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Food for Fitness: Summer BBQ

posted by ChickSpeak
Saturday, August 14, 2010 at 1:35pm CDT

Summer time is close to drawing to an end, nevertheless, many are still firing up the grill and enjoying social time out of doors.Growing up in the south, grilling out has been a summer tradition in my family for every event that falls within the warm months. We have a cookout or a barbeque for my northern friends, for nearly every occasion ranging from graduations, birthdays, to engagement parties. Making food on the grill is always a good thing.

My fiancé, Jon, prefers to use the charcoal grill that I bought him over a gas grill for reasons of safety and of taste. By grilling your food, you remove more fat from it as opposed to frying it in various fatty oils.

Not only am I from the south, I am from North Carolina, and if there is one thing we do right here in the Tar Heel state it is barbeque, real barbeque, not just cooking out.

One of our favorite things to make is the summer classic, barbecued chicken. The recipe I have is very simple, and the sauce is savory yet low-fat!

Ingredients:

1/3 cup tomato paste

1 tbsp cider vinegar

1 tbsp brown sugar

2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

1 tbsp chili powder

Four skinless and boneless chicken breasts

First you will want to make sure that your grill is hot and ready to go before throwing the chicken on board. Once it is ready, place the chicken on the grill. We always cover the grid with aluminum foil because it makes clean up a cinch. Combine all these ingredients to make your sauce while the chicken is grilling. It will take about five minutes per side. Make sure the chicken white all the way through. It is bad news bears for you and your stomach to eat pink chicken.

After the chicken is completely cooked, drizzle your hand-made BBQ sauce over it. Your chicken is ready to eat. However, a meal is not complete without sides. I love macaroni and cheese and mashed potatoes as much as the next chick, but when I make food on the grill, I like for everything to have those charred marks.

My favorite sides to serve with my barbecued chicken are corn on the cob and zucchini. I usually cut my cobs in half instead of eating a whole one. The zucchini, I slice. Place both on the grill and turn accordingly. These are both very low calorie options; however, you can grill any vegetable that you like.

This whole meal contains about 320 calories per serving, and for a meal that is pretty filling, that’s a very low number! You could essentially burn off those calories in a thirty minute run.

Always use caution when using a grill. If you do not have access to an outdoor grill, this meal can easily be made on a George Foreman grill or one like it.

Happy eating!

Fatima Meadows attends Appalachian State University. She has a passion for good foods and fitness, and tries to find a balance between the both. Although she grew up in the western part of North Carolina she prefers the eastern North Carolina vinegar based BBQ.