Now that the summer is approaching, it is time to bust out the bbq grills and begin cooking your meals outdoors. I love grilling food in the summer. It gets me out of a hot kitchen and I have less pots and pans to wash. Grilling is awesome for several reasons:

1. It gets you outside
2. Everyone loves a bbq
3. Food tastes great grilled
4. It’s fun

There seems to be some concern over which method of grilling is healthier overall - charcoal or propane? While charcoal grilled food tastes great, charcoal does cause meats to contain higher levels of carcinogens. Two types of carcinogens are created which are polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and heterocyclic amines. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons coat your food when fat drips from the meat onto the fire creating smoke. Heterocyclic amines is created when meat is charred. Both forms of carcinogens occur more with charcoal but are also possible with propane.

A few tips to keep in mind when grilling are:

1. Trim any extra fat off of meat before grilling
2. Marinate your meat in vinegar or lemon juice (reduces heterocyclic amines)
3. Turn your meat more often to reduce charring

You can also cover the grilling surface with aluminum foil to reduce any burning of your food.

When you begin eating healthier and eating clean in general, you will receive a lot of criticism from your friends and family. You have to remember that many of them hung around you when you ate poorly so they are going to wonder why the sudden change.

You will try to explain to many of them what you are doing and some will cheer you on. Others will say negative comments because they don’t believe you can do it or they are jealous that they aren’t doing it. For the haters all you can do is ignore them. You can try to get them to join you in a healthier lifestyle but if they refuse, you will just have to blow off their comments.

How to Handle Eating Clean at Work

Friends and family are usually easy to deal with. How do you handle your clean eating lifestyle at work? You see your co-workers for 8 or more hours per day. They will definitely have something to say when you stop eating out at lunch or you are blending your protein shake in the break room.

The best thing to do is stay focused.

1. Continue packing your meals to eat throughout the day.
2. Stick to healthier items for company pot lucks.
3. If you do eat out - salads (watch the dressing) and low-carb items are best.
4. On coffee runs avoid fancy drinks (whip cream, syrups, etc.), stick to plain black coffee or tea.
5. Happy hours - diet colas in your drinks if you must, avoid fruity cocktails and beer.

You will receive a lot of criticism in the beginning but once your friends, family, and co-workers realize that you are sticking with it and it is your new lifestyle, they will get used to it and the comments will settle down. Just keep your goals in mind and know that you are doing something positive for your health.

image credit: sxc.hu