Healthy grilling isn't just veggies


Pick leaner cuts of meat & consider the humble chicken

Healthy grilling isn't just veggies

Chicken will almost always have fewer calories than even the leanest selections of red meat.

Photograph by: Lynn Ball , Ottawa Citizen

With record-setting high temperatures settling in across much of Canada last week, it's hard to ignore the pull of the 'cue. Yes, my cold-weather friends, barbecue season is here. Well, to be fair, it probably never left for the true die-hards (count my husband among them), but from now on we really mean it.

But what to grill? Why meat, of course. Big, manly cuts of meat. Steaks worthy of their own postal code, and burgers that ooze juicy goodness. When the time is right, it's hard to ignore those animal instincts that call for us to celebrate victory over our prey with fire and fuel (propane counts, right?) -- with a cold one in hand, of course.

I can feel your resentment brewing already. You're preparing yourself for a barrage of holier-than-thou comments about the perils of the grill. So in the name of not being a killjoy, let's get into some of the best ways to enjoy vaguely healthy summer grilling.

Meats exonerated?

Fatty cuts of meat often beckon in the summertime, but they do come with some drawbacks, and no, it's not all about the saturated fat content. In fact, according to a groundbreaking study published in the current edition of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, white and refined carbohydrates actually ranked as more dangerous for your heart than traditional heart-health enemy saturated fat. Yes, my flesh-eating friends, a burger might actually rank better for your heart than the white bun, at least according to this particular study.

Once you've calmed yourself down enough to keep reading (yelling "in your face" to your cardiologist is probably a little inappropriate), it's important to realize saturated fats have not been absolved completely from the heart-health picture -- more research is needed, bottom line. But even if saturated fats aren't as much of an enemy to our cardiovascular systems as once thought, fatty cuts of meat are still higher in calories than leaner meats, and perhaps just as importantly, they typically contain more carcinogens when exposed to high heat and flame than their leaner counterparts.

Choosing your cut

But just what is the caloric difference between a fatty cut of meat and a lean one? Up to double the calories, even after cooking. Case in point: while a four-ounce portion of eye of round steak weighs in at 180 calories, an equivalent serving of porterhouse weighs in at a rather unseemly 308 calories. Of course, you'll probably want to keep in mind that a typical porterhouse starts at about 16 ounces, so you're on the hook for 1,200-plus calories if you eat the whole thing.

Now, the foodies in the crowd might not be entirely on board with serving eye of round at their next dinner party (but your guests would burn extra calories from chewing), so if you're looking for a compromise, try sirloin (200 calories per four ounces, cooked), or tenderloin (244 calories for the same serving).

On the pork front, pork tenderloin is a best bet at a relatively svelte 208 calories per four ounces, while a trimmed chop provides only 20 calories more per serving. Conversely, an equivalent serving of spare ribs provides a rather startling 449 calories, or about 100 calories per rib.

How does this all compare with the health-food gold standard, the skinless chicken breast? A four-ounce portion of cooked chicken breast provides around 184 calories' worth of energy, which isn't far off the amount in the leanest cuts of red meat, not to mention skinless turkey breasts. So the bottom line? If you can find it in you to limit the fattiest cuts, you can probably make room for most any meat on your plate -- keeping portions in mind, of course.


Since summer veggies are already becoming available (anyone else on asparagus overload?), the easiest and healthiest add-on to your caveman meal is a plateful of veggies of choice, either barbecued on a skewer, in a basket or on the grill directly. If you keep oils to a relative minimum, you can easily have an entire flame-grilled meal for under 400 calories, which leaves you enough room for an ice cream cone (skip the sprinkles and chocolate sauce if you can), or a beverage of choice.



Grilled chicken


Photograph by: Lynn Ball, Ottawa Citizen


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