No fat, no sugar.. now grill it!

June 18, 2009 5:10 PM

Grill Recipes for Father's Day - The catch? Dad's diabetic and a heart patient.

So, this year it's my responsibility to plan Father's Day. I want to do a good old fashioned grill on the back lawn party... but my father has both diabetes and a heart condition. As I understand it, neither is a severe case, but he tends to eat strictly, and rarely has large amounts of sugar or fat... Help me with some recipes that are diabetic/heart patient friendly, grill-related, and still tasty. (Anon, because I can be tied to my father through online links, and don't care to broadcast his health conditions)

posted by anonymous to food & drink (11 comments total)

Citrus is a great tool in grilling fish or chicken ... not really any calories to speak of, and adds a lot of punchy flavor! Lime juice, salt/pepper, and garlic is a great marinade for many heartier white-fleshed fish (mahi mahi, bass, etc.). Make sure not to let your fish "cook" in the citrus by marinating too long though!

I am also a fan of a similar marinade for chicken, but with lemon juice, soy sauce and some honey (this might be too much sugar but my diabetic brother is fine with honey). This is like half and half lemon/soy sauce with maybe half as much honey as either lemon or soy.
posted by shownomercy at 5:35 PM on June 18 [1 favorite has favorites]

Many of the answers in this AskMe might be useful.
posted by The corpse in the library at 5:43 PM on June 18

How about grilled salmon? Yummy!
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 5:54 PM on June 18

Both shrimp and scallops can be grilled nicely; I have done both in the past week. Options abound for seasoning them; just make sure you don't cook them too long.
posted by TedW at 5:55 PM on June 18

Good Eats: Grilled Salmon Steaks
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 6:04 PM on June 18

Does he like spicy food? There are some great jerked pork and chicken recipes out there. The ones I've used rely on scotch bonnet peppers for heat, so you can regulate the fire by cutting back (or increasing) the number of peppers used.
posted by jquinby at 7:06 PM on June 18

How about shish kebabs - lean beef or chicken & vegetables. They're easy to grill and they can be prepped ahead of time. Some supermarkets sell them ready to grill.
posted by 14580 at 7:18 PM on June 18

Grilled (charcoal) asparagus is delicious! It does help to put olive oil on it but you could probably do it dry if you turned them more often.
We've also cut a potato in 1/2 inch slices to grill. If you want it to be quicker, spread them on a plate in single layer and microwave for a couple minutes so they're 1/2 cooked and brown them up on the grill. These take up a lot of room on the grill but went over really well.
If you like red peppers, they can be really great grilled. Cut the top off like you would to make a stuffed pepper, cut the seeds off, add a some balsamic inside, put the top back on and grill. It makes it taste unbelievably sweet and brings out more of the pepper flavor.
posted by stray thoughts at 7:49 PM on June 18

Weirdly, one of my favorite grilled things is grilled onions in foil. Take a large sweet onion (such as a Videlia), then cut off the top (not the root end!) and peel it. Cut the onion into eighths (or fourths, whatever) WITHOUT cutting through the root--you want it to be still connected at the bottom. Add a little bit (seriously, a teaspoon is fine, and since this will serve at least three or four people, you're looking at very little oil) of olive oil. Also sprinkle on either chicken bouillon powder or smear it with a bit of the paste (Better than Bouillon). If you want to go all-out, add a few cloves of garlic. Wrap this up really tightly in foil, and then throw it on the grill. Depending on how hot the grill is, you're looking at anywhere from thirty minutes to about an hour. You'll end up with soft, delicious onion that goes great on pretty much any meat or vegetable imaginable.

Try chicken, too: lime juice, garlic, cumin, some southwest seasoning blend. Maybe a little bit of agave nectar--it's easier for diabetics, I believe, and about as sweet in taste as honey. Marinate for a few hours, then throw it on the grill.

For many years, vegetarian-me grilled tons of veggies. Eggplant, zucchini, summer squash and sweet peppers are all exceptionally good on the grill. Toss them with some balsamic, fresh herbs, and garlic, then throw them on. They're done when they're tender and delicious--you'll know.

I've also successfully grilled tandoori-style chicken--it's not at all traditional, but it's damn good. Marinate the chicken in nonfat yogurt, lemon juice, garlic, ginger, cumin, cayenne, cardamom, pepper, and coriander (or some combination of spices, or generic some sort of generic tandoori seasoning blend--I use the ones on the list because I almost always have them all hanging around the kitchen). Grill until the chicken's cooked, and serve with lettuce, tomato, red onion, and cilantro.

I've also found that pork chops on the grill can be pretty delicious--marinate in orange juice, soy sauce, rice vinegar, garlic, ginger, and a bit of sweet chili sauce. (The sort that's sort of sweet, but also has heat--I use Maggi brand.) Grill them until they're done.

Also, don't forget to grill corn! Soak the corn (in husks) in water for fifteen minutes or so, and crank the grill to high. Put the corn on, and about twenty minutes later (when the husks are rather blackened) pull it off. It's delicious--the water steams the corn a bit, and then the heat roasts it, and it's *fantastic*.
posted by MeghanC at 8:41 PM on June 18 [1 favorite has favorites]

For dessert, grilled pineapple chunks on skewers served with low-fat yoghurt. No extra sugar is needed as the pineapple gets sweeter when grilled.
posted by essexjan at 12:55 AM on June 19

You can make awesome eggplant dip by grilling a whole eggplant (about 20-30 minutes) until the skin is blackened. Peel of as much of the skin as possible and blend/process with garlic, salt and pepper, maybe some grilled or pickled red bell pepper too.
posted by plinth at 7:46 AM on June 19