An NFL player turned chef says grilled vegetables are key for pro-athletes. Here's how he seasons them to elevate the flavor.

• Former NFL player Eddie Jackson is a celebrity chef with his own cooking show.
• One of Jackson's areas of expertise is vegetable preparation, which stems from his athletic career.

As a chef, but also a former NFL player, Eddie Jackson knows the importance of dishes that lead with nutrients but also pack plenty of flavor.

That's why the 41-year-old host of BBQ Blitz on Food Network said players should make grilled vegetables the stars of their plates.

Grilling vegetables is the best way to retain their vitamins, nutrients, and fibers because it reduces the amount of time they're exposed to heat, but maximizes the temperature so it pulls out the natural sugar to enhance the flavor.

It's also a dish that can be adapted with seasonings and marinade, to make it a tasty main.

Grilled vegetables make for a strong pre-workout or post-workout meal, according to Jackson

Jackson believes grilled vegetables should be part of breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and can help any professional athlete maintain their health and performance, just as it did for him.

"One thing that I love about vegetables is that you don't feel heavy after you eat it," Jackson said. "A vegetable can boost your energy because of the good carbohydrates that you have inside of it. But also different types of anti-oxidants and different types of vitamins that are essential to your daily lifestyle."

Jackson's favorite vegetables to grill of squash and eggplant are especially high in nutrition value.

Servings of squash and eggplant contain a moderate amount of carbohydrates, anti-oxidants, and dense amounts of vitamin A and C according to WebMD.

He said his favorite grilled vegetable recipe is his Caribbean-style curry-grilled squash, grilled eggplant, and grilled green beans.

For his squash, Jackson whips up a simple marinade, using:

• Caribbean spices
• Fresh garlic
• Scotch bonnet peppers
• Thyme
• Pimento seeds

Why grilling is better than boiling vegetables, according to a registered dietitian

Registered dietitian Bonnie Taub-Dix, creator of BetterThanDieting.com, agreed that vegetables will lose nutrients if boiled in water and that grilling and roasting them is the best way to keep them healthy to create dishes that help promote weight loss.

"A baked potato will be richer in potassium than a boiled potato, so if you love your mashed potatoes it might be better to bake them first and then mash them instead of boiling them," Taub-Dix told Insider.

However, Taub-Dix said that, if you are boiling vegetables, she recommends using that water to make a soup, reaping the benefits of the vegetable's nutrients that may have been lost during the boiling process.