Forget what Beck says — peaches and cream is NOT such a “dangerous dream.”

In fact, when it comes to summer fruits, eating healthfully never tasted so good. Summer fruits like peaches, plums, cherries, watermelon and pineapple taste great fresh but they’re even better baked or grilled and topped as simply as possible.

What could be better than peaches and cream?

I took my inspiration for this incarnation of peaches and cream from the lovely children’s book, The Maggie Bby Irene Haas, that was given to us by my sweet friend, Deidre at the baby shower for my son (nearly 4 years ago now!) Since my son is always making slurping noises and rubbing his tummy when Maggie and her brother James are preparing the peaches and muffins for their supper, I decided that for breakfast the next morning we would enjoy peaches and my version of cream a la’ the Maggie B.

Maggie and James bake peaches with cinnamon and honey

Maggie’s preparation, as you can see pictured above, is to simply slice the peaches in half and put cinnamon and honey on top, then Maggie and James enjoy these peaches with muffins and a warm glass of goat’s milk.  I liked the idea of the tartness presented by the goat’s milk, juxtaposed with the caramelized and honey glistened peaches, so I decided to pair my cinnamon peaches with thick and creamy, whole Greek yogurt.

Greek yogurt, for those who have not tried it, is somewhere between a thick cream and a yogurt and is sublime by itself or with a thin drizzle of honey I swear this must be what the Gods high on Mt. Olympus must have eaten.

The preparation is simple and can be done in the oven (as I did here) or on the grill. If you do it on the grill, I would suggest drizzling the honey on AFTER the grilling to avoid a sticky mess. I used frozen peaches because I just couldn’t wait for the fresh summer peaches to ripen. I love the frozen fruit in Whole Foods 365 Everyday Value line because it is convenient for smoothies, pancakes and muffins and it’s usually priced just right. In fact, though Whole Foods takes quite a bit of ribbing, (we’ve all heard the “Whole Paycheck” jokes) the 365 Everyday Value line is filled with an awesome variety of products, many of them organic, at very affordable prices. In any case the results in this recipe were stunning.

Whether you choose fresh or frozen, I highly recommend you get your peaches and cream on this summer!

Maggie B Inspired, Honey Kissed-Peaches & Cream

  • 1 tsp coconut oil (to coat your baking sheet)
  • 1 lb fresh, pitted, peeled and quartered or frozen sliced peaches
  • 1 tsp fresh ground cinnamon
  • 2 TBsp local honey
  • Whole Greek Yogurt (the skim stuff just doesn’t cut it)

*NOTE: You can garnish with sliced almonds or chopped pistachios if the mood strikes you!

Lightly grease your lipped baking sheet or casserole pan and arrange the peaches in the pan, then sprinkle liberally and evenly with cinnamon (to your tastes – up to 1 tsp), drizzle with honey (up to 2 Tbsp) and bake for 15 to 25 minutes (depending on ripeness, fresh vs. frozen and size) until peaches are soft, gooey and caramelized.  Scoop 1/4 to 1/2 cup, per person, of Greek yogurt into a dish and top with warm-from-the-oven, cinnamon-honey drenched peaches.

Top with nuts, if you like, and enjoy!

 

Disclaimer: Whole Foods ingredients were  provided free of charge in order to facilitate these recipes. No monetary compensation was received for my opinions — they are as always truthfully, my own.