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Ingredients:

• 4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves (about 1 to 1 1/4 pounds total), cut into 1-inch cubes
• 1 red bell pepper, seeded and cut into 2 inch squares
• 1 red onion, cut into 2 inch squares
• 1 zucchini, cut into 1/2 inch slices
• 1 yellow squash, cut into 1/2 inch slices
• 1/2 cup baby mushrooms, sliced in half
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon fresh thyme, chopped (1 teaspoon dried)
• 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, chopped (1 teaspoon dried)
• 1 tablespoon fresh oregano, chopped (1 teaspoon dried)
• 12 metal skewers or wooden skewers soaked in water

Directions:

1. In a small bowl, whisk together olive oil, lemon, Dijon mustard, salt, pepper, minced garlic, thyme, rosemary, and oregano. Reserve about one third of the marinade to brush onto the kabobs while cooking.
2. Place the remaining marinade in a bowl with chicken, sliced peppers, onions, zucchini, squash and mushrooms. Cover bowl and refrigerate for 2 to 3 hours.
3. Preheat the grill for high heat. Drain marinade from chicken and vegetables and discard remaining marinade. On 12 skewers, alternately thread chicken and vegetables.
4. Lightly oil the grill grate so chicken and vegetables don’t stick. Place the skewers on the grill and cook over medium-hot heat for 5-8 minutes on each side. Turn and brush remaining marinade frequently.

Yield:

6 servings

Source:

Dana-Farber Brigham Cancer Center

Nutrition Tip

These lemon-garlic chicken and vegetable kabobs are perfect to make during the summer months on the grill with fresh seasonal vegetables. Zucchini, squash, peppers, and onions are all at the peak of freshness in the summer. These vegetables not only taste better in season, but they also have a higher nutritional content providing more vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and phytonutrients than out-of-season unripe vegetables. Grilling these vegetables for a short period of time helps to preserve these nutrients and the olive oil in the marinade helps your body better absorb the nutrients.

Using herbs and spices in this recipe not only enhance the flavor of the chicken and vegetables, but also provide several health benefits. Many of the phytonutrients found in herbs contain antioxidants and anti-tumor properties. Specifically allicin, alliin and allyl sulfides in garlic have been found to slow and stop the growth of tumors in prostate, bladder, colon and stomach tissue in laboratory studies.

While HCAs and PAHs are two cancer-causing substances, or carcinogens, that have been found in high concentrations in grilled meats, there are several ways to minimize the formation of these carcinogens. Research has shown that marinating meats with herbs, spices, olive oil, and citrus fruits, such as lemon, may also help inhibit the formation of carcinogens on grilled meat.