How To Grill Fruit And Vegetables For A Change Of Pace

Being able to grill vegetables and fruits gives you a whole new set of dishes and tastes to try. That gives you some variety in your side dishes, instead of always having boiled vegetables.

Making vegetables and fruits enticing to eat is important. They are a vital part of our diet, and most people don’t eat near enough servings of these every day. According to the CDC (Centers for Disease Control & Prevention):

"Fruits and vegetables contain essential vitamins, minerals, and fiber that may help protect you from chronic diseases. Compared with people who consume a diet with only small amounts of fruits and vegetables, those who eat more generous amounts as part of a healthful diet are likely to have reduced risk of chronic diseases, including stroke and perhaps other cardiovascular diseases, and certain cancers."

When the weather is nice you can use an outdoor grill, and in cold weather you can use an indoor grill such as the George Foreman line of grills.

Different Ways Of Grilling Vegetables And Fruit

A foil packet of vegetables can be places on an outside grill. There's nothing wrong, of course, with just grilling veggies and no meat!)

Kabobs work for both fruit and vegetables. The food should be in pieces that are big enough to be skewered without falling apart, but not so big the outside chars to a crisp before the inside is done.

Fruit and vegetables can be placed directly on the surface of a clean grill. Cook food whole, such as corn on the cob, or cut it into thick slices. Make sure the slices or pieces of food are big enough that they don’t fall through the spaces on an outside grill. There are advantages with an indoor grill, since you don’t have to worry about losing the food, and it can be grilled on both sides at once.

It doesn't matter if you use an indoors grill or outdoors, stay close to the food. Keep in mind fruits and vegetables cook much faster than meats, so don’t forget them and let them char to a crisp.

Add Flavor And Fat

To keep the vegetables and fruits from sticking, brush them with oil, butter or something like salad dressing.

Try marinating the food before cooking it for a change in flavor. The flavor becomes more intense the longer the food is marinated, but 30 minutes is usually sufficient.

For a different flavor, brush a flavored oil on the food's surface. A mixture of herbs will accomplish the same thing. Salad dressings brushed on the surface add both fat and flavor. Raspberry vinaigrette is nice on fruit, and Italian salad dressing goes well with vegetables.

Grilling Ideas For Fruits And Vegetables

You can grill just about any fruit or vegetable, but some hold up better than others. Food with a high water content, such as cucumbers or watermelon, don’t work so well. However, an indoor grill works better for these. Be sure to have a drip container in place under the lip of the grill for all the excess liquid!

Since most vegetables and fruits can be grilled, however, let your imagination run wild. Mix and match and try out any combination of fruits and/or vegetables that appeals to you. Pineapples and apples are especially good fruits to grill. Eggplant is a standard on grills, and green peppers are especially yummy.

Try This Recipe

Here's a recipe to give you a start on grilling fruits and vegetables.

Grilled Fruit And Vegetable Kabobs

Ingredients:

• Mushrooms
• Pineapple chunks
• Pearl Onions
• Large Olives

Alternate the different types of fruit and vegetables on skewers.

Brush the fruit and veggies with barbeque sauce.

Place the food on the grill.

Let the food brown, then turn the kabobs and cook until all sides have been browned.

Note: It doesn't really matter what combination of fruits and vegetables you use, so use whatever appeals to you.

Grilling vegetables and fruits on an outdoor or indoor grill makes a tasty and healthy addition to your menus, so enjoy!