Archive for July, 2009
Great Grills for Great Soldiers
George Foreman® gets an opportunity to help our troops
Great Grills for Great Soldiers
At George Foreman®, we’ve always loved that our products help people eat and live better. Never, though, have we been so proud of being able to do that than this year when we got the chance to help some of our service members in Iraq. Making sure people eat better is what we do every day, but it’s truly never felt quite so uniquely rewarding as it did in this case.
For critical care nurse LTJG Kristen Andersen’s Shock Trauma Platoon, the turnover with the outgoing group included more than just the usual rundown on medical equipment, supplies, and sharing of lessons learned. In addition to the passing of information, it also marked the transfer of an important and vital piece of equipment: the precious George Foreman® Grill.
“Battle tested” over the previous seven months, the grill was used by the medical group’s sailors and marines to grill the daily cold cut lunch sandwiches served in the small base’s chow hall. The improvement in taste as a result of grilling the sandwiches was so notable, that Andersen shared it with her family back in the US. Finding it an interesting story, her father decided to share it with us.
Upon receiving this story, we knew exactly what we wanted to do – soon, a collection of G5 Grills was on their way to her base. Upon hearing the news, Andersen was very excited at the prospect of sharing the luxury enjoyed by her group with the rest of her small base.
As soon as the grills arrived, Andersen distributed them to the various hard working groups on base as well as the chowhall. As a result, everyone on their base – marines, sailors, soldiers and civilian contractors – is now enjoying the better tasting grilled sandwiches. We couldn’t be more proud.
A copy of this newsletter is being sent to their base, so we would like to wish all of you at the base a safe tour and a quick return. Thank you for everything you’ve done and letting us do what we can for you. It’s truly an honor.
Pre-Seasoning to Perfection
Using marinades & rubs with your George Foreman® Grill
Trying to make your summer BBQ or dinner meat cuts taste a little more distinctive? Why not try using a pre-seasoning rub or marinade to make your meats truly special? These simple flavor-adders will let you spice up your next meal without a hassle.
We’ll start with the basics – what exactly defines a marinade and rub, and how are they used in pre-seasoning meat before it’s cooked. Simply put, marinades and rubs: are part of a longer catalogue of pre-seasoning techniques – “they’re the essential seasonings that give grilled fare its character, personality, and very soul.”
Marinades
These are defined as liquid seasonings – a mixture of herbs, spices and aromatic veggies like onions and garlic – combined with flavorful liquids like wine, olive oil, citrus juices or vinegar. Marinades work by soaking the meat so it can absorb the flavors of the liquid. You typically soak a meat either for a few hours or overnight, depending on which ingredients you’re using and on the strength of flavor you want to achieve – the longer the marinade time, the more time the meat has to soak up these flavors.
In addition to providing flavor, marinades can help your cooking in other ways, too. Acidic liquids like wine, vinegar and citrus juices help tenderize meat by breaking down muscle fibers. Oil and other liquids in the marinades also help keep meat moist during cooking, for juicier results on your finished plate. This is why marinades are so commonly used with chicken breasts and other poultry, which can have a tendency to be too dry after they’re cooked.
To use a marinade and cook on your George Foreman® Grill, simply prepare the marinade in a dish or pan, add your meat, cover and place in your refrigerator, then allow it to soak for either a few hours or overnight for a big, bold flavor. Once your meat is ready, take it out of the marinade, place it on your preheated grill and cook for the standard time indicated in your Use & Care manual. It’s that easy.
Rubs
A rub is defined as a mix of spices, herbs and seasonings – often used with sugar – to give meats a strong base flavor. Not to be confused with seasonings – which are applied just prior to or during cooking – rubs are added to meats at least several hours prior to cooking like a marinade. This allows the flavors of the seasonings to “bleed” into the meat, much like what you see with marinades.
Rubs fall into two categories – wet and dry. As the name suggests, a dry rub has all dry ingredients, so you end up sprinkling it over the meat like a powder and physically pressing or rubbing it in. A wet rub is one that features a small amount of liquid – usually water, oil or yogurt – that’s used to mix the dry seasonings into a kind of paste.
