Fire Up the Grill with a Blend of Caribbean Zest and Healthy Eating

My husband loves to grill and I love to cook.  Among the many things we share in common, cooking for family gatherings and working together in the kitchen is something we truly enjoy doing.  So, when my husband Kirk told me his mum and brother were coming to spend some time with us before returning to Atlanta and then their final destination - the lovely island of Jamaica, we wanted to welcome them with a dinner fit for an island queen and prince. 

My husband Kirk is Jamaican and I am Puerto Rican. Our home is always filled with good music, good food and good vibes. While moving to the irresistible rhythm of reggae music, we all began the prep work for an intimate family backyard cookout.  My pregnant daughter had cravings for arroz con gandules (rice with pigeon peas), a traditional Puerto Rican dish, so naturally that was on the menu! It’s exciting times for me as a first Grandmother-to-be to watch Samantha in her third trimester, confident that she will make a wonderful mother. We had thawed chicken in the fridge, so Jerk Chicken seemed like a natural fit. Of course, we would also make some nicely seasoned barbecue chicken too. I always make a healthy salad as a side, but I wanted to grill vegetables too. I’ve noticed we haven’t been including enough vegetables in our diet, so when I received a grill basket in exchange for a review from Cave Tools, I thought this was the perfect time to add some healthy grilled vegetables to our island palettes! 

Grilling vegetables is easy with a grill basket!

Once we decided on our menu, we needed to shop for the veggies we were going to grill. We decided on a delicious blend of colorful vegetables:  

• 1 Carrot 
• 1 Zucchini
• 1 Medium Yellow Squash
• 1 Small Onion

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I mixed all the cut up vegetables in a zip-lock bag and seasoned it with 2 tablespoons of olive oil, 1 tablespoon of white wine vinegar, 1 teaspoon of oregano, 1 teaspoon of salt, and 1 teaspoon of pepper. 

Once I blended the vegetables and seasoning well in the zip-lock bag, I pour them out onto the grill basket over the sink to release any excessive liquid. Then I was ready to place my grill basket on the fired-up grill for about ten minutes or until the vegetables were slightly charred. 

Samantha invited her friends Chelsea, David and their lovely daughter Lily who is just under a year old!  The house was filled with the joyous sounds of baby laughter and cooing. Sounds we will all be welcoming soon when our newest family member, Charlotte is born. 

We all enjoyed our feast together in the gazebo of our backyard - and our grilled veggies were a hit! Even our ten-month-old baby guest, Lily loved the vegetables - shocking her parents (of course they left with the recipe too). The vegetables were delicious, crunchy, and they added a colorful and healthy touch to our Caribbean menu! I truly enjoyed using the grill basket. I highly recommend you use it for family cookouts too. Your grill basket can be purchased easily on discount now at 15% off using the code: VEGGIE15!

Please note that although I received my complimentary vegetable grill basket from Cave Tools in exchange for a product review, all opinions stated are authentic and my own.  

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