Veggie Kabobs: Vegetable Kabobs

NUTRISPEAK by Vesanto Melina, MS, RD

Vegetable Kabobs Makes 6 kabobs

Use six 10-inch metal or wooden (bamboo) skewers. To ensure that wooden skewers don’t burn, pre-soak them in water for an hour before you thread them and keep chunks of food tight to avoid spaces where the flame or heat could reach through and burn the wood. After grilling, your kabobs can be placed over cooked rice or quinoa or served as an accompaniment to salads. Use the vegetables in this recipe or add your own ideas. These are high in protein, calcium, iron, zinc, vitamin C and many B vitamins.

• 12 ounces firm or extra firm tofu, cut into 1-inch cubes
• 1 cup Tofu Marinade
• 24 medium mushrooms
• 12 pieces sweet red pepper, each about 1 1/2 inches (4 cm)
• 12 cubes zucchini, each 1 1/2 inches (4 cm)
• 12 cherry tomatoes

Place tofu cubes in a container with a lid; pour on Tofu Marinade so cubes are covered on all sides. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour, preferably 6 hours or overnight. Drain excess marinade from tofu. Starting and ending with mushrooms, thread the vegetables snugly onto skewers. Grill over a barbecue for 10 minutes. Oven variation: put kabobs on a baking sheet; place 6-inches below the broiler and cook for 10 minutes.

* Grilling vegetables will not produce Heterocyclic Amines (HCAs) because these cancer causing agents are formed from creatinine, which is found only in muscle tissue. You could get some Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon (PAHs), though, if fat drips on the coals and fumes rise back, so keep your barbecuing to a minimum.

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Vesanto Melina is a dietitian, personal consultant and author based in Langley, www.camd58.sg-host.com, 604-614-5372. Professional Chef Joseph Forest,  http://josephforest.com/ pictured to the right is the culinary genius behind this recipe which is from \”Cooking Vegan\” (by Vesanto Melina and Joseph Forest, The Book Publishing Co. In Canada this book is \”Cooking Vegetarian\” (by  Joseph Forest and Vesanto Melina), now as an e-book and soon in print.