Since rubs are made of mostly seasonings, they are often characterized by creating a crust on the outside of the meat. This is true of both wet and dry rubs. While the seasonings will encrust the outside of the meat, the amount of flavor that’s brought into the meat itself will depend on the amount of time the meat was allowed to rest (sit) with the rub.
To use wet and dry rubs with your George Foreman® Grill, simply prepare your rub and work into your meat in a dish or pan; cover and place in the refrigerator to give the seasonings time to bleed into the meat. Then, place meat on your preheated George Foreman® Grill and cook to the desired doneness as indicated in your Use & Care manual.
Marinades and rubs are a phenomenal way to add flavor and spice to your next grilled meal. They’re fast and easy, usually requiring little prep work, and they cook well on your George Foreman® Grill because, unlike sauces and bastes, the flavors are already soaked into meat so optimal cooking won’t be affected by the sloped surface. This way, you can knock out the fat and still have juicy, flavorful food on your plate.>/p>
Power Grill™ Grill & Griddle
2-in-1 versatility gives you the power
You love George Foreman® for great tasting, healthier grilled food. Now, fall in love with George all over again with our Power Grill™ 2-in-1 Grill & Griddle. The Power Grill™ features 3, 100 Sq. In. removable plates – 2 grill plates and 1 griddle plate. All three plates feature our George Tough™ triple nonstick coating that eliminates the need to use oil or butter for healthier cooking and makes cleanup a breeze.
With an adjustable slope, you can change your Power Grill™ from a sloped position that allows fat and grease drain off on grilled foods, to a flat position that’s perfect for all your griddle favorites. Now you can have healthier food at all your meals, including breakfast!
All this, plus our new convenient on/off switch that lets you control the power of your grill, instead of just plugging and unplugging, which can cause sparking at the outlet.
Healthier Eating for Hot Days
Making summer BBQ & party eats healthier
Summer is in high swing and across the country cities are experiencing record high temperatures. So what’s the perfect solution to get through the year’s hottest days? Change up your diet and add a little refreshment into your typical weekly meal plan! The below tips give you some great ideas on how to change what you’re eating to make the summer heat a little more bearable.
When it’s hot outside, eating heavy meals is just going to weigh you down. Particularly when it’s hot, you want something that’s going to give you energy and revitalize you to get through the rest of the day. The perfect solution is to sub in more refreshing meals or versions of dishes for an overall lighter summer menu.
Shrimp on the Foreman, anyone?
Steak and other red meat dishes are typically really filling – a New York Strip Steak is not a light meal that makes you want to go back out into 100ºF heat and do what you need to get done with your day. Even hot chicken dishes don’t sound very refreshing when you’re trying to beat the heat.
Summer is the perfect time to add a few shrimp or fish dishes into your meal plan. The taste is lighter, they’re not as heavy and the health benefits are numerous. Shrimp and fish are both a great source of vitamins, nutrients and Omega-3 fatty acids that help reduce your risk for heart disease, prevent arthritis and promote healthy brain function. Research also shows that adding just one fish dish to your diet per week may also reduce your risk of developing Alzheimer’s. This way, you’re getting healthier and feeling better in the hottest part of the year at the same time.
Cold Meat Salads & Sandwiches
If you don’t want to give up your red meat and poultry for a meal, try switching it up a little. Instead of doing a hot dish, use the meat or poultry cold to make a refreshing summer sandwich or salad. Just take your favorite meat or poultry portion cooked on your George Foreman® Grill to help knock out the heavy fat, allow it to cool and then slice for a sandwich or salad.
Since these dishes aren’t hot and also aren’t typically heavy on the sauces used, they end up being lighter and more refreshing for summer eating. Plus, with all your veggies (and fruits if you’re feeling adventurous) mixed in, you have a 1-dish plate that’s quick, easy and the perfect option for a hot summer day. You can use a recipe or simply get creative and make your own.
Hot Sandwiches, Wraps & Panini
For a hot meal that still eats like a light summer dish, try making a wrap, hot sandwich or even a panini on your George Foreman® Grill. All of these are simple meal solutions that take little time to make for your busy summer schedule, plus they give you the warmth and comfort of a hot meal without the weight of a heavier dish or whole cut of meat.
Hot sandwiches can be anything from a simple grilled cheese with tomato to the Croque Monsieur a la George Foreman® recipe featured in this month’s issue. Wraps are tortillas spread with your sandwich makings and rolled before being cooked on your grill. Panini are hot Italian sandwiches where the outside of the bread is lightly brushed with oil before they are grilled.
These hot summer options can be made on any George Foreman® Grill, though if you have a grill with an adjustable slope like the Power Grill™ featured in this month’s issue, it is recommended that you lay the grill flat for easier cooking. If you don’t have an adjustable slope, make sure not to overstuff and try to make all the portions even so that the top grill plate closes properly on the sandwiches.
Health Benefits of Fish. Washington State Department of Health. http://www.doh.wa.gov/ehp/oehas/fish/fishbenefits.htm
Summer Eats The Art of the Summer BBQ Party with George Foreman®
Summer Grilling
There’s no doubt that summer BBQs are part of our culture. From 4th of July celebrations to a simple backyard party on a Sunday afternoon, summer is the time we all get together outside, enjoy the sun and all our favorite summer activities, and have all our favorite summer BBQ foods. It’s the perfect all-American picture of summer. Now, George Foreman® is giving you some ideas to making this tradition easier, healthier and more convenient no matter where you live.
Summer BBQ tastes good, but it’s not exactly the picture of healthy eating. Many foods associated with the summer BBQ like burgers, hot dogs, cheese fries and potato salad are also those American comfort foods most associated with unhealthy eating.
There are several ways to make your BBQ healthier, starting by cooking your meat on a George Foreman® Grill, instead of on an outdoor grill. By cooking everything on your George Foreman® Grill, you’re helping knock out the fat on all these typically unhealthy foods.
Not BBQ, you say? True, the cooking method is grilling versus open fire cooking, but all you’re really losing is that smoked-in taste. This can be adjusted with seasonings, including liquid smoke that adds that characteristic smoked flavor to foods. For some ideas on seasoning tips and tricks to add a bit of BBQ flavor to your George Foreman® grilled food, read our article on Pre-Seasoning to Perfection in this month’s issue.
You may also wish to cook some of your items over a traditional outdoor BBQ pit – such as your good steak cuts or lobster where you’ll really notice the flavor. Then, cook the more standard items like burgers and hot dogs on your George Foreman® Grill, since the flavors will be masked by loads of toppings and condiments anyway. In this way, your good BBQ cuts are still carrying that flavor that your guests will rave about, while your more standard fare will have the healthier aspect of the George Foreman® cooking.
In addition, if the party happens to be at some other location than your backyard, like a park or a downstairs condo picnic area, cooking on your George Foreman® Grill and bringing the food with you will limit the amount of cooking utensils you have to cart and carry. That way, you can spend more time enjoying the party and less time tending to your food. If you live in an apartment or condo that doesn’t have the luxury of a nice picnic area, you can also simply open up your sliding windows to let the warm summer breezes blow in, make some refreshing summer drinks and enjoy BBQ food with your friends indoors – less mosquitoes, more AC and comfier furniture included.
To add to the healthier side of your summer BBQ, also try subbing out some of those traditional BBQ foods with some healthier alternatives. Instead of potato salad, make a lettuce salad with your favorite low-fat dressing or even a cold meat salad like a low-fat Chicken Caesar. For coleslaw, try making it fresh with low-fat mayo. Also try adding some fish dishes like a shrimp cocktail or citrus-marinated salmon steak. This way, you at least have the options available for those that want to eat healthier.
The most important thing to do as you try to make your BBQ healthier, is to try and think of all the places where you can add healthier aspects in without displeasing your guests. Having a good mix of traditional versus healthier cooking is a good way, as well as what we have provided above in selectively cooking meats outdoors. By creating a good mix, you’re guests will still be pleased and their diets will thank you.
