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Barbecuing? It's easy to make it healthy

BBQ and Grill Cookbook by Loukie Werle

Robyn Lewis

BBQ and Grill Cookbook: The Heart Foundation - Loukie Werle

Prolific author and food editor of House and Garden and Good Medicine Loukie Werle has written a number of cookbooks for the Heart Foundation, including The New Classic Cookbook (2007), and Real Food (2005) which won Best Soft Cover Recipe Book in 2006.

In both she created exciting recipes based on The Australian Heart Foundation's eating guidelines, in response to countless requests from people who want to cook tasty food that is practical, easy to prepare - and healthy. Forget Master Chef – this is food you can actually eat on a regular basis. Matt Preston, take note.

Werle demonstrates that good food doesn't mean you have to compromise on taste, that healthy doesn't mean boring, and food information needn't be confusing. Her recipes are also suitable for children. What a relief! Little surprise that The New Classic Cookbook has sold well in excess of 150,000 copies.

Diet. There, I’ve said it, and I won’t use the D word again. For many it conjures up feelings like guilt, deprivation, stress, failure, inadequacy, even pain – and like a bad washing machine, usually ends with a less-then-desired look followed by a repeat cycle. You don’t have to go on one nor experience these negative emotions to sustain healthy eating over your (hopefully extended) lifetime; all you have to do is understand some food basics and perhaps make a few changes to your recipes, which might date from your mother or grandmother's era, back when lard was in and fatty acids unheard of.

Combine Werle's refreshing new approach with a bbq and tongs, and not only will you be guilt- and D-word free, you’re also in for some culinary fun! Guys, if you can master the difference between a VB and a boutique beer, tell Kiwi sauv blanc or pinot noir from Australian at fifteen paces and (for the real experts) sniff out 2% viognier in your shiraz, then you can easily master the difference between good and bad fats, and know the right balance between meat and plants in your food, too. (This goes for us gals, too).

The BBQ and Grill Cookbook starts off with a shopping list, many of which may be in your pantry already. Yes, the healthy choices feature – nuts, vegetables, fruit and legumes, plus fish, meats, dairy and eggs (at last, now I know, up to 6 a week is fine), which oils and margarines to use – plus a few things to avoid, like coconut and palm oil (which is often used to make ghee, note for Indian food lovers), and high-salt sauces, which include hoisin, oyster, Worcester and Tabasco.

Then there’s a section on what to look for in (or on) that meat you are about to throw on the grill. To look after your heart, you can still eat meat – what’s important is that you trim off the visible fat (and skin for chicken) and don’t eat too much of it at the expense of the salad and vegetables. Keep wagyu for special occasions. To stop it sticking, you just marinate it and/or lightly brush with the good oil first.

Like most barbies, the recipes start with snacks, although Werle’s are snacks to cook on the barbecue, and could be a light meal in themselves. Next come salads; not your plain garden but variations like barbecued pork fillet with nectarines (think of summer ahead), watercress with barramundi and several seafood salads.

Each meat recipe also has a side salad or dish – a reminder to get the balance right – and poultry comes in new guises, too. I can't wait to try the chicken breast stuffed with goat’s cheese – goodbye Kiev – sink my teeth into dark and spicy Barbados thighs, or savour balsamic sirloin with fennel.

Those who can remember Paul Hogan will be pleased to know that prawns are still OK, and amongst the seafood choices the flathead with avocado lime salsa sounds particularly yummy. Most recipes have a ‘goes with’ suggestion: parmesan chive mash (made the healthy way, of course), mushrooms and pecorino, cannelloni beans with sage…. in all, very easy and tempting.

I can't say that apart from grilling the odd banana I’ve thought of cooking dessert on the barbecue, but in the months ahead we’ll be caramelising pineapple slices and plums, and trying polenta pancakes as soon as raspberries appear.  (Ed: I've just had some fabulous successes with barbecued peaches and nectarines - put them on the side to cook in the reducing heat after you've taken the meat off).

For those who want to know more, there’s a section on commonly asked questions, like “should I eat carbohydrates?” (yes),  “should I follow a very low carbohydrate eating pattern?” (no, not for long periods) and “what about salt?” (avoid salty foods).

Werle’s other books include Ingredients (revised 2009, with Jill Cox), Italian Country Cooking: The Secrets of Cucina Povera (Food and Mood) (2007), Saffron, Garlic and Olives (1999), Balls: The All Round Cookbook (1999, with Lyndey Milan), The Trattoria Table: Inspired Italian Family Meals (1994), Trattoria Pasta: One Hundred Fabulous Recipes (1993) and Menus for Every Occasion (Select Classic Cookery) (1990). Some of  the out-of-print titles are available in local libraries.

It is no surprise that someone experienced in Italian cuisine should turn her sights to creating healthy recipes for The Heart Foundation, for Italian cooking, especially ‘cucina povera’ (peasant food) is rich in vegetables, tomatoes, garlic, fresh herbs, pasta and rice, olive oil and fruit, and meat was eaten sparingly. The step from there to heart-friendly recipes is a short one, and one we should all be following if we want to look after our hearts and those of our loved ones. Even kids’ arteries are clagging up, thanks to too much of the wrong foods; healthy eating habits should be encouraged early.

In all, the BBQ and Grill Cookbook is easy and inspirational, and sure takes the boring out of healthy food.  And yes, you can wash the results down with a glass of wine or even a beer.

The Heart Foundation BBQ and Grill Cookbook is available for purchase direct from The Heart Foundation, RRP A$24.94. Profits go to heart research.

Tips on Healthy Eating from the Heart Foundation are available on their website.

And this Heart Foundation article will help you make sense of fat in your food. Print it out and stick it on your frige.

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