August is fast approaching and graduating seniors and parents across the country are starting to get ready to send their new freshman off to school. Whether you’re freshman is moving across the country or just down the street, one of the biggest lifestyle challenges they’ll face as they live on their own for the first time ever will be the dreaded Freshman 15. We’ve all heard about it (and most of us even dealt with it ourselves) – that roughly 15 pounds that college freshmen gain on average in their first year of school.

So how do you help your freshman avoid packing on 15 pounds while they’re away for the first year? George Foreman indoor grills are a perfect solution! From the time that our first Champ™ Grill was put out in the 90’s, George Foreman grills have been a compact, simple solution to getting your college student to eat better even when they’re so far away from home.

Since our grills let you cook what you love, only healthier, college students don’t have to go out of their way to eat healthier – they simply cook the food they’d want to eat anyway and let the grill do the rest. Whether it’s burgers and hot dogs for a quick bite, sausage patties for breakfast or a nice cut of chicken or steak for dinner, your college student is getting the foods they love, just with less fat. This way, they don’t have to sustain themselves on rice cakes and celery sticks, while at the same time, they’re conquering the Freshman 15.

When it comes to grills for freshmen entering college, we recommend any grills in our Champ™ grill series. These grills are the most compact we offer, so they’re perfect for tight dorm counters or shared apartment kitchen spaces. The cooking surface is big enough for 1-2 servings, so they can feed themselves and a roommate or friend. There aren’t any controls or programming, so it’s as easy as your freshman plugging the grill in, letting it preheat and then cooking whatever they want in less than 10 minutes.

The Champ™ grill series is offered at major retailers nationwide, plus online. You may also want to consider getting one of the special model Champ™ Grills that includes a grill sponge to make cleanup easier so your freshmen can get back to studying instead of scrubbing their grill.

Whichever grill you choose, get your new college freshman a George Foreman indoor electric grill and help them knock out the Freshman 15 before they ever start the school year!

Summer is in full swing and the sweltering heat being felt in most of the country can make hot, heavy meals seem less than appetizing. Instead of weighing yourself down with a hot casserole, why not take the summer months as a great opportunity to explore the wonderful world of fresh grilled sandwich wraps?

Several things make grilled wraps a great idea for a summer meal. First, they’re generally a lot lighter on the stomach than other hot meals, so you’re not faced with needing a nap after every meal. Aside from that, they’re also extremely easy to do – even if you want to make several different wraps to satisfy all the picky eaters in your house. This way, you can fix the meal, finish eating and get back your day without a lot of hassle.

Making a grilled wrap on your George Foreman contact grill is as easy as making a toasted sandwich. Simply get large tortillas or sandwich wraps (all varieties work on your grill), fill them with your favorite fillings, wrap, grill and eat. If it’s your first time trying wraps, you can follow these instructions for a quick meal in less than 10 minutes, including prep time:

1. Lay tortilla or wrap on a cutting board.

2. Spread the center stripe of the wrap with condiments, sauces or dips (you can also spread across one half of the wrap, if you prefer a lot of sauce)

3. Layer with your ingredients – leaving about an inch of space at the front and back of the wrap so you can fold the tortilla. You can either layer ingredients down the center or cover half of the wrap, depending on whether you like your wraps slim or stuffed, respectively.

4. Fold the front and the back first, then roll up from the side.

5. Place on your preheated George Foreman grill, fold-side down.

6. Close the grill cover and cook for about 2-5 minutes, depending on your grill. If your grill has variable temperature control, set it for medium-low and cook for 3-5 minutes; if you don’t have variable temperature control, simply monitor cooking progress closely and start checking at around 2 minutes.

7. Once the wrap is cooked (wrap will be golden), remove from the grill, slice in half and serve.

As far as the fillings go, you pretty much have the freedom to get creative and have fun with any number of your favorite flavors. You can use cold cuts or pre-cooked chicken and steak, shredded or sliced cheese, all varieties of veggies and fruits, salsa, dips and any of your favorite condiments or sauces. If you want to get really fancy, you can even grill some chicken, steak, fish or veggies on your contact grill, then cut up the meat, fill the wrap and place it on the grill again.

For easy lunches, the wrap can be served by itself or with a small salad or cup of soup – a great idea for an at-home café lunch with friends in the backyard! If you want to try the wraps for dinner, you can serve with a side of fresh pasta salad or angel hair, or a medley of your favorite grilled veggies.

How to bring Healthy Cooking to your outdoor events

As you fire up your outdoor grill for a full summer of your favorite backyard BBQ, the last thing you’re probably thinking about is how to cook healthier. However, healthy cooking is easy outdoors with George Foreman Grills. With an outdoor George Foreman grill, you can bring the healthy cooking advantages that you have on your kitchen counter to all of your outdoor events. Plus, in doing so, you can help avoid some of the health risks associated with outdoor grilling, in general.

So how do you make outdoor grilling healthier?

First, get the George Foreman outdoor grill that best suits your lifestyle. If you cook outdoors primarily around the home – particularly in an apartment or condo – then one of our electric indoor-outdoor grills (GGR50 or GGR200) is perfect. They feature George Tough™ nonstick coating so you can cook oil-free, plus the same deep ribs found on our indoor grill plates so food doesn’t sit directly on top of any fat or grease as it cooks. If you do a lot of cooking away from the home for vacations, camping or road trips, then consider a George2Go™ Propane Grill (GP200). It also features our George Tough™ nonstick coating, plus an adjustable slope so fat and grease can drain away automatically into the integrated drip tray.

Another great thing about outdoor grilling on a George Foreman grill is that you’re cooking over a controlled heat source. This means that the heavy-duty cooking plate is helping maintain a more constant temperature at a high (but not too high) degree. The benefit of this is that it helps avoid some of the risks associated with outdoor grilling.

According to Colleen Doyle, M.S. R.D. of the American Cancer Association, “Cooking meats at high temperatures creates chemicals that may increase a risk of cancer.”* With an open heat source grill, the risk of reaching temperatures associated with this chemical release is harder to regulate – i.e. it’s hard to tell your wood or coal fire not to get too hot. However, any George Foreman grill – even our outdoor propane model –has a thick cooking plate between your food and the heat source. This plate ensures even heat and maintains a more constant temperature well within a safe cooking range.

Besides the temperature, Doyle goes on to say, “Also, there is some concern that fats from the meat dripping onto the coals creates additional chemicals in smoke that may land back on the meat.”* In this light with even more risk involved, you’re simply better off using a grill with a plate, rather than one that puts the food directly over the heat. Then, you simply want to avoid burning or over-charring your food (which you would want to do anyways) plus remembering to always follow portion control rules to ensure you’re not eating too much.

In addition, you can also take a few steps to make your backyard BBQ menu plans a little healthier, too. Although meat may be the king of the outdoor grilling experience, incorporating vegetables and even fruits into your menu can be both healthy and refreshing on those hot summer days. Not only are they a fresh, light addition to any menu so you’re not weighed down on a sweltering day, but according to Discovery Health, “Many of the chemicals created when meat is grilled are not formed during the grilling of vegetables or fruits, so people can enjoy grilled flavor without unhealthful chemicals.”**

With just a few simple adjustments to your next backyard BBQ or outdoor party, you can bring Healthy Cooking outdoors and have your favorite summer events just a little healthier.

^{http://www.cancer.org/docroot/NWS/content/NWS_1_1x_ACS_Expert_Offers_Tips_on_Healthy_Holiday_Grilling.asp
** http://health.discovery.com/centers/cancer/top10myths/myth2.html}

Grilling Fruits for Refreshing Summer Desserts

Depending on where you live right now, the weather is anywhere from hot to sweltering. The last thing you want on a hot summer day is a heavy, calorie-filled dessert that’s just going to weigh you down. So how do you satisfy your sweet tooth without all of the heavy tastes and flavors of standard desserts?

Why not try a refreshingly light, summer dessert using your George Foreman grill! With just a few slices of some of your favorite fruits and a few minutes with your George Foreman grill, you can make a dessert that pleases the palate without weighing you down. It’s simple to do, light on the tummy and a tasty way to satisfy a sweet craving without being horrendously unhealthy.

So what fruits can you grill for dessert? Here are just a few of our favorites:

• Pineapple
• Peaches
• Apricots
• Pears
• Bananas
• Apples
• Nectarines
• Plums

Besides, the above, you can basically grill almost any kind of fruit – even mango and papaya. We’ve even seen a few recipes that use grilled berries (strawberries are the most common), but this can get tricky since they can be easily squashed by the weight of the top plate on the grill.

