Holiday Grilling Ideas!

The 4th of July is approaching with its’ patriotic parades, fireworks, and festive cookouts!

July is National Grilling Month and firing up the grill is a must on Independence Day. Rather than turning to our trustworthy hamburger and hot dog staples, think about mixing it up this year!

The Greater Boston Food Bank is committed to providing healthy and nutritious meals to those in need, and last year over 25% of our distribution was fresh produce. That’s a lot of fruits and vegetables! With so many wonderful fruits and vegetables in season, it seems a shame not to experiment with them on the grill.  The GBFB Nutrition team has plenty of recipes and outdoor food safety tips in our Nutritious Bytes Newsletter, and we’re featuring a few from our archives here for your holiday meal. We think everyone would agree that vegetables are more fun when served on a stick! So, try our vegetable kebab recipe as a healthy alternative to the traditional pasta or potato salad sides. And since nothing says summer like a fresh fruit, for dessert, try grilling peaches, with a side of good ‘ole vanilla ice cream. Check out our recipes below! Also, be sure to visit Click ‘N Cook, where you can search for recipes by ingredient. Happy 4th of July from Team GBFB! Vegetable Kebobs (serves 40, 1 kebab each)

Marinade: 1 ½ cups of olive oil 2 teaspoons paprika ½ teaspoon chili powder 1 cup lemon or lime juice ¼ cup water ½ cup fresh parsley, chopped (optional) ¼ cup tomato paste 3 tablespoons honey 3 tablespoons garlic, minced 1 ½ teaspoons salt

Kebabs: 12 red bell peppers, seeded and cut into 8 pieces each 12 green bell peppers, seeded and cut into 8 pieces each 12 yellow squash, cut into 1-inch rounds 6 medium eggplant, cut into 1 1/2- inch pieces 16 yellow onions, cut into large chunks

Combine all of the marinade ingredients and places it in a large shallow pan. Thread the vegetables onto skewers. With the squash, make sure to thread the skewer through the skin sides, so that the cut sides will lie against the grill and not the other vegetables. Place each skewer in the marinade, making sure to turn them so all vegetables get sauce on them.

Grill them over medium-high heat, about 5 minutes on each side. Brush marinade over them while they grill – it will make vegetables a nice, deep color.

Grilled Peaches with Ice Cream (Serves 80, 1 peach, half each)

Ingredients: 40 peaches, halved with pits removed ½ cup canola oil 1 cup brown sugar 1 tablespoon ground ginger ½ teaspoon ground cloves (optional) 1 tablespoon vanilla Vanilla ice cream or frozen yogurt

Directions: Combine the canola oil, sugar, cinnamon, ginger, cloves (if using( and vanilla in a medium bowl.

Put the peaches in a large bowl/ Using your hands, scoop the sugar mixture onto the peaches and toss to coat the peaches well. Chill the mixture for at least 2 hours, stirring them once or twice.

On a greased grill over medium-high heat, place the peaches cut sude down and cook for 5 minutes. Turn them over and cook the other sides for 5 minutes.

Serve one peach half in a bowl topped with a 2 ounce scoop of ice cream. Also try this marinade with other fruits like pineapple, plums or nectarines!