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TABLE OF CONTENTS

1) Safe & Healthy Barbecuing
2) Healthy Recipe of the Month
3) Your Healthy Eating Support Group Tip
4) Healthy Products You Need To Know About

Carcinogens can form in the food you barbecue whether you use a gas grill or a charcoal grill, but with gas grills it's easier to control the temperature.

Here are some tips to minimize and almost eliminate carcinogen formation so you can enjoy your backyard barbecues and eat safe and healthy food:

1. Make sure your meat is completely thawed before putting it on the grill. Cook your meat, fish and fowl (all protein foods) at temperatures below 400 degrees F, preferably closer to 350 degrees F. Choose lean cuts and don't eat the fat. Heterocyclic amines (HCAs) form when cooking protein foods at high temperatures. HCAs are suspected to be carcinogens by the National Institute for Cancer Research.

2. Use a citrus or olive oil based marinade. It reduces formation of carcinogens by 92 to 99 percent.

3. Prevent flames from contacting the food on the grill. Black smoke which results when dripping grease ignites flames contains polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) which contains carcinogens. White smoke which results from grease vaporizing without causing flames does not contain PAHs. Use foil or a pan to catch the drippings to prevent the formation of the black smoke. Allow some ventilation so some of the smoke can escape.

4. Lightly grill vegetables, but don't char or blacken them. HCAs don't form when grilling vegetables, but PAHs can if they charred.

E-coli and salmonella contamination can cause serious illness and even death. Make sure poultry is cooked to a temperature of at least 180 degrees F, and meat to at least 160 degreess F. Thoroughly wash your hands after handling raw meat with warm soapy water.

Clean the grill after each use to prevent a build-up of carcinogens.

Click here to send any comments or questions about this discussion. I cannot answer each question individually, but I will attempt to address questions in the next newsletter.

Basic marinade for tenderizing and seasoning beef, lamb, or chicken. Sufficient for about 3 pounds meat:

1 cup olive oil
1/2 cup raw unfiltered apple cider vinegar or part lemon juice
2 to 4 cloves garlic, pressed
2 to 3 tablespoons fresh herbs, minced (such as parsley, tarragon, chives, or rosemary, thyme and marjoram) - if using dry herbs, reduce to 3 to 4 teaspoons

Fruity marinade for fish, chicken, tofu or tempeh:

1 1/2 cups unrefined fruit juice (unfiltered apple, pear or pineapple)
1/3 cup soy sauce
2 to 3 tablespoons raw unfiltered apple cider vinegar (or 1 to 2 tablespoons lemon juice)
2 to 3 inches grated gingerroot, squeezed (2 to 3 tablespoons juice)
2 to 3 cloves garlic, pressed
2 tablespoons untoasted sesame oil (or one tablespoon toasted oil)

Used with permission from PCC Natural Markets http://www.pccnaturalmarkets.com/sc/0204/goldies.html

Give your family healthy frozen treats to cool off this summer. Instead of popsicles or snow cones with harmful chemical coloring and an excess amount of sugar, make your own.

Try 100 percent fruit juice popsicles. You can make them in an ice cube tray or in paper cups.

You can get an inexpensive ice crusher to make your own snow cones and top with 100 percent fruit juice.

FOOD ADDITIVES: A Shopper's Guide To What's Safe & What's Not is one of the books I've written that will help you choose healthy foods and keep harmful chemicals out of the food you feed your family. If the above link doesn't work, copy http://www.bookmasters.com/marktplc/00084.htm into the address line on your browser.