Fresh Summer Grilling

    Fresh Summer Grilling

    On the East Coast, we are fortunate to have a variety of locally grown produce options available to us.  From peaches, blueberries, and tomatoes, to green peppers and eggplant! There’s no shortage of good for you fruits and veggies here!

    • Local produce is a nutrition powerhouse, since it has a shorter distance to travel from farm to store, it is less likely that the nutritive value will have decreased.
    • Food that has a longer distance to travel will lose more nutrients along the way.
    • Local produce is full of flavor, it’s picked at its peak of ripeness and can often make it to shelf within 24 hours – now that’s fresh!

    Why purchase locally grown?

    Although you can find many fruits and vegetables such as strawberries for instance year round, they are not at their “in-season” best in January. However, when they are at their seasonal peak, they are full of flavor and color which means they’ll taste their best!

    Local food benefits the environment and wildlife. Well-managed farms provide ecosystem services: they conserve fertile soil, protect water sources, and sequester carbon from the atmosphere. The farm environment is a patchwork of fields, meadows, woods, ponds and buildings that provide habitat for wildlife in our communities.*

    *Source: University of Vermont. Cultivating Healthy Communities extension.

    Grilled Vegetables And Hummus

    Easy Grilled Vegetables & Hummus

    Prep: 10 minutes

    Cook: 10 to 15 minutes

    Ingredients:

    • 1 large Eggplant, sliced ¼ inch thick
    • 2 Green Bell Peppers, cut in half and seeded
    • 2 Corn on the cob, husked
    • ½ pound carrots, peeled
    • 2 tablespoons olive oil
    • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
    • Fresh black pepper
    • 2 cloves fresh garlic, minced
    • 2 tablespoon chopped fresh herbs (thyme, basil, cilantro, rosemary) or 2 teaspoons dried Italian herbs
    • Cooking spray
    • 1 container Esti Hummus

    Directions:

    1. Place prepped vegetables on a large surface.
    2. In a small bowl combine olive oil and fresh herbs. Brush vegetables with olive oil mixture, sprinkle with salt & pepper.
    3. Heat an outdoor grill and grease grill grates. Grill vegetables on both sides until charred, serve warm or at room temperature with hummus.
    4. Serve with Greenway Grilled Chicken breast, fish or steak!

    Recipe by: Jacqueline Gomes, RDN, MBA