Barbecue Healthy And Light

Summer has arrived, the heat is felt throughout Italy and it is pleasant, at least in the evening, to eat outdoors. A barbecue to cook something good, tasty, that makes us spend good times with family or friends, is an idea to consider.

At this point you must be asking yourself a question, right? Whoever follows my blog knows how much I love quality food and healthy cooking.

Is it healthy to eat barbecue food?

Let’s start by saying that the barbecue is simply a method of cooking. Grilling is a healthy method because you don’t use any extra fat, but the fat from the meat itself drips while the meat is cooking.

A barbecue can be healthy if you choose the food you want to cook carefully.

Meat cooked at the barbecue

He uses thinner cuts of meat. Grill chicken, turkey or even fish. If you prefer beef, then take the loin or other leaner cuts of meat.

Never burn the meat. First of all, it loses its flavour, but the burnt parts are mostly carcinogenic. Overcooking meat causes heterocyclic carcinogenic amines (HCA) to be created.

Grilled vegetables

Are you a vegetarian or prefer to dine with lighter dishes, but don’t want to give up the summer barbecue? Here are 5 vegetable dishes to cook at the barbecue:

• Peppers
• Tomatoes
• Onions
• Mushrooms
• Courgettes

I’d say the best is a mix of grilled vegetables. We must also add that barbecue vegetables do not generate carcinogens such as meat.

What healthy barbecue seasonings?
You can use spices rich in antioxidants (garlic, bay leaves, rosemary and turmeric, for example), which help to eliminate HCA during cooking.

Another good dressing is to marinate the meat with wine, lemon juice, vinegar before grilling. This reduces the formation of HCA.

Detoxifying foods to include in your diet

Is healthy eating still possible? Today we live in a world where the food industry has long since introduced chemicals into our food. The number of food additives is very high.

It is true that our bodies have their own detoxification systems, but the amount of pesticides, heavy metals and chemicals in food is such that they are insufficient. So what do we do?

Let us use the same food to detoxify ourselves from the toxins introduced into the food!

Detoxifying foods for our diet

There are some foods that help our body to enhance its detoxifying action and eliminate toxins. Eating foods and drinking detoxifying drinks is the best way to keep your body clean and healthy.

Detoxifying vegetables, spices and vegetables

• Crucified vegetables and green leafy vegetables: broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, Brussels sprouts are anti-inflammatory and antiviral. Rich in fibre, they stimulate the excretion of toxins.
• Beets: contain antioxidants and beneficial properties for health. Beet juice can also amplify enzymes that help the liver detoxify.
• Coriander: is one of the plants that bind to heavy metals, thus helping the body to expel them. Coriander is useful in the excretion of mercury and in the decrease of lead absorption.
• Turmeric: yellow spice that has an antibacterial, antiviral, antioxidant, hepatoprotective and digestive action. It is used mixed with various foods, perhaps with the addition of black pepper, which increases the absorption.
• Ginger: it is rich in phytochemicals, has anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects.
• Green tea: high in antioxidants, protects against free radicals and produces detoxification enzymes.

Detoxifying fruits

• Apples: rich in pectin, which helps eliminate toxins from the bloodstream.
• Blueberries: Rich in nutrients and antioxidants, they improve vascular health.
• Walnuts: improve circulation and blood flow, so that toxins are more easily excreted. They are also rich in arginine, which neutralizes the by-products of alcohol and ammonia from the brain.

These are all products that you can find on the market, or directly from the manufacturer to be safer that they are organic foods and therefore healthy.

The most beneficial foods for the environment

A few weeks ago we talked about the most environmentally damaging foods, namely those industrial food products that emit a large amount of greenhouse gases into our atmosphere.

The world food industry needs a great deal of energy for the cultivation, transport, storage and preparation of food, and all this only increases the emission of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.

Choosing a more environmentally friendly diet can really affect your, and our, well-being. There are foods – like many plants – that cause less greenhouse gas emissions. The result is a greener diet with less environmental impact.

Plants with lower environmental impact

There is a label for foods that do less harm to the environment: it is called a “carbon footprint”. It is a parameter for estimating the amount of greenhouse gases emitted into the atmosphere during human activities.

• Lentils: these are legumes rich in fibre and nutrients. They are cheap. They require little water to grow and have a 40 times lower carbon footprint than beef.
• Beans: other legumes with a considerably low carbon footprint. As lentils are rich in fiber and also in protein. They are nutritious and want little water to develop.

Sustainable fish and seafood

• Mussels: they have a minimal environmental impact. They feed on food found in the water and meanwhile filter and clean the water, extracting the carbon needed for their shells. They are rich in animal proteins.
• Controlled-origin fish: Do you want to contribute to sustainable fishing that maintains the right harmony in the oceans? Buy fish only from those who have caught it or in fish markets that can certify its origin. And buy only seasonal fish.

Local and organic vegetables and fruits

Buying fruit and vegetables locally means not only eating healthy food, but reducing environmental pollution. Organic food production does not require transport, and organic crops help to keep the soil healthy and the water clean.