Grilling for Fun, and for Good Health

Here in Texas we do a lot of grilling. Don't get me wrong, we always liked grilling and made the most of the grill when we lived in New Jersey too, even grilling in the snow, but here in Texas the weather is almost always perfect for grilling, and if it isn't, just wait a few minutes!

Grilling make sense for so many reasons. First of all, its too hot to cook in the house right now. I can bake, boil, flame grill, smoke, deep fry, or steam almost anything outside, and save us money on cooling the house.

Grilling is healthy. cooking meat on an open flame allows some of the fat to drip out, without flavor being lost. 

Grilling keeps the kitchen clean. Especially if you also eat outside!

We grill for all of these reasons, but today, mostly because we had a scare a few weeks ago...

 My husband had a heart attack.

 The heart attack has left me feeling helpless. My husband feels better, and is back to work and feels invincible again, but I am worried for his health. We agree that there are some things in life that are out of our control, so we have decided to address the things that ARE in our control. Number one being our diet.

We like to grocery shop together, so this week we kept our eye out for things that would not be bad for our health. We are not ready to be health gurus, but we are both eager to take some baby steps, so instead of buying steaks we picked up some sea scallops. Instead of frozen veggies in a "sauce" we opted for fresh.  

I have to say, I enjoyed this meal so much more than I would have liked the bagged veggies! There was absolutely NO suffering associated with this meal! 

For the mixed veggies we washed and trimmed whatever was in the fridge, a half of a leftover red onion, a handful of fresh green beans, some grape tomatoes and 2 par-boiled potatoes. We tossed them with some fresh herbs from the garden, some black pepper and some salt substitute, then grilled them in a veggie pan.

For the asparagus we washed and trimmed them, seasoned with a little lemon juice, a pinch of garlic powder, and black pepper, topped with some lemon zest and set that in the grill in a foil packet. 

For the scallops, we were stumped. I knew we'd grill them in the fish basket, but I have always used the traditional salt, pepper, paprika, garlic mixture for the seasoning and that salt was just Not gonna work anymore. Then hubby remembered a small bit of powdered gold in the back of the cabinet!

 Feiney's Everything Rub!

 This was a gift from a friend of mine, Adam Feinberg. Chef and entrepreneur, as well as a member of an award winning BBQ Team called Crazy Coyote, Adam lives in Denver, Colorado, where he is a chef for The Kitchen Next Door, Union Station.  

Adam gave me a packet of rub when I met him at The World Food Championship last November, and I used it almost right away when I got home. We made some butterfly chicken on the grill with them, and they were "Feintastic"! We used it 3 more times for butterflied chickens over December and January, and then there wasn't enough left in the bag to do another whole chicken so we were saving it for a smaller dish.

Feiney's Rubs are low salt, so they're perfect for someone on a low-salt diet. 

If you're interested in trying some Fein Rubs, check out Adams page ----Fein Tasting Foods, or if you're in the Denver area, treat yourself to something tasty at The Kitchen Next Door, Union Station,  and say hello to Adam for me!

The meal was outstanding, very tasty, and a wonderful way to begin our journey of healthy eating!  I am really looking forward to the day when I am not flat-out scared shit about my husbands health. He is my best friend, and I need him to be around for a very long time! For now, he is taking it easy, being careful with his food choices and taking ALL of these meds twice a day. I am hopeful that good eating habits and lifestyle changes will allow him to wean off of some of these, but for now they're helping to keep him alive. 

Oh, one more thing... a common theory that we have always appreciated but haven't embraced as much as we should... we are taking the time to recognize the blessings all around us! Look at these adorable white-tailed deer we saw on our way to the grocery store! 

Life is Good!!