The Enthusiastic Foodie.: Traditional Summer Fun.

When it comes to summer there is nothing more traditional, at least in my family, than BBQ. Now unlike most traditional families, BBQ doesn't just characterize our summers but well, a good portion of my meat eating life. I'd attribute my love for BBQ to my dad who regularly incorporated it into our family meal time- rain or shine, snow or hurricane. I know what you must be thinking: 'UH that's a lot of carcinogens and fat and stuff that you are consuming m'dear. Cut that out!'

But before you go making telling me, and everyone who loves grilled food to cut it out of our diets, explore what the grill has to offer! One of the great grill lessons that my dad has taught me is that there are no limits as to what you can grill and how you grill. For example, instead of direct heat you can wrap salmon in tinfoil, great seasoning/marinade and place it on the grill for a perfect/fast cook without blackening it. Fish cooks fast as well so there is not as much time for carcinogen formation. Essentially, when you grill something the high temperature (especially from the flames!) cause chemicals called HCAs (heterocyclic amines) and PAHs (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons) to form. These can mess with your DNA and possibly contribute to the formation of cancer.

Here are a few quick tips of healthier grilling that have been approved to decrease the formation of carcinogens on grilled meat:

1. Clean the grill! This lifts those nasty burned bits off the grill and thus, away from your food.

2. Grill fruits and vegetables! These are just delicious anyways because they can acquire a great smokey flavor. Wrapping meats in vegetables may also reduce carcinogen formation since it generally forms in meat proteins.

3. Keep the flames as low as possible. You can either place the meat on foil to avoid charring or flare ups from grease drips. If you want the nice char marks, oil the grill in order to avoid sticking and burning.

4. Avoid processed meats. They're not as tasty anyways.

5. Grill for the shortest time period possible. Fish is a great protein to grill because it doesn't even require that much cooking time. Cubing meats (like in shishkabobs) is another great way to reduce time. Lastly, microwaving meats prior to grilling can reduce the cooking time without sacrificing the grill deliciousness you want.

6. Marinade the meat (for about 30 min). Marinades can act as a barrier between the meat and carcinogen formation.

7. Don't eat the burned stuff! Choosing leaner meats decrease the amount of fire flare-up that occurs as a result of the fat rendering out of the meat. This leads to decreased char and a healthier grilling experience.

8. Flip meat frequently

Check out more information here.

Now that we know how a little bit more about grilling, let's do it!

Grilled Veggie-Turkey Burgers with Pineapple

1 package of extra lean ground turkey

4 fresh basil leaves

2 scallions

5 fresh mint leaves

1/4 red onion

1/2 large tomato

1 giant handful of baby spinach

2 tbsp BBQ sauce (your favorite!)

1/2 cup egg whites

1/2 cup bread crumbs (from bread of choice)

oil for the grill

1 pineapple

Fresh multigrain bun

1. Place ground turkey in mixing bowl.

2. Place basil leaves atop each other and roll together. Proceed to cut into small strips by dicing the roll of basil (also described in the cooking instructions of my savory apricot, sundried tomato, date pizza). Add this to the mixing bowl.

3. Finely chop the mint leaves in the same fashion as the basil. Add to the mixing bowl.

4. Finely chop the scallions and add as well.

5. Dice the red onion and add to mixture.

6. Use 1/2 of a large tomato. Dice it into small chunks. We don't want to use too much tomato because it will add a lot of moisture to the burger mix. Too much moisture might cause the burgers to break apart and we don't want that!

7. Roughly chop the baby spinach and add to the mixture. All of these veggies are adding not only great color but some yummy vitamins and really, taking up space in the burger so that we can eat a little less meat without loosing the meat entirely. Also, as mentioned above, these don't form HCAs or PAHs so by taking up space that meat might otherwise occupy and the fat content of the burger, we are reducing our risk of carcinogen formation.

8. Add the BBQ sauce, egg whites and bread crumbs to the mixture. Now comes the fun part- mixing! I use my hands to mix in order to most evenly distribute the ingredients. Also, it's just fun to hand mix things.

9. Form into patties (roll into a ball and then press down between your hands) and place directly on a clean, oiled grill. Since these burgers have little fat in them and are quite moist they will stick to the grill slightly. Oiling the grill can help to avoid this as much as possible.

10. Flip the burgers frequently. They take about 15 minutes to cook, give or take a few minutes depending on how large you made them, so flip every 3-5 minutes. Normally, when the burger pulls away from the grill you know that it is time to flip.

11. In the mean time...Slice the pineapple into rings and place on the grill.