Dietitians Dish – August 7, 2023
Sweeten Your Summer – with Peaches
Plentiful summer produce makes it easy to eat what your body needs to thrive.
If you don’t like the simplicity of raw, fresh produce as a snack, add them to your meals. Try grilling peaches! Their sweetness is intensified when they are grilled, which is also true of many types of fruits.
If you don’t like the simplicity of raw, fresh produce as a snack, add them to your meals. Try grilling peaches! Their sweetness is intensified when they are grilled, which is also true of many types of fruits.
Instead of biting into a ripe, juicy peach, cut it into wedges and grill it, then add them to a salad. There’s a great wellness combination when served with pork. Peaches provide 6% of Vitamin A and 15% of Vitamin C that your body needs daily. They also contain Vitamins E & K, niacin, folate, iron, choline, potassium, magnesium, phosphorus, manganese, zinc, and copper. Pork contains many of the same nutrients just in larger amounts. Try these recipes to power up with pork and peaches!
Grilled Bone – In Pork Chops
Ingredients:
- 1/4 cup honey
- 2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
- 1 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar
- 1 tsp. ground cumin
- 1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
- 8 bone-in pork chops (half inch thick; about 3 ounces each)
- Salt
- Ground black pepper
- 3 peaches (ripe, firm, pitted, and cut in wedges)
Directions:
- Begin by making the marinade. In a small bowl, whisk together the honey, oil, vinegar, cumin, and red pepper flakes. Remove half to make sauce later.
- Place pork chops in a resealable plastic bag with the marinade. Place the plastic bag in the fridge for 1 hour.
- Heat a grill over medium-high heat. Remove the pork chops from the bag and lightly sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place pork chops on the center of the grill grate, then place peach wedges cut sides down around the outer edge. Cook pork chops until they release from the grill, about 4 minutes. Flip and cook on the other side for another 3 minutes. Grill peaches just until grill marks have formed and flip to grill both sides. Cook the pork chops to an internal temperature of 145°F and let rest for 3 minutes. Use grilled peach wedges in the arugula and peach salad recipe shown below.
Arugula and Peach Salad
Ingredients:
- 1/4 cup honey
- 2 Tbsps. apple cider vinegar
- 1 Tbsp. pure maple syrup
- 1 tsp. Dijon mustard
- 1 tsp. fresh thyme leaves
- 1/4 cup Extra virgin olive oil
- 6 cups loosely packed baby arugula
- Grilled peach wedges (from above recipe)
Directions:
- In a large bowl, whisk together vinegar, maple syrup, mustard, and thyme leaves. Whisk in the oil next.
- Add the baby arugula and peach wedges. Gently toss until evenly coated. Serve with grilled pork chops.
Recipes (adapted) and images from Yummly.