-duty disposable plates for easy clean up because dishes are no fun.

When you’re surrounded by friends and family, it’s hard to not have fun. And when you eat well, you feel well. I hope you put your own spin on your healthy cookout, but if you need some dishes to get started, check out the recipes below.

ROSEMARY GARLIC LEMON CHICKEN & VEGGIE SKEWERS

Serves 6

INGREDIENTS

• 2 lbs. boneless chicken thighs, cubed (substitute with seafood, if desired) 

• 4 bell peppers

• 1 fresh lemon

• 2 red onions

• 1/2 lb Cherry tomatoes

• 1 tbsp fresh rosemary, minced

• 3 cloves fresh garlic

• 1 tsp ground black pepper

• 2 tsp olive oil

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Soak wooden skewers in water 10–30 minutes.

2. Cut the chicken into 1" cubes.

3. Dice bell peppers and onion into 2" chunks.

4. Assemble skewers with chicken, onion, cherry tomato and bell pepper.

5. Marinate skewers for 30 minutes to overnight.

6. Pre-heat a skillet or outdoor grill to medium-high heat. Cook skewers 8 minutes on each side or until chicken is thoroughly cooked (165° F internal temperature).
   
   

QUINOA BERRY ALMOND SALAD