FAMILY TIME

Who doesn’t love a barbeque? Firing up the grill in the early evening, watching the kids play outside, anticipating a delicious meal that doesn’t heat up the house can only be a win-win for everyone. But, did you know there are health benefits to grilling as well? Abby Douglas, RDN, LD of Synergy Health and Wellness gives us the low-down on the benefits of taking it outdoors.

Grilling allows the fat to drip off the rack and away from the meat, while frying and baking retains the saturated fat and any additional fats that may be added during the process. Grilling lean meats and fish like chicken or salmon is a great way to get hearthealthy protein that is low in saturated fat. Grilling fatty fish like salmon, steelhead trout and tuna boosts your heart-healthy fat intake from OMEGA 3s in the fish oil which aids in reducing risk of cardiovascular disease. Grilling provides mental health benefits, too. Being outside in the fresh air, creating a delicious meal for loved ones can be a real mood booster!

Grilled vegetables are best when quick seared with some caramelization. This helps the nutrients remain intact, as some are sensitive to heat and degrade when cooked for a longer period of time. Most home cooks know browning, aka caramelization, equals good flavor. This maillard reaction occurs when natural sugars and amino acids are in the presence of high heat, and it tastes delicious! The added savor can help people with picky palates be more accepting of nourishing foods like fruits and vegetables. And, let’s be real: grilled fresh pineapple or peaches make a DELICIOUS side dish or dessert for any meal!

Avoid overly charring food. Part of what makes grilled food taste so good is the browning and caramelization that takes place naturally. However, food that turns black forms chemical

compounds that have a correlation with increased cancer risk. Closely monitor the heat of your grill to avoid charring or overcooking food. Keep a food thermometer around so you know when your meat reaches the perfect internal temperature. This is best practice for food safety but also makes your grilled meats taste better. For gas grill owners, clean the inside of your grill on a semi-annual basis, as the debris and oil buildup can cause grease fires. For charcoal grill owners, ash and buildup should be removed after each use.

For gardeners, grilled homegrown vegetables can be used in a variety of ways. Grilling any vegetable with a light drizzle of olive or avocado oil and salt/pepper is simple and delicious. Some of my favorites grilled this way include asparagus, broccolini, zucchini and yellow squash. One side dish many don’t think of is grilled greens like romaine or swiss chard. You can do this with any type of greens for quick caramelization and added flavor. Hearty herbs like rosemary, oregano and thyme hold up to the grill very well when used in a meat/fish marinade or as seasonings to fresh vegetables.

One tip is to leave the skin on fish filets or poultry while being grilled. It’s easy to remove afterwards and helps improve flavor. Plus, if you accidentally char the skin, it can be removed! For meatless grilled protein options, try grilling tempeh, tofu, paneer/haloumi cheese or veggie burgers with black beans or lentils. These are great options for the vegetarian or for something a little different.

(Serves 4 hungry humans)

• Whisk all ingredients in a medium-sized saucepan until well combined. Cook and constantly stir on medium heat until mixture thickens. • Stir together pineapple juice, soy sauce, ketchup, garlic, ginger and pepper in a large bowl or gallon zippered bag.

Reserve ½ cup of marinade for basting later. • Add the chicken to the marinade and place in the fridge for a minimum of four hours or up to 12 hours. *Tip* if possible, leave the chicken skin on. The skin can be removed if you accidentally char some of the meat. • Cut up the fresh pineapple. Remove the outer skin and core from the fresh pineapple and cut into large rings or large chunks. Set aside. • Preheat grill to medium heat (around 375-400°F).

Remove the chicken and discard excess marinade.

Place the chicken on hot oiled grill grates. Grill, turning and basting with the reserved marinade every 5 minutes.

Grill chicken breast to an internal temperature of 165°F and chicken legs/thighs to 175-180°F. Remove from the grill and let rest for 5-10 minutes. • Once the chicken is about halfway cooked, add the fresh pineapple to the grill. Baste with the reserved marinade 1 or 2 times. Grill until there are caramelized grill marks, about 4-5 minutes per side. • Serve the chicken and grilled pineapple with grilled vegetables of choice (my favorite with this dish is grilled broccolini), and coconut brown rice if desired. Garnish with sliced green onion. Recipe by Abby Douglas, RDN, LD synergyhealthbend.com

By Nicole Blume

If you head over to Pine Nursery or Rockridge Park this summer, you might spot a group of friends or families cheering every time they manage to toss a small plastic disc into a big metal basket mounted on a pole.

“BLACK ACE!” one might shout, if the player landed a totally crazy shot in an unintended basket. “Brick,” they might sigh instead, if their disc flopped to the ground.

Welcome to the sport of disc golf, a long underground pastime that is becoming increasingly popular among outdoor enthusiasts in Central Oregon.

What is Disc Golf?

As the name suggests, disc golf is played very similarly to golf, on a specially designed outdoor course with nine or 18 holes. Instead of using golf balls and iron clubs, however, it requires special flying discs instead. Just don’t call them Frisbees®—which are a trademarked product by Wham-O toys—if you want to be taken seriously.

