Healthy Grilling Techniques for Weight Loss

Add tons of flavor, not fat, to your next barbecue with these eight healthy, delicious dishes. We've even got desserts!

Cookouts don't have to be pig-outs. In fact, grilling may be one of the healthiest ways you can prepare your food. “It’s a fat-reducing cooking technique, as opposed to a fat-increasing one like pan-frying or deep-frying,” says Steven Raichlen, author of Planet Barbecue! Just don’t think you can throw a giant slab of beef on your plate and lose weight. Portion control is key. “We tend to think of BBQ as a giant hunk of meat in the middle of a plate,” says Raichlen.

Memorial Day marks the unofficial beginning of summer and the official beginning of grilling season. From northern Maine to southern California, the backyard barbeque will be a key part of the holiday weekend. Whether your menu includes simple burgers or something more elaborate, several simple steps can help you serve up a healthy meal: Start with a clean grill. Limit the formation of potential cancer-causing compounds by marinating meat, poultry, or seafood before cooking, cooking for longer at a lower temperature, and having a spray bottle filled with water handy to control fatty flare-ups. Give veggies and fruit equal billing with meat. And practice safe grilling by keeping raw meat, poultry, and seafood separate from vegetables and other foods, using a food thermometer to check the internal temperature of grilled meat, poultry, and seafood, and placing grilled food on a clean plate, not on the ones that held them when they were raw.
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WebMD looks at the healthy way to barbecue, providing plenty of grilling meal ideas for lean meat, chicken, and veggies. Get the scoop on sauces, cooking techniques, and all you need for a summer cookout.
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