Healthy & Delicious BBQ Swaps & Recipes

Holistic Nutritionist approved BBQ product swaps & recipes.

I don’t know about you, but I barbeque all year round, even in minus 20 degree weather (thank you Canada!).

With that being said, I’m always looking for new products to try to ‘spice’ up my meals. Because I barbeque so often, I want to make sure I’m nourishing my body with quality ingredients.

Before I buy products, I ALWAYS read the labels. Not just the nutrition facts, but the actual ingredients. We have become so fixated on reading how many calories, how much fat, how much protein, etc. we forget to read the ingredients.

Here are some ingredients to watch for:

• Sugar (acne, mood swings, cravings, to name a few)
• Vegetable oil, like canola oil (over 90% of canola oil is genetically modified, it is partially hydrogenated, contributes to inflammation)
• Artificial flavours (can literally be any ‘deemed safe’ chemical to make up for a flavour in a product)

So, I’m back with some more awesome health promoting product recommendations and recipes to share with you and your fam.

If you want to be the star of your next gathering, date night or just a family dinner, you’re going to want to take some notes!

French onion dip is a classic! I won’t name any names, but most brands I’ve picked up at stores are filled with sugar, modified this, modified that. Yuck!

Enter in Primal Palate French Onion Seasoning Mix. It has only five ingredients, that you can actually pronounce.

I added the mix to a bowl and added 2 cups of unsweetened coconut yogurt. Follow the instructions on the package for chilling time and then once it’s ready, serve up with your favourite veggies. Easy peasy!

• 1 package of organic boneless and skinless chicken breasts
• Primal Palate Garlic & Herb spice blend
• ¼ cup Good for Good BBQ Sauce
• ½ red bell pepper
• ½ yellow bell pepper
• ½ zucchini
• ½ red onion
• 2-4 tbsp. avocado oil

1. Cut up veggies into bite sized pieces to add to bamboo sticks.
2. Cut up chicken into cubes and place them in a bowl
3. Coat chicken in avocado oil – I like to use Chosen Foods Avocado oil spray.
4. Add Garlic & Herb spice – I don’t really measure this but I am pretty liberal with it! Just make sure the chicken is evenly coated with it.
5. Start to build your skewers! Alternate between chicken and veggies (I like to double up the onion pieces).
6. Fire up the grill and cook the skewers about 8-10 minutes per side or until thoroughly cooked. Before you flip them, coat each of them with BBQ sauce and then flip and do the same with the other side.
7. Once they are done, you can add more BBQ sauce if you wish.

I’m a potato junky and I’m not afraid to say it. I grew up on lemon potatoes, thanks to my grandma. They are super nostalgic for me. So, I’ve attempted to recreate her recipe and I think I did a pretty good job! And what’s potato wedges without a delicious aioli?

Enter in Primal Kitchen Garlic Aioli. I know what you’re thinking…mayo is not healthy! WRONG! Healthy fats are our friend. Repeat after me….”Healthy fats are our friends.” But, they are not all created equally. Most mayo brands that I checked out in the store have canola oil in them and other ingredients that no one needs in their lives. Primal Kitchen mayo products are made with avocado oil, just like their dressings. They have simple, and easy to pronounce ingredients.

Here’s the recipe for the potato wedges:

• 3-4 medium sized potatoes, washed
• 2-4 tbsp. avocado oil
• ½ to 1 lemon, juiced
• Primal Palate Super Gyro mix
• Pinch of paprika
• Pinch of sea salt
• ¼ cup Primal Kitchen Garlic Aioli

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Cut potatoes into wedges
3. Add to a bowl and spray with avocado oil and then liberally add Super Gyro spice, sea salt and paprika. Coat evenly.
4. Spread wedges out on baking sheet and pop into the oven.
5. Bake for about 35-45 minutes, making sure to turn half way through. Sometimes I like to spray some more avocado oil over top for crispier potatoes.
6. Serve with garlic aioli.

There you have it! Some of my favourite BBQ must haves! Enjoy!

You can usually find me in the kitchen whipping up a delicious smoothie, matcha latte, creating a new recipe, blogging and engaging with my online community.

At the end of the day, my main goal is to make a positive impact on people’s lives by encouraging and supporting them to make healthy choices to lead the healthiest life possible!

You can find Tina at her website www.tinagravalos.com, or follow her on Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest.