Summer barbecues

The secret to a successful and stress-free Kiwi barbecue is all in the preparation. Most things can be prepared the day before, allowing you time to relax instead of slaving behind a hot stove.

By getting your preparation out of the way the previous day, your barbecue will be much more fun.

The night before, you can boil your potatoes, cook your rice or pasta for your salads, cook the beans for the bean salad and make the marinades.

If you don't have time for this, you can always get out the can opener and open a can of beans or use a supermarket marinade.

Many Kiwi barbecues have too much meat

When deciding on the menu you only need one meat, but if you have guests you may wish to have one red meat and one white meat such as chicken.

Of course, the kids will want sausages. Pre-cooking these will help to get rid of some of the extra fat that sausages usually contain.

Remember the meat should be the size of the palm of your hand. If possible avoid charred (black or burnt) meat as it may be associated with an increased cancer risk.

• Fish wrapped in foil cooks quickly and there is no cleaning up to do afterwards
• Marinate chicken overnight in lemon juice, olive oil, pepper and fresh herbs from the garden – delicious
• Try a marinade of yoghurt and herbs
• Paint steak in your favourite marinade or barbecue sauce before grilling - the marinade makes your meat not only tastier but also more tender.

Marinades containing sugar may burn quickly; you’ll be surprised how delicious your favourite marinade recipe can be without the sugar. If you want a sweet taste, an artificial sweetener is a good alternative to sugar.

A favourite marinade is squeezing a fresh orange and a clove of garlic over steak and leaving to sit overnight in the fridge.

• The key to good tender steak is letting it rest after cooking
• Homemade hamburgers are quick and easy
• Try ham steaks and salad inside bread buns
• Serve fresh fish fillets on pieces of French bread with lettuce.

Barbecues are no exception for healthy eating. Use the Diabetes New Zealand Ideal Plate as a guide to the correct portions of food – at least half a plate of free vegetables, a quarter plate of a plate of carbohydrate, and a quarter of a plate of meat or meat alternative.

Plan on serving plenty of vegetables

Zucchini, red and green peppers, tomatoes and eggplant are all great on the barbecue. Aim for a variety of different coloured vegetables.

• The easiest way is to cut everything into bite size chunks
• Throw them onto the barbecue plate with a little olive oil to prevent them from sticking
• Try threading vegetables onto a skewer as this makes them easier to handle and they look great when ready to serve - you won't lose any vegetables over the sides of the barbecue when you are turning them
• A non-stick barbecue mat is a good idea, this way you don't need to add any oil
• Fresh corn on the cob is a real winner - just boil the cob first and finish on the barbecue - it tastes great without butter
• Whole mushrooms maintain their shape, but don't overcook them.

Just a word of caution

You are best not to serve a big selection of salads containing carbohydrate or other vegetables as human nature shows we like to try a bit of everything. The rice, pasta, potato, kumara and bread will all add up and contribute to your overall carbohydrate intake.

People often say they can't understand why blood glucose levels go higher than usual when they didn't eat a large serve of any one item. But it is easy to forget that all serves of carbohydrate foods count and too much total carbohydrate may increase blood glucose levels above desirable for someone with diabetes.