To start the game, a player must “pull” their disc from a tee area while aiming at a specific target, usually an elevated metal basket. As they progress down the fairway, they make each successive throw from the spot where the previous throw landed, counting each toss as a “stroke.” When the “putt” finally lands in the target, the hole is complete, and players progress to the next round.

Just like in golf, the number of strokes is tallied in relation to par, with the overall goal being a low score. The fun lies in the challenge of the terrain, as players navigate around trees, water features, and other obstacles. Whether sinking a long putt or hitting a tree, disc golf shares the excitement and frustration of its namesake!

“The two sports are pretty much the same from a rules standpoint,” explains John Bellman, treasurer of the Central Oregon Disc Golf club. “There are some subtleties there about how they determine out of bounds and hazards…but, you’re essentially playing with discs instead of golf clubs.”

Differences with Golf

A key difference between the two sports, however, is accessibility. Between purchasing a full set of clubs, renting a golf cart and often obtaining an exclusive country club membership, golf usually requires a steep financial investment. Golf’s high skill level makes the sport even more inaccessible for beginners, who usually need to hire a golf pro to get started.

Disc golf, on the other hand, just requires a couple of low-cost plastic discs—a new set costs less than $20 at most outdoor retailers—and is usually free to play.

“Disc golf is just exploding in popularity right now across the country, there are tons of people playing,” Bellman says. “It’s a super fun sport with really low barriers to entry. When compared to mountain biking or snowboarding...it’s just really easy to go out and play.”

Importantly, the game is designed for everyone to play, no matter their age or skill level, as players can simply match the pace of their game to their specific capabilities. Many courses have also been made wheelchair accessible.

Like its forefather, disc golf is played in beautiful outdoor settings, but unlike golf, the course requires far less land and maintenance and doesn’t impact the environment in terms of high water and pesticide demands.

History of Disc Golf

Legend has it that back in 1927, a Canadian fellow named

Photos by Nicole Blume

Xander Hurst focuses on the putt at Pine Nursery Park.

Ronald Franklin Gibson got together with a close group of buddies and invented a silly game out of throwing tin lids into four-foot wide circles drawn in the sandy areas of their school yard. However, “Tin Lid Golf” eventually disappeared as the kids grew older and went their separate ways.

Some 40 years later, a modern version re-emerged among young adults throughout Canada and the United States. There is some debate as to who actually came up with the idea to use plastic discs, but seeing how popular they tend to be on college campuses, it should be no surprise that students at Rice University in Texas held tournaments as early as 1964 using trees as targets.

Nowadays, this popular game spans about 50 different countries, on over 8,000 international courses, and counts over 120,000 active members of the Professional Disc Golf Association. Between winning cash prizes or sponsoring their own discs, high-grossing professional players can earn hundreds of thousands of dollars every year and games are often televised on dedicated YouTube channels.

Disc Golf in Central Oregon

In Oregon, where it’s often joked that we have more trees than people, over 180 community-built and professionally certified courses have popped up in every corner of the state, with more being built every year, according to Travel Oregon.

In Bend, there are two courses sponsored and maintained by the Bend Park and Recreation District: a 9-hole beginner course at Rock Ridge Park and an 18-hole more advanced course at Pine Nursery Park. Both courses enjoy mostly flat landscapes dotted by natural lava outcroppings and native vegetation, but their hole lengths and technical obstacles differ.

“Rockridge Park Disc Golf Course is a great compact course to learn on,” says Jeff Amaral, the natural resources manager at Bend Park and Recreation District. “It’s considered a ‘putt and approach’ course with shorter holes, making it ideal for kids.”

Redmond is also home to two courses at Coyotes Den and Dry Canyon, while Sisters boasts one of the first year-round, PDGA-certified, permanent disc golf courses in Central Oregon, located on Sisters High School property.

Several other private courses exist at various resorts throughout the area, such as Seventh Mountain and Black Butte Ranch. If you fancy a high-elevation athletic challenge, you can also take the Pine Marten summer chairlift up Mt. Bachelor to reach the top of an expansive 18-hole course, then wind your way down the mountain playing the game.

“The sport seems to be growing and we are seeing increased use,” Amaral explains. “We have a trail counter at the Pine Nursery course that was installed in late 2017.” According to this data, the average daily traffic has jumped from 25 visitors a day in 2017 to 111 visitors a day in 2020.

Numerous informal disc golf clubs and formal tournament leagues have risen to meet this demand, including the Central Oregon Disc Golf club, which started about two decades ago and now boasts about 200 members, who host games two to three times a week in Bend, Redmond, Sisters and Terrebonne.

Says Bellman, “Come out on Tuesday nights here at Pine Nursery and we’ll get you a free disc, we’ll pair you up with somebody who can teach you and give you some pointers out there.”

Bellman particularly loves playing with his seven-year-old son, Nyjah Sulesky, who says his favorite part of the game is “when I almost get a hole-in-one, or a birdie, and I really have fun with my dad.”

Photo by Darris Hurst