Summertime BBQ Gets a Makeover

If you are like me, there's nothing I love more than a summertime BBQ, minus burgers, piggy parts, steak and ribs. There are so many different foods that you can grill that don't have to clog your arteries and weigh you down.

You can make an entire Mediterranean style vegetarian meal on the grill and add some fresh fish as well. Invest in some rolls of tinfoil, a nice bottle of extra virgin olive oil and a canister of sea salt. The rest is easy. Go to your local farmer's market (if you have one nearby), and purchase a variety of your favorite fresh veggies like eggplant, zucchini, onions, peppers, tomatoes, portobello mushrooms. Next slice them up, drizzle with EVOO and add a touch of salt. Grill them in tin foil to avoid charring them. Charring foods on the grill increases their carcinogenic potential. Add some kind of hard cheeses, like haloumi (see recipe below), and you have a delicious, light meal with no cleaning up!

If you want to include some good clean fish to your meal, take a fresh piece of a locally caught white fish and prepare it in the same way with a squeeze of fresh lemon or even lime. This time of year you can find great locally caught (if you live on the east coast) fluke, striped bass and cod. Remember to limit your tuna, shark, tilefish, and swordfish intake due to higher levels of mercury and heavy metal toxins.

It's the weekend, so share a bottle of red wine with your friends and family to complete the meal. Red wine contains an anti-oxidant called resveratrol which has been linked to reducing heart disease and fighting cancer. Live a little. It's the Mediterranean way. Viva!