Labor Day weekend hails the end of summer and is considered by many Americans to be the last grilling weekend of the season. This coming weekend, we recommend you polish off the summer in style with one of the tasty marinades  below. These have been adapted from the June 2008 issue of Real Simple Magazine.

All recipes below will marinade 2 pounds of meat, seafood or veggies. To prepare, mix all ingredients in a baking dish or sealable glassware and marinate for 20 minutes to overnight, turning a few times to ensure proper soaking of all surfaces. The exception to this is all forms of seafood – it should not be marinated more than 15 minutes as the acid in marinades break down the delicate tissue quickly and you will be left with mushy fish.

Photo by JaBB|Flickr Creative Commons

Southwest Marinade

• 1/2 cup chopped cilantro
• 1/4 cup orange juice
• 1/4 cup avocado or grapeseed oil (these withstand the high heat of the grill better than EVOO)
• 1/2 tsp. sea salt (VIBRANCE is a fan of Celtic Sea Salt)

Best as a marinade for chicken, flank steak, pork chops, bell peppers, corn on the cob and summer squashes.

Ginger Sesame Marinade

• 1/4 cup coconut aminos (or tamari if you can tolerate soy)
• 1 tbsp. sugar free fish sauce  (Omit if using tamari)
• 1 tbsp. grated ginger
• 1 tbsp. sesame oil
• 2 scallions,thinly sliced
• 1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper

Delicious with scallops, shrimp, salmon, pork tenderloin, London Broil, mushrooms, and eggplant.

Lemon Rosemary Marinade

• 1/3 cup avocado oil
• 1 lemon, thinly sliced
• 6 sprigs fresh rosemary stolen from your neighbor’s yard (it taste’s better that way!)
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed and finely chopped
• 1/2 tsp sea salt

Delightful with chicken (one-in), boneless leg of lamb, shrimp, bass, lamb chops, zucchini, summer squashes, asparagus, shallots and leeks.