In Saskatchewan, we have really nice summers. My friends who live in the US are usually surprised when I tell them that the majority of our summer temperatures are in the high 20’s/low 30’s (that’s about 83 – 90 degrees F). However, much of this hot summer heat won’t appear until late July and August, but this spring has been unusually warm! I’m not complaining, though. I absolutely love the heat, which is why I often question why I live in the middle of Canada where our winters are very long and brutal.
With these high temps presenting themselves earlier than usual, I’ve been enjoying a lot of grilled meals lately. That’s one of my favourite things about these spring and summer months – grilling!
Lately, we’ve been grilling romaine hearts and I couldn’t help but share this recipe with you! It’s so incredibly easy and such a nice change from a cold, raw salad!
Although our intuition with naturally guide us toward eating more cool, raw foods in the spring and summer months, I still like to prioritize cooked vegetables. My digestion prefers the warmth of cooked foods and I know the same goes for many of the clients I work with.
Digestion is an area of focus my clients and I work on regularly with each other and, when it comes to vegetables, it is most likely like that your digestion will prefer cooked vegetables over raw.
My favourite thing about these grilled romaine hearts is that, although they are cooked, they still come off the grill crunchy and the flavour is quite sweet, too! In my opinion, this is the perfect spring or summer side dish!
- 2 romaine hearts
- 2 tbsp avocado oil
- Sea salt and pepper, to taste
- Slice each romaine heart in half length-wise.
- Drizzle the avocado oil evenly over top the flat sides of each romaine heart, gently massaging and spreading the oil evenly across each surface.
- Sprinkle with sea salt and pepper to taste.
- On a heated grill, place the romaine hearts flat side down over high heat.
- Allow each half to char.
- Once charred, flip and do the same for the other side before removing from the heat and serving!
This recipe does not include any toppings, but if you can tolerate dairy, I recommend grating some high quality parmesan cheese over the hearts once you remove them from the grill and are ready to serve! For added brightness, you could squeeze a lemon over top of the hearts prior to serving, as well! A sprinkle of hemp seeds would also be a great idea!
As always, let me know if you try this recipe and how you enjoy it!