For any fruit, you’ll want to add a little bit of a glaze to provide an extra bit of sweetness. The most common glazes are either done with a little honey brushed on or a mixture of butter and brown sugar. If you’re using the butter/sugar mix, just brush the outside of the fruit lightly with butter, then sprinkle with brown sugar (and any other spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, etc, that suit your taste buds). If you want any extra special dessert for the grown ups, you can also use dark rum.

Too cook, simply preheat the grill as you prepare and apply the glaze to your cut pieces of fruit. To cut the fruit, you want even pieces (halves usually work best) so that the fruit will lie flat as you grill. Then, grill anywhere from 3 – 6 minutes for most fruits, checking at the lowest time to make sure you’re not overcooking.

For serving, you can plate the fruit by itself, do mixed fruit kebabs for a multitude of tastes or serve in a bowl with some frozen yogurt or a small scoop of ice cream. Even with the ice cream and the little bit of butter you may have used in the glaze, your getting a refreshing summer treat that gets at least one serving of fruits into your daily diet.

The weekend is fast approaching and if you’re cooking burgers for family and friends why not try getting creative with toppings to make them more exciting to palates and healthier at the same time! Using your George Foreman grill and some outside-the-box topping ideas, your weekend meal can not only be healthier, but also truly memorable to your family, friends and guests. 

Find Variety in Veggies

Top burgers with fresh salsa for a refreshingly healthy taste

While the standard assortment of burger toppings does include a few veggies with lettuce, onions and tomato, you can be even healthier if you explore some other vegetable alternatives. You can try mushrooms, spinach leaves instead of lettuce or use different kinds of lettuce, avocado, roasted red peppers, sprouts, zucchini, sun dried tomatoes and various types of fresh hot peppers, just to name a few. If you’re in the mood for Southwest flavor, you can even make fresh salsa from scratch, which would include a whole variety of fresh vegetables and herbs.

The great thing about using your vegetable toppings in a more unique way is that diners will be more likely to top burgers with something that they think is a specially prepared item for the meal, even if they’d skip over the normal veggies on a standard burger spread. They’ll be focused on the uniqueness and the variety, without really noticing that they’re eating a much healthier meal prepared with more fresh vegetables.

Have Fun with Fruit

The most recognized of these is the classic grilled pineapples rings on Hawaiian burgers, which are absolutely delicious and cook in just 2-4 minutes on your George Foreman grill. This is even a kid-friendly healthy burger option, since the pineapples bring in more sweetness. If you choose this option, you may want to season or marinade your meat with teriyaki or a sweet barbeque sauce.

Beyond pineapple, fruit toppings on burgers can include other tropical fruits like mango and papaya for a really Caribbean feel, or you can go with a more traditional combination like apple slices with walnuts (bringing in a nice serving of omega-3 with the nuts, too).

As with the veggies, you can include even more, fresh fruit on toppings is you create a fresh salsa that includes several ingredients. Caribbean fruit salsa burgers are best with ground pork or turkey, instead of beef, making them a truly memorable alternative to the standard burgers you typically see on the table. Even for a party, you can do smaller mini-burger or slider versions of these to round out a delicious, healthy party spread.

Be Choosey with Cheese

Low-fat cheese slices are easier to melt the way you want with a G-Broil Grill

Most people may shy away from low-fat cheese slices, because they can be notoriously difficult to melt, but they do make cheeseburgers healthier so it’s a good idea to try and use them when you can – you just may need to experiment with brands of cheese to find one that works the best for your taste. If you happen to have a G-Broil™ series grill, low-fat cheese slices are a lot easier to do because you can melt the cheese on top of your burger directly on the grill, so you get the right amount of melting as you finish cooking the meat.

If you don’t have a grill that lets you melt cheese directly on it, another good solution is to do stuffed burger patties with the cheese inside. You use shredded cheese, instead of sliced, and it cooks the entire time you’re cooking the burger for the smooth, even consistency you want in the cheese of a burger. In addition, you can stuff other healthy ingredients in with the cheese, like fresh herbs and leaf veggies – say for a spinach and mozzarella stuffing, for instance.

Whatever you choose, toppings are a great way to add variety and healthier eating to a classic weekend burger meal or get together. With a little creativity and fresh ingredients, you can wow diners with a special meal, that’s simply healthier by design.