Whether it’s New Year’s Day and you’re tired from your New Year’s Eve party or if it’s been a long day at work or a day where you’re so relaxed you want an easy meal there is nothing better than easy-to-cook grilled packet dinners.
Losing weight by grilling your foods or eating more fruits and veggies and lean proteins may be the driving factor behind looking for new recipes. This is also the time of year when you’re looking to shed a few pounds after the delicious and high calorie foods and drinks of the past few months, right?
If you’re looking for a way to cook a delicious and healthy dinner without too much muss or fuss, foil grilled packet dinners are the way to go! You can even prep them in advance, put them in the fridge and then put them on a heated grill once you get home.
Even if you’re not cooking directly on the grill and getting those lovely grill marks, a foil packet grilled dinner is still more tasty than something you’ve cooked indoors. It just is!
Easy-To-Cook Grilled Packet Dinners
Here are a couple of our favorite grilled packet dinner recipes. These are quick, delicious and nutritious.
Citrus scallops, shrimp and corn
Citrus and seafood are an ideal flavor combination. Citrus is a powerful antioxidant and helps remove toxins and free radicals from your body and helps flush them out. Keep the peels and toss on the grill to impart added flavor through the smoke into your meal.
Ingredients
1/3 cup fresh squeezed lime or lime juice (save peels and toss on the grill)
2 tablespoons each honey and low-sodium soy sauce
2 cloves minced garlic. Consider grilling garlic in advance then using the grilled garlic in the meal.
¼ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
2 ears of corn, cut crosswise into four pieces
1 ½ lbs. scallops and shrimp (peeled and deveined)
4 cups cooked brown rice
Rosemary and parsley for color and flavor. You can toss rosemary into the foil packet to add flavor
Prep
Combine juice, soy sauce, honey, garlic and black pepper. Add the shrimp and scallops and marinate for at least an hour.
Start the grill and get it to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.
Prepare your foil packets — one packet for each person eating dinner.
Place corn, shrimp, scallops and rosemary into foil packet. Drizzle some of the marinade into each packet. Seal the foil packet then put on direct heat and cook for ten minutes. Serve with brown rice or a grilled veggie side. You could even add quick cooking rice to the foil packet and it will cook in the liquid and you won’t have to cook it separately.
This is a meal that lends itself to changing the seafood, the citrus and even the corn. Swap out the starchy corn for green beans, asparagus, zucchini or your other favorite veggie.
Grilled zucchini, squash and chicken packets
You can mix and match the veggies if you don’t care for squash or zucchini. Add your favorite veggie to the foil packet along with the marinade and chicken and cook.
Ingredients
1 whole large lemon, halved
1 tablespoon olive oil
½ teaspoon salt and coarsely ground black pepper
4 medium chicken skinless and boneless breast fillets
1 small zucchini and/or squash or both, cut into wedges (or your veggies of choice)
¼ cup fresh chives
How to make it
- Grate 1 tablespoon of lemon zest and squeeze three tablespoons of lemon juice into a bowl.
- Add olive oil, salt, and pepper and mix well.
- Transfer 2 tablespoons of the mixture into a cup and set aside.
- Add the chicken to the marinade. Let marinate for about 15 minutes.
- Preheat grill to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Throw the lemon peels into the fire if you’re using a charcoal grill.
- Get your piece of foil ready. Place a piece of the marinated chicken breast and some veggies into each foil packet. Add some of the marinade. Close the foil then put on the grill for 6 minutes.
- Consider halving another lemon and grilling cut side down. Squeeze the juice from the grilled lemons onto the chicken and veggie mixture before serving.
Grilled persimmons, peaches, apricots, pineapples, pears, etc.
Grilled fruits make an ideal and flavorful accompaniment or after-dinner treat. Cut your favorite fruit in half then place cut sides down on the grill. You can brush with butter and sprinkle with cinnamon or even brush with honey and cinnamon before you grill.
When you grill fruits, the natural sugars, when heated make the fruit even more delicious. Top with homemade whipped cream or a dollop of vanilla greek yogurt. Consider taking plain yogurt, adding some honey and cinnamon, stirring then serving as a garnish. Yum!
Ingredients
3 ripe peaches or apricots or pineapple slices, or any fruit that you love
2 cups plain Greek yogurt
¼ cup natural, organic honey
Cinnamon to taste
How to make it
- Preheat the outdoor grill
- Grill the fruit for about two minutes. Remove from the grill. These can be grilled in foil packets, but grilled face down make them even more delicious
- Place on individual plates, grilled side up.
- Add a dollop of the Greek yogurt/honey mixture into the center
- Enjoy!