Peaches might not be the first thing you think to grill when planning a summer meal, but trust me on this. The direct heat of the grill transforms the sugars from pleasantly sweet and tangy to decadently rich and caramelly. The size and shape of peach halves make them the perfect edible container for a scoop of yogurt, a sprinkle of nuts, and maybe a drizzle of honey. Even better, the whole thing comes together in about 10 minutes.
Before I get to the recipe, I want to talk a little bit about fruits and vegetables. [Yes, you can skip directly to the end, but stick with me, this is going to be good.]
The phrase ‘fruits and vegetables,’ as in, try to eat 5-7 servings per day of fruitsandvegetables, suggests that they are equal partners in health, something to be consumed as much as possible. I’m guilty of using this phrase myself, but I’m training myself to refer to them separately. They really are different when it comes to how they impact your body and the role they should play in your diet.
Fruits, like vegetables and all plants, contain chemicals called phytonutrients that have unique health properties. The beautiful color, aroma, and flavor of peaches are their way of advertising all the healthful compounds they contain. Studies have shown that the fresher fruits and vegetables are, the more antioxidants they have. But fruit contains a lot more sugar than most vegetables. For people who need to watch their sugar intake, unlimited fruit is better than unlimited cookies, but not something that should be consumed without moderation. Here's why:
Fun facts about Fructose
(I realize that ‘fun’ is a relative term, but I love a little alliteration)
Fructose is a monosaccharide, or simple sugar, along with glucose and galactose. Despite the fruity sounding name, both fruits and vegetables contain fructose – fruit just contains more.
Fructose is a lot sweeter than glucose, which accounts for the sweet taste of fruit that we love so much.
Fruits and vegetables contain roughly a 50:50 mix of glucose and fructose. Ordinary table sugar (sucrose) is also about half glucose and half fructose.
Their is a difference between how your body handles glucose and and how it deals with fructose during digestion. Glucose is absorbed into the blood stream where it triggers an insulin release by your pancreas. Insulin allows the glucose to be absorbed by the cells of your body. If you work with me you will learn all about glucose metabolism, and how controlling it is the key to your health, but fructose is important too.
When you eat fructose it goes directly to the liver, no insulin required. That might seem like a good thing, but once it gets to your liver, fructose can be converted to glucose, which can be stored or burned by your cells, the same as above. More commonly, fructose is converted to fat and is either stored in the liver – resulting in fatty liver disease – or exported into the blood as triglycerides. Both of those are contributing factors to insulin resistance and metabolic syndrome.
The much vilified high-fructose corn syrup (HCFS) is about 55-60% fructose and 40-45% glucose. It’s made by taking the natural sugar in corn and converting some of the glucose to fructose – hence the “high” in the name. Increasing the proportion of fructose makes it sweeter, which is why food manufacturers love to use it for products like sweetened beverages.
Some scientists attribute the rise in obesity and diet-related diseases in the past 50 years to the increasing consumption of fructose in HCFS that started in the 1970’s as manufacturers embraced it for processed food products. At the same time, fruit has been bred to be sweeter, adding to the fructose load.
While this may all seem like a downer – she’s telling me to stop eating fruit! The one treat I could enjoy without guilt! - not so fast.
Unless you are on a very-low carbohydrate diet for a specific health condition or for weight loss, absolutely, eat some fruit. Especially as the basis for a fresh, delicious, naturally sweet dessert, like these grilled peaches.
Just keep in mind that fruitsandvegetables are not the same. If you’re trying to eat 5 to 7 servings a day (as we all should be) focus on the vegetables.
If you'd like to better understand the role fruit should play in your diet, schedule a call and we can talk about it.
Recipe Tips
This recipe is so easy that it doesn't feel quite right to call it a recipe. But who doesn't need that on a hot summer night?
Cooking time will vary according to the size and softness of your peaches and the temperature of your grill. They don't take long, so keep an eye on them. When they are cut-side down on the grill you will notice the skin starts to contract around the edge. That's your clue to carefully lift them and check the underside. If there are some nice char marks, it's time to turn them over.
Keeping the grill covered helps the whole peach to soften.
Greek-style yogurt works best for a picture perfect final product. Regular yogurt tastes great too, it just won't stay in place as well. The one on the left, below, was topped with regular vanilla yogurt, the one on the right with Greek yogurt, which is thicker because it's strained to remove some of the whey. Ice cream would be amazing too, and then all bets are off as far as melting!
To serve as a side dish, skip the yogurt and nuts. Would be amazing sliced and served with grilled pork or chicken.
Grilled Peaches
Ingredients
Per Serving:
1 perfectly ripe peach
Approximately 1/4 tsp cinnamon sugar
1 teaspoon toasted chopped nuts (walnuts, pecans, almonds pistachios - your choice!)
Approximately 2 tablespoons plain or vanilla yogurt
Olive oil
Honey or balsamic glaze (optional)
Instructions
Preheat a clean grill on high heat.
Cut each peach in half by inserting the long blade of a thin, sharp knife into the natural indentation of the peach. Rotate the peach on the palm of your hand so that the knife blade traces the circumference. Remove the knife, hold the 2 sides of the peach lightly between the palms of your hands, and twist. The peach should come apart with the pit on one side.
Carefully remove the pit with the tip of the knife or a spoon.
Brush the cut side of each peach lightly with olive oil and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.
Place each peach half on a hot grill and reduce the heat to medium.
Cover and grill for approximately 3 minutes, until the surface has developed char marks, the sugar is caramelized, and the peach has softened.
Carefully turn each peach half over and grill for another 2 minutes, skin side down.
Remove from grill. Top each peach half with 1-2 tablespoons yogurt and a sprinkle of nuts. If your yogurt is unsweetened, add a drizzle of honey or balsamic glaze.