Skip to content

Vegetarian grilling is for everyone!

Grilling food is one of those quintessential summer activities. Everyone enjoys being invited to a barbeque. It’s a great excuse for a get together with friends and family.
150715_grilled_vegetables
Can you enjoy the barbecue without putting meat on it? Yes, you can. Photo supplied
Grilling food is one of those quintessential summer activities. Everyone enjoys being invited to a barbeque. It’s a great excuse for a get together with friends and family.

A recent survey showed that 33 per cent of Canadians (almost 12 million) are vegetarian or eating less meat for either health reasons, or environmental and/or animal welfare concerns.

That means that statistically, you – or a guest or two at your barbeque – will be looking for alternatives to traditional meaty fare. It may seem a bit daunting at first, but this is good news, because there are so many tasty options beyond the frozen veggie burger when you get creative. Best of all, everyone will enjoy them!

Lively native, Cassie-Lee Tario is a certified nutritional practitioner. She’s passionate about food, and has made it her life’s work to help people embrace a healthy diet. Her blog, cooking classes, social media activities and even a new YouTube channel aim to make the information accessible.

Tario’s favourites for creating a simple and tasty barbeque menu that everyone can partake in include: grilled corn on the cob, mixed vegetables, marinated tofu skewers, and grilled pineapple.

Corn on the cob can be grilled with the husks on (no foil required) so that it steams in its own foliage. (Remove the silk before grilling by pulling the husks down to the base and then replacing them.) Your choice of vegetables can be cooked on the grill wrapped in a foil casing.

Tario suggests zucchini, sweet potatoes, mushrooms, carrots, cauliflower, broccoli, cabbage or fresh string beans as good choices. Add in a little grapeseed oil rather than olive oil for cooking – it can take the heat.

“Consider adding some spice – cumin, lime, sea salt, fresh basil, oregano, or cayenne pepper,” Tario said. “If you have fresh herbs in your garden, all the better.”

Tofu is an easy ingredient to add to your grilling repertoire. Be sure to purchase firm or extra firm organic tofu for grilling.

Cut it into one to two-inch cubes, and marinate for at least two hours in a combination of tamari (soy) sauce, sesame oil and diced onions. Skewer along with hearty chunks of zucchini, mushrooms and fresh red or green peppers, and watch your guests gobble them up.

Fresh pineapple is also tasty when grilled. It can be grilled either cubed and skewered or cut into thick slices. You can brush or dip it into a mixture of lime juice and a little brown sugar before grilling.

It’s also good form not to place vegetarian food on a grill that’s just cooked meat where the juices and flavours can be absorbed. Disposable foil grill trays are helpful in this case.

Where possible, leave side dishes free of meat or animal products (i.e. bacon bits, cheeses, creamy dressings) and offer them on the side so that all guests can choose whether to include them or not. With a little forethought you’ll have a crowd-pleasing meal that even “fussitarians” will appreciate.

For more information about vegetarian food, visit the Northern Vegetarian Society (NVS) online at northernveg.com or cassie-leetario.com.

The NVS was established in 1994. Its purpose is to help the people of the Greater Sudbury area adopt and maintain a healthy vegetarian lifestyle by organizing vegetarian potlucks throughout the year, and offering vegetarian cooking classes twice annually.

ReThinking Green is produced by ReThink Green, a local non-profit organization promoting environmental action, policies and networking in the Greater Sudbury area.

Comments

Verified reader

If you would like to apply to become a verified commenter, please fill out this form.