Cooking with Seasonal Peaches

Last summer Lizah and I wanted to make a meal highlighting ripe Ontario peaches. Lizah made a peach salsa to top grilled chicken (Part 1), while I grilled peaches to add on top of a wild rice and arugula salad (Part 2). It took a while, but I have finally edited the videos below.

Ontario peaches are generally available from July to September, depending on the growing season of the year. My favourite way to enjoy peaches is to let them ripen and then eat it skin and all - all the way to the pit. Is there anything better than a big juicy peach in the middle of Summer?

This was the first time we cooked with peaches. The heat from the grill caramelized the peaches, making them even more sweet and tender. On the other hand, the acidity and spices in the salsa complements the sweetness of the peaches, making it a great topping for proteins or dip.

The recipe below is highly customizable, and you liberally substitute with other ingredients you have at home. The quantities used can also very flexible. So feel free to customize to your own preference!

Love,
your peach
🍑Irene

Grilled Chicken with Peach Salsa

Ingredients
1 ripe peach
1 avocado
1 bell pepper
½ red onion
1/3 cup mint leaves
1 lime
1 tbsp hot sauce
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
2 chicken breasts

Instructions: To make salsa, add to a bowl diced peach, avocado, bell pepper, red onion and minced mint leaves. Into the bowl, zest the lime and juice half the lime. Add hot sauce, salt and pepper. Mix all ingredients. Cook chicken until it reaches internal temperature of 165F or 74C. Slice chicken and top with salsa.

Wild Rice and Arugula Salad with Grilled Peaches

Ingredients
1 cup wild rice
1 shallot
1 chilli pepper
2 lemons
1 tbsp agave
4 tbsp neutral oil
1 cup walnuts
1 cup parsley
2 cups arugula
2 peaches

Instructions: Follow package instructions to cook wild rice. Pickle shallots by thinly slicing them then adding to bowl with the diced chilli pepper and juice of half a lemon. To make the salad dressing, add the agave sugar, neutral oil and the juice of the remaining 1.5 lemons. In a salad bowl, mix chopped walnuts, chopped parsley, arugula, cooked rice, pickled shallots and salad dressing. Grill halved peaches after removing the pit. Plate salad and top with grilled peaches.

End of Summer Picnic Hangouts

Fun in the sun picnic! All you need to do is pick a day, time, place and friends who enjoy snacking while catching up on life updates.

To keep it simple: we did not want to plan out a whole event that would be complicated and time consuming to prepare for. We worked together to cut vegetables, fruit and prepare a cold salad + tuna egg sandwiches.
Other materials to bring: basket, water & picnic blanket

What we learned: the reduced cost produce sections make for cost-effective options when eating fruits & veggies right away.

What we liked: we liked the balance of all our snacks put together. It had complex carbohydrates, animal and plant-based proteins, vegetables & fruit.

What we would change for next time:  Bringing lighter food containers and cutlery + more friends. We had A LOT of food to spare.. sending a couple more invites would have been a really nice way to catch up & share food with others.

How would you prepare your IDEAL picnic basket?

Love,
Your Peaches

Cooking laksa noodle soup for a cold day

February is the coldest month of the year in Canada, and noodle soup always brings both of us comfort during cold snowy days. For this recipe video, I was inspired by one of my friend’s post on home-made laksa noodle soup, where they made everything from scratch!

We didn’t have the time to make everything from scratch with all our competing demands, so we used store bought laksa sauce, noodles and chicken stock. Cooking and preparing foods can support healthy eating habits as it allows you to control the amount of sauces and seasonings, and make substitutions and modifications. Even if you’re not cooking from scratch, when you prepare foods compared to having take out, it allows you to adjust recipes to align with your health goals, dietary restrictions, and what’s available. 

We read a few online recipes, including this one and this one, and spoke to family and friends, then combined what we liked. Cooking, unlike baking, does not need to be followed to a tee. What we liked about this recipe is that once the noodles and crispy shallots were prepared, everything else was cooked right in a pot with the soup. 

Take some inspiration from us and others, try making laksa, a warm, spicy, rich, curry and coconut noodle soup!

