Despite the rainy start, summer is officially here and that means prime time for grilling! Depending on your choices, grilling can be an artery clogging, blood pressure raising event, or in contrast, can be a delicious way to boost your health.

Instead of protein foods high in saturated fat and/or sodium, think of leaner protein options. This might include chicken breasts, ground turkey breast, fish, shrimp, scallops, firm tofu, veggie burgers, or lean cuts of beef.

There are a lot of healthy ways to add flavor to grilled items. Marinades have the added advantage of tenderizing proteins as well. A simple marinade might be olive oil, balsamic vinegar, minced garlic and minced fresh rosemary. Another could be olive oil, a little red or white wine, minced garlic, ground cumin, and chili powder. How about combining olive oil, lemon juice, basil and minced garlic for marinating chicken. You can make a delicious Tandoori-style marinade using plain yogurt and Tandoori seasonings.

Experiment to create your own marinades — choose an oil (olive, canola, peanut), a form of acid (the many types of vinegar, wine, lemon or lime juice, plain yogurt, etc.), and seasonings (herbs, spices, hot sauces, wasabi, etc.).

Another way to add flavor is to use a “rub.” This is a dry mixture of seasonings used to coat the protein item. You can buy these mixtures at the store or create your own. Try combining a minced herb like rosemary or sage, dry mustard, black pepper, and minced garlic or garlic powder. Another might be cardamom, cinnamon, coriander, cloves and a dash of cayenne pepper for use on chicken or lamb.

You can also use a sauce or paste to coat the protein item. Try stirring a little curry powder into apricot or peach jam and spread on top of grilled salmon (grill on a piece of foil and do not turn the salmon — just cook until the fish is opaque all the way through). Another paste could be minced garlic, minced fresh ginger, Chinese five spice, peanut oil, a dash of sherry vinegar and a dash of low sodium soy sauce.

Other flavors can be added after grilling the protein source. This might be one of the many delicious salsas, chutneys, guacamole, hot sauces, or a fancy mustard blend on the market.

For a meatless meal, try cutting extra firm tofu into slabs, marinating in Italian dressing and grilling. Serve in a whole grain pita pocket with grilled vegetables. There are also a number of tasty veggie burgers on the market. Add even more flavor after cooking by serving with dark leafy lettuce, tomato slices, avocado slices and/or low-fat cheese.

Do you have a grill basket? What a great way to add flavorful veggies to your meals. These handy inventions allow you to grill up a basket full of veggies without having them fall through the slats of your grill. Cut assorted vegetables into bite sized pieces, toss them with a little olive oil and add your favorite herbs or spices. Choose vegetables that require about the same amount of time to cook or start grilling the ones that take longer first and add the shorter-cooking ones part way through. A nice combination might be zucchini, summer squash, mushrooms, assorted peppers, sliced onions and cherry tomatoes.

Dump the veggies into the grill basket on the grill and put the cover down. Stir every few minutes until ready to eat. You could also add bite-sized pieces of chicken, pork, shrimp, scallops, or beef to the veggies — like a grill stir fry. What a tasty, quick healthy meal! By filling a large percentage of the grill basket with veggies and accounting for about 3 ounces of protein (about the size of a deck of cards) per person, you are meeting the public health recommendation of making at least half your dinner plate vegetables. Grilling can also be a time saver if you make enough for several meals or can use leftovers for lunches.

If you do not have a grill basket, try slicing summer squash, zucchini and carrots lengthwise into thin strips and coating with a little oil or Italian dressing. You could also use whole asparagus or green beans. Lay on the grill crosswise so they do not fall through, turning as needed to prevent burning.

Veggies (and some fruit) can also be a part of kabobs. Chunks of pineapple, chicken, shrimp, scallops, chunks of fresh tuna, assorted peppers, onions and cherry tomatoes make a great combo.

A note of safety, to reduce the risk of certain cancers from the intake of foods (especially animal proteins) charred or burned by direct cooking on the grill, use more indirect grilling methods when possible and avoid flare-ups. Avoid long grilling times by cutting the protein item into smaller pieces or by precooking by another method (as in boiling chicken until partially cooked before marinating and grilling). Cooking at lower temperatures, flipping them more often, and using marinades can help reduce the risk as well.

So be creative, make healthy choices, and enjoy summertime with your grill.

Pamela Stuppy, MS,RD,LD, is a registered, licensed dietitian with nutrition counseling offices in York, Maine, and Portsmouth. She is also the nutritionist for Phillips Exeter Academy. Contact her at features@seacoastonline.com.