Are Electric Grills Healthy?

When it comes to the food you eat on a daily basis, more and more people are switching to a health lifestyle as opposed to fad diets. These individuals have realized that the way to sustain a healthy weight and diet is to eat healthy over time.

As such, it makes sense to think about how to prepare healthy foods. When people are interested in purchasing electric grills, one of the first questions they have is whether or not the electric grills are a healthy way to prepare food. (If you want to accurately monitor your electric grill’s real time power consumption, you should check this power meter out. It’s small, and can be plugged in to use right away.)

In general, grilling is a much better way to prepare food compared with other alternatives. For example, grilled food typically has much less grease than food that is fried.

So are electric grills healthy? In short, the answer is yes. Electric grills are a safer alternative to gas and charcoal grills. Overall, the electric grills will be less prone to capturing the cancer causing compounds in your food.

There are a couple things to watch out for in order to make sure you are maximizing the health benefits of your grill. The first is to choose foods that are low in fat and calories (think chicken and seafood, instead of beef or pork).

Secondly, there are known compounds that have been linked to cancer, which can get onto the food when you grill outdoors.

Below we review some more specific suggestions to help make grilling even more healthy.

What Can I Do to Maximize the Health Benefits of My Electric Grill?

When cooking food on your new electric grill, it is important to keep in mind that the grill can make more than just meat and seafood. Make sure that you incorporate enough vegetables into your diet.

In fact, most grills will actually allow you to grill veggies right on the tray with your other food, which is a nice way to incorporate some added flavor. The cancer causing compounds only adhere to meat, so you are not eating these compounds if you are making veggies or fruit on the grill.

Best Vegetables for Grilling

At this point, you might be wondering which veggies are the best grill. You may already know that onions and tomatoes are commonly added to increase health benefits, but there are many others that you can include as well.

Consider adding corn, peppers, eggplant, zucchini, and some of your other favorite veggies. If you want to try to increase your fruit intake, you might also consider looking for grilling recipes that include pineapple, apple, mango, or pear.

Food Safety

In terms of reducing the cancer causing compounds that might get on your meat during the grilling process, the best way to avoid this is through prevention. Make sure that you trim the excess fat off your meat before grilling.

Thus, you are aiming for lean cuts of meat. Using your favorite marinade can also decrease the number of HCAs that adhere to your meat (and therefore, that you will consume). Other ways to prevent the build up of the cancer causing molecules include flipping your food and grilling for lower time.

It is important to note that these cancer causing compounds only adhere to grills that use charcoal. Thus, another great way to avoid them is to simply use an electric grill.

Is an Electric Grill Healthier than a Charcoal or Gas Grill?

Although electric grills have decreased in price and increased in cooking ability over the past decade, many individuals are reluctant to test them out. Indeed, many grilling aficionados claim that the taste is not the same.

While they may have a valid point regarding the taste, if you are unable to have a charcoal or gas grill where you live, the electric grill may indeed be an excellent substitute. Given that many apartments forbid charcoal and gas grills; electric grills are ideal for apartment living.

When it comes to electric grilling, you may have more cooking options than with a gas or charcoal grill. This is because many electric grills come with different plates to enable you to cook different items.

In addition, most grills come with drip trays with are added to help reduce the amount of fat and calories that you consume. In addition, the electric grills tend to be easier to transport and store than traditional grills.

In general, people find that their meat, seafood, and veggies taste great on electric grills.

What Should I Look for in an Electric Grill? 

Knowing that you are concerned about your health, there are a number of things that you will want to consider when choosing your electric grill. One of the first things is whether or not there is a drip tray.

This will remove the excess fat, grease, and oil that comes off your meat (and other food) as opposed to having it absorbed by the food. Make sure that you read the reviews about the drainage system, so that you can make sure the drainage system actually works well.

Secondly, consider looking for plates that are removable and possibly dishwasher safe. Since you will be cooking raw meat on the plates, you will want to make sure that you can clean your electric grill well.

Unfortunately, some electric grills do not have removable plates. This makes it incredibly difficult to thoroughly clean your grill prior to the next use.

Some people prefer that the plates be dishwasher safe, so that they are sure their grill plates are sanitized.

When you are trying to eat healthy, the electric grill can help you in this endeavor. In fact, they are ideal for individuals who lead an active lifestyle and who are interested in preparing quick meals.

They will let you set the temperature to the desired setting, making sure your meat gets cooked to the necessary temperature.

Conclusion

Electric grills are a safer alternative to gas a charcoal grills. You will want to be certain to obtain an electric grill that has a drip tray if you want to maximize the health benefits of an electric grill.

In addition, you will want to be certain that you are eating enough vegetables and fruits to supplement the delicious, yet fattening, meat and seafood that can be made on the electric grill. Overall, the electric grills will be less prone to capturing the cancer causing compounds in your food.

They are also more convenient in that you can use them indoors during the summer and transport them to other locations, when needed.