Love,
Your Peach
Irene

Ingredients:

Soup:
2 stalks lemongrass – minced
2 cloves garlic – minced
2 tbs ginger – minced
2 Thai chilies – minced (optional)
2 tbs vegetable oil
4 tbs laksa paste
1 tbs brown sugar
1 can coconut milk
1 can chicken stock
1 tbs fish sauce
1 lime – juiced

Crispy Shallots:
3 large shallots – thinly sliced
2 tbs flour
2 tbs vegetable oil 

Toppings (adjust as desired):
Rice noodle – or any noodle
Shrimp – 2 or 3 per bowl
Tofu puffs
Beancurd skin
Other possible toppings: chicken, fish cake, egg,

Garnish:
Cilantro
Bean sprout

Instructions:

1. To prepare fried shallots, heat a pan over medium heat with vegetable oil. Coat shallots with flour and add to hot pan to pan-fry until golden brown then set aside.

2. In a pot cook noodles as per package instructions. Divide into large bowls.

3. In a clean pot, heat oil over medium low heat and add garlic, ginger, lemongrass and Thai chilies until fragrant (3 minutes). Add laksa paste and brown sugar and cook for 3 minutes. Add coconut milk, chicken stock, fish sauce and lime juice.

4. When soup is boiling, cook toppings that require cooking  - shrimp, tofu puffs, beancurd skins. Divide the toppings into the large bowls with noodles.

5. Divide toppings that do not require cooking to the large bowl – cilantro and bean sprouts.

6. Add soup and finally top with crispy shallots.

Veggie Lasagna by Love Your Peaches

The past year has been a tough one for all of us, to say the least.  All the ups and downs of restrictions kept us at home, isolated, and physically away from many of our friends.  In the past couple of months, however, Irene and I got to meet up in person to prepare and enjoy a meal together.  

To keep it simple: we chatted about some of our favourite foods, searched online for a recipe we both liked and agreed to try something new: a vegetarian style lasagna (original recipe here).  If you haven’t already heard a dietitian or nutritionist shout this, here’s your PSA: vegetables are an important part of a healthy eating pattern!  Including a variety of veggies (and fruits) have important nutrients that our bodies need to stay healthy and lower the risk of disease (e.g. heart disease and stroke).  

This lasagna recipe is packed with some superstar veggies.  Acorn squash is brightly orange (on the inside) and contains vitamin C (important for your immune system and your body’s healing process), potassium (helps to regulate body fluids) and folate (key for healthy cell growth and function).  Spinach (frozen by the way) is a dark leafy green that is a good source of nutrients (e.g. Vitamin A, folate, iron, magnesium) and antioxidants.  Previous iterations of our national food guide always recommended to eat at least 1 orange and 1 dark green veggie a day.. for good reason!

What we learned: cooking with someone rather than cooking alone is always so much more fun!  Aside from sharing the workload of food prep, we share stories, laughs, and our own opinions of what we think is best for the final recipe.

What we liked: we enjoyed all the cheesy goodness from the ricotta, feta and cheddar cheese on top - this is similar to the typical red sauce & meat lasagna that we’re used to.  We also liked sharing the experience of never cooking with acorn squash!  We’ve had other types of squash like butternut, spaghetti or buttercup squash, but have never really eaten or cooked with this type before. 

What we would change for next time:  We found that the finished product was a tad bitter. We packed this one with a ton of spinach – two full packages of frozen spinach.  We also took a lot of time draining out the water. When we make this again, we may spend less time draining out so much liquid so it’s not as dry and may even lessen the amount of spinach so its taste is not so overpowering.

Thank you so much for reading to the end!  We are so grateful and excited to share more cook along videos with you all. 

Love,
Your Peaches

What is a dietitian?

One question I’m asked all the time is, what is a dietitian? In Canada, dietitians (can also be called Registered Dietitians or RDs) are experts in food, nutrition and diets, and are regulated health care professionals. This means that the title “dietitian” is protected and not every nutrition professional can use it. Dietitians have specific education and training in addition to being regulated. These requirements are in place to protect the public and to help establish competency and accountability in the services dietitians provide. Dietitians promote health and wellbeing, and prevent or treat nutrition related disorders. They can work with individuals, groups, communities or even populations. You can find dietitians in: hospitals, community health centres, public health units, as part of interprofessional health teams, home care services, long term care facilities, in sports and recreation, in private practices, food industry, pharmaceutical industry, government, research and education. Dietetics is a growing field and it’s likely you’ll be able to find dietitians in other areas as well.

In Ontario, the Regulated Health Professions Act and the Dietetics Act are laws that outline the obligations and scope of practice (i.e., the procedures, actions and processes permitted) of dietitians. The College of Dietitians of Ontario is the regulatory body that governs dietetics in Ontario to make sure that the public can access safe, ethical and quality nutrition services by dietitians. The college has many roles including:

Regulatory body for dietitians in Ontario

• setting out the requirements to become a dietitian;

• enforcing professional practice standards;

• monitoring dietitians to make sure dietitians keep up with their knowledge and skills;

• updating the online registration so the public can verify that a dietitian is registered to practice; and,

• responding to and investigating complaints against dietitians to make sure the public is protected. 

