Grilled Vegetable Platter

With a slightly smoky aroma and a great variety of textures and bright colors, grilled vegetable platters are always a delicious addition to any meal.

Vegetables can be grilled by placing them directly on the grill grates, just be sure there is some type of nonstick spray used to prevent them from sticking.  Some use a grill basket or foil pouch for vegetable grilling. Just be sure not to overcrowd or the vegetables will steam instead of keeping a bit of crispness.

Vegetable Grilling Tips:

•  A little toss in olive oil before grilling helps prevent vegetables from drying out.
• Too much oil adds unnecessary calories and can also cause flare ups in the grill.
• Denser vegetables do take longer to cook.
• Bamboo skewers that have been soaked in water first are good for smaller vegetables like cherry tomatoes and mushrooms.
• Get creative and use any vegetables you have on hand.
• The key to getting nice grill marks on vegetables is not to shift them around too much during the cooking process.

• Vegetables are low in calories but high in fiber and are important sources of many nutrients, including potassium, folate (folic acid), vitamin A, and vitamin C.
• As well as being strong in anti-inflammatory phytonutrients, asparagus provides a wide variety of antioxidant nutrients, including vitamin C, beta-carotene, vitamin E, and the minerals zinc, manganese, and selenium.
• Zucchini is high in fiber, water, vitamin A, vitamin C and potassium which boost your immune system and promote the health of your heart, skin, lungs and eyes.
• Sweet peppers contain vitamin C, thiamine, vitamin B6, beta-carotene and folic acid.
• In addition to featuring a host of vitamins and minerals, eggplant also contains important phytonutrients, many which have antioxidant activity.
• Mushrooms contain important nutrients, including selenium, potassium, riboflavin, niacin, vitamin D and more.