5 Tips For Perfectly Grilled Vegetables

Love them or hate them, vegetables are an important part of any healthy diet. Everyone is well aware that we should be eating more of them, but not many of us actually eat the amount we should or even get anywhere close. Whether you have finally decided to get serious about losing that extra belly flab, or you're on an all around health kick to improve your fitness and wellbeing, that needs to change. Can't see yourself actually enjoying all that veg? You're doing it wrong. Try these tips to end up with wonderful grilled vegetables that you'll actually look forward to eating, every single time.
 

1. Choose Your Veggies Wisely

The size you choose depends on your personal preference, and the veg in question. Softer veggies will cook quicker, so should be cut a little bigger, while tougher ones require more cooking, and need to be cut thin, or into smaller cubes.

You also need some fat. Fat prevents you veg from burning and drying out, and improves the flavor. Olive oil works fine, and is a fairly safe bet. But if you want to experiment you could try nut oil, coconut oil or avocado oil. The only oils to avoid are vegetable-based ones that are high in polyunsaturated fats. These can denature when heated, and contain lots of omega6 fats, which cause inflammation, and are far too prevalent in Western diets as it is.

2. Flavor

Don’t be afraid to add extra flavor to your veggies.

While just grilling them with a little oil will taste amazing, you can take this even further by adding different herbs, spices, marinades and dry rubs to them.

There are no rules here, you can go with whatever you like, but spices like cayenne, chili powder, turmeric, paprika and cumin work well, along with mixed herbs and spices. For marinades, either make your own, or find some low sugar, low salt pre-made ones, and rub a light coating into the vegetables half an hour before cooking.

3. Check

You’ve got to keep a close eye on your vegetables while they’re cooking. If you let them cook too much, they’ll either burn, go horribly dry, or turn to mush, and no one like soggy veg. The time you give your veg depends again on what texture you prefer, and what the vegetables are. Experiment a bit, but above all, keep checking. Once you know what you like, you'll be able to get it right every time.

4. Equipment

Larger vegetables can be tossed randomly into a baking tray, but you may need to take a little more care with smaller ones. Tomatoes, for example, grill better when they are placed on a skewer, or in a grill basket. By the same token, vegetables that are likely to break up during cooking, such as onions, due to their multiple layers should also be skewered to keep them together.

5. Cooking in Packets

Cooking your vegetables in packets is a great alternative to traditional grilling. This method works especially well for larger and denser vegetables that require more cooking – potatoes, yams, squash, turnip, and similar vegetables. Take a large piece of baking foil and give it a quick coating of any non stick spray, oil or another fat as suggested in point 1.

Cut the vegetables fairly thin, and place them in the center of the foil, then lift up the edges and bring them together at the top to make a parcel. You want to leave some space in the parcel, so don’t fold the foil right over the top of the vegetables – a 2 inch gap is perfect – as this allows the veggies to steam.

Put the whole parcel in the oven. If you’ve cut them thinly enough, your veggies should be ready in around 15 minutes.

There are your 5 tips for perfectly grilled vegetables. These work with any veg – peppers, zucchini, broccoli, tomatoes, egg plant, onion, fennel, mushrooms, and root vegetables. Be as experimental as you can by trying as many different vegetables as possible, and playing around with different seasonings and oils.