Memorial Day Grilling & Chillin’  

By Jacqueline Gomes, RDN, MBA

It’s time to kick off grilling season with Memorial Day! Choosing fresh and natural ingredients will make your dishes stand out. Grilling is a versatile cooking method everyone can enjoy!

• Lean protein, such as lean beef and poultry, provide essential nutrients to fuel activity and are delicious on the grill.
• Jennie-O®  Seasoned Turkey Burgers contain 25g of protein per serving, are gluten free and all-natural with no artificial ingredients. Level up your burger with my recipe below.
• Vegetarian? No problem, grill firm or extra firm tofu on a well-greased grill grate.
• Don’t forget to grill veggies like zucchini, eggplant and asparagus for the perfect side dish.

Getting started…

• Use a glass dish or a plastic bag to marinate meats, fish, poultry or vegetables.
• The oil in a marinade is needed so the spices and seasonings adhere to the meat. Because the leftover marinade is discarded, only a small amount of oil remains on the meat as it cooks.
• Beef and pork can be marinated overnight and chicken for several hours. However, when marinating fish steak such as tuna, salmon, swordfish and halibut, 20 to 30 minutes is usually sufficient.
• Try a combination of herbs such as thyme, chives, rosemary, and parsley to complement grilled vegetables.
• Meat should be fresh or completely thawed before cooking for proper flavor and even cooking.

Easy to Eat Well Tip: About 36 percent of foodborne illness in the home results from “cross-contamination”. That means contaminated cutting boards, counters or utensils are not properly disinfected or sanitized before preparing foods eaten raw, such as fruits and vegetables.

Source: American Society of Microbiology. www.asm.org

Sweet Potato Bun Turkey Burgers

Prep: 5 minutes

Grill: 16-20 minutes

Makes: 4 Turkey Burgers

Ingredients:

• 2 large sweet potato, peeled and cut into ¼ inch thick slices
• 4 Jennie-O Seasoned Turkey Burgers
• 2 Avocados, sliced
• 1 large red onion cut into thick rounds
• 4 slices pepper Jack Cheese

Directions:

1. Heat an indoor or outdoor grill over medium-high heat. Place sliced sweet potatoes and onion slices on grill pan, cook for about 5 minutes.
2. Now add Jennie-O Turkey burgers and cook according to package directions, about 16 minutes. Keep potatoes and onions on until soft. Just before turkey burgers are done, add one slice of cheese to each.
3. Remove from grill and assemble your burgers: place turkey burger over one sweet potato slice followed by onion and avocado, top with sweet potato and enjoy!

Recipe by: Jacqueline Gomes, RDN, MBA