Summer Grilling Time!

With Memorial Day just around the corner its time to fire up the grill. Here are a few tips to make that cookout a little healthier.

via VEG Cooking

• Try experimenting with tofu, seitan, and meat alternatives for your next cookout. Some brands to look for include Lightlife, Gardenburger, Yves Veggie Cuisine, Morningstar Farms, and Boca, which can all be found in the frozen-food section of most grocery stores. Worthington also has a large selection of canned faux-meat chunks that are perfect for making kebabs. They are precooked, so you only need to heat them for a few minutes.
• Add some spice to your veggies with dry rubs and marinades. A dry rub is just a mixture of dry spices that you can rub onto tofu, portobellos, eggplant, or meat alternatives. Once you’ve rubbed in the spice mixture, cover the food tightly with plastic wrap and let it sit for an hour in the refrigerator to allow the flavors to penetrate.
• Marinades are usually made up of oil, some sort of acid (like vinegar, wine, or juice from a citrus fruit), and fresh or dried herbs and spices. There is a wide variety of pre-made vegetarian marinades available in stores, but making your own is easy and fun. Try adding spicy dried chilies or chipotle peppers for a smoky flavor, or sweeten things up a bit with maple syrup, brown rice syrup, or agave nectar (available in most health-food stores).
• Allow food to marinate for at least three hours but up to 24 hours for denser protein foods, like mock meats. Using a sealable plastic container or bag will allow you to shake food as it marinates without making a mess. Marinades can also be basted on the food as it grills.
• What would a barbecue be without the traditional side dishes? Baked beans (sans the pork), coleslaw, and potato salad can be healthy additions to your meatless feast. The latter two can be made vegan by using a creamy, eggless mayonnaise like Vegenaise or Nayonaise.

VegCooking.com

Some more great Green Grilling Tips and Recipes via Planet Green