Mediterranean Backyard Barbecue

The barbecue season is just around the corner, and it can be easy to forget the recommended daily servings of fruits and vegetables when an abundance of steak and burgers is being served. This month’s recipes feature options to bring vegetables back onto plates in an easy, attractive way–and with adelicious Mediterranean twist.

Kabobs have long been popular in the sunny isles of Greece, and now they can also be a hit in your own backyard. Because they’re fun to make, they’re a great way to include children and teenagers in helping with dinner preparation. These featured kabobs combine the great tastes and health benefits of tofu, mushrooms and sweet bell peppers. The marinade is key to flavour when working with tofu, so be sure to marinate for a minimum of one hour. Tofu provides plenty of quality protein, fibre and cancer-fighting phytonutrients, while the colourful peppers and onion add vitamins and beneficial plant pigments that protect us from free-radical damage.

You can also use marinated and grilled vegetables in whole-grain pasta salads, as a side dish or as a burger topping. Both the kabobs and grilled vegetables are perfect served with a bean, grain or green leafy salad. Or try Christel’s Yogurt-Flax Oil Dip with raw veggies and her Greek Salad to complete the Mediterranean theme. By combining beans, tofu, grains and fresh vegetables, you’ll have a completely nutritious and flavourful meal to satisfy family and friends.

Grilled Kabobs

Marinated Grilled Vegetables

Yogurt-Flax Oil Dip

Greek Salad

About Olive Oil

A mainstay of the Mediterranean diet, olive oil helps prevent heart disease and high blood pressure, protects against cholesterol deposits, supplies antioxidants and strengthens liver functions. Greece boasts the highest per capita consumption of olive oil in the world, with the average person consuming 23 litres per year.