If you have a concern or complaint against a dietitian, you can follow these instructions to contact the College of Dietitians of Ontario. 

In terms of the education and training required to become a dietitian, they must obtain an undergraduate degree from an accredited university in nutrition and complete a supervised practical experience. The practical experience provides opportunities to apply nutrition knowledge in a variety of areas including clinical, food service, community, and public health settings. Dietitians must also pass the Canadian Dietetic Registration Examination, which tests their knowledge and judgement. These requirements ensure that dietitians meet the minimum knowledge and skills needed to provide professional and evidence-based nutrition services. 

Dietitians can help you with your health and nutrition goals by working with you to make food and nutritional changes that are sustainable. Dietitians are able to use their training to  develop nutrition plans that are tailored to your individual needs, tastes, personal and cultural preferences and food skills. With all the (sometimes conflicting) nutrition information that’s available, dietitians are also well suited to help you navigate through the constantly changing realms of nutrition research, food trends and fad diets. 

If you are interested in receiving nutrition services by dietitians, you can contact us here. You can also call Telehealth Ontario toll-free at 1-888-797-0000 (or toll-free TTY at 1-888-797-0007) where the Registered Nurse taking your call will connect you to a dietitian that can provide you with free food and healthy eating information.

Vancouver 2018, at a conference to continue learning

Lizah Reyes RD, Irene Lai RD and Gregory Lamonica RD

Peaches Galore!

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Have you noticed all the Ontario peaches this season? If you’re looking for local peaches, they can be found in stores as early as July and peak in September.  As we move from summer to fall, there’s definitely an increased presence of fall fruits at local farmers’ markets and in grocery stores, and we are definitely not complaining.

The eternal debate between peaches and nectarines: what’s the difference? Both are stone fruits (fruits with a large stone or shell inside that houses an edible seed) and differ only slightly.  Peaches have a fuzzy coating while nectarines lack the fuzzy coat - they are as smooth as a baby’s bottom. Okay maybe not that smooth..
I’ve had my own personal preference for nectarines over peaches until only recently.  I could no longer resist how beautiful the peach looked on display so I decided to buy myself a few peaches, in addition to my usual nectarine.  To my surprise - the fuzzy coating on the peach was quite a delight. 

Are they any good for you? 
Peaches are rich in vitamins, minerals, and beneficial plant compounds -- they’re packed with antioxidants.  Without giving the nitty gritty breakdown of what’s contained in one single peach, know that peaches are a source of Vitamin C, which keeps your immune system in check.  Like other types of fruit, peaches make a low-calorie, yet sweet snack to enjoy on it’s own or as a component to another snack (i.e. yogurt & granola).  

Foodland Recipes
Unlockfood.ca

Strawberries

Strawberries were the signal that summer finally arrived. I had a neighbour with strawberry bushes in his backyard that taught me how to look for and pick the ripe fruit. I loved crouching down with my wicker basket, ‘sampling’ as I was picking, and returning home, sticky and covered in strawberry juice, with an overfilled basket. When choosing strawberries, choose sweet smelling red ones with minimal or no white and green spots. Also be careful not to crush them or overpack them as this can lead to earlier spoilage.

Strawberries are nutritious and high in Vitamin C, which is important in proper healing, skin health and plays an important role the body’s immune system. They are also a good source of potassium, a mineral that is important in regulating the water in your body, and helping your muscles and nerves work properly. Like other fruits, strawberries are also high in water content and fibre, which is important for our digestive health. Fibre can also improve our blood cholesterol and blood sugar levels, and is associated with preventing heart disease and diabetes. 

These days, I’m surprised at how easily to find strawberries outside the summer months. A variety of strawberries are grown in Ontario. Fresh Ontario grown strawberries are in abundance from June to July but can be found May through to October. But today you can find strawberries in stores year-round. These strawberries either imported, grown in greenhouses or already frozen. In terms of nutrition, there are no differences between fresh or frozen, local or imported, and organic or conventional. 

Strawberries should be stored in the fridge to extend their shelf life. When you’re ready to eat them, rinse them under water and remove the stem and hull. They are also good for freezing but freezing can change the texture of the strawberry, so I like using frozen strawberries for cooking or in syrups. Check out some strawberry recipes at Foodland Ontario.