Holy cow! By the end of August, you can feel the temperature change and the humidity drop. A hint of Autumn is on the breeze, and in our area, apples and peaches are ripening in the orchards. When our local peaches are fresh-picked, they smell a-mazing and you know, without question, that first bite is going to be oh, so juicy and utterly delicious.

Oh. My. Goodness…heaven on earth!

There are sooo many things you can do with peaches, my friends, from eating it fresh from the tree, dicing them up to add to yogurt or oatmeal to baking a pie or a crisp, but there is nothing else like it, for sure. And, if I didn’t mention it here in the Mango Sorbet recipe, you can certainly substitute the peaches for the mangoes. And what a treat that is, too!

I love Peach Cobbler! When I lived in Los Angeles, there was a little tiny business down the block from me called the Cobbler Factory and they pumped out hundreds of cobblers each week, made from every conceivable fruit with the most flavorful, crispy crust on top. Oh my goodness. So gooey and warm and crunchy and so comforting when I was missing home.

Well, these days, I try not to indulge in too much comfort food, limiting my portion and enjoying every single bite! Or, I find a way to enjoy all the flavors and textures I love, but in a healthier way, that usually entails something raw, with fresh whole food ingredients.

This Peachy Cobbler recipe meets those guidelines and is, by far, one of my favorite August recipes!

This recipe is so simple, with only a few ingredients, and easy to make. It is so healthy and fresh and delicious you may not want to share! And don’t worry if you want seconds, but there may not be any left!

Of course you can add or modify any ingredients you want, but the peaches are the highlight here.

INGREDIENTS

• 6 Fresh Whole Peaches, diced
• 1 tsp Lemon Juice
• 1 tsp Cinnamon
• 1 T Brown Sugar or Coconut Sugar
• Dash of Cayenne Pepper (optional)
• 1/2 cup Raw Pistachios, divided in half
  
• Top with a small scoop of your choice of vanilla ice cream, whipped cream, coconut greek yogurt or coconut whipped cream (optional)

DIRECTIONS

1. Dice the peaches into bite size chunks.
2. Add the lemon juice, cinnamon, sugar and ceyenne, and toss to mix thoroughly.
3. Take one cup of seasoned peaches and 1/4 cup of pistachios and put into a food processor or high speed blender. Blend until smooth (pistaschios may still be a bit chunky…that’s OK!)
4. Add this blended mixture back into the peaches and mix until coated.
5. Chop the remaining 1/4 cup of pistachios into smaller bits and set aside.
6. Divide the peaches into five dessert bowls and top with your choice of creamy topping (optional) and the remaining pistachios!

Serve and enjoy immediately.

A Bit About Pistachios and Other Nuts

Ounce for ounce, pistachios are one of the most nutritious nuts around. They are a good source of fiber and other phyto-nutrients that add minerals and vitamins to your diet that you don’t get every day.

Even better….a serving size is 1-ounce of pistachios, which is about 49 kernels, has about 159 calories and 6 grams of protein, 7.7 grams of carbs, 13 grams of fat. Nuts, right?

Raw nuts are better than roasted because all the nutrition remains and there is no added salt, sugar or preservatives. When any food is heated past 118 degrees, and for an extended period of time, the nutrition level starts to decline. Raw is always better, but some things taste better cooked! You are the master of your Universe, so eat what’s best for YOU!

However, a word of caution when using peanuts. Peanut butter cannot be made with raw peanuts! They have to be roasted. I buy raw peanuts and toast them at a low temperature in the oven until they are crunchy and then run them through my Vita-Mix for a creamy, homemade peanut butter. You can then add your own salt and maybe some honey, but it doesn’t even need it. So amazing. The shelf life is not as long as store bought, but you make smaller batches, as needed, and it doesn’t last long around here anyway.

I hope these little tips of nutritional info helps you choose to add more nuts into your diet or use more fresh, whole foods instead of processed. The best ingredients you can choose for your recipes will make them as healthy as possible. The time you make for it and the love you feel as you prepare it are two of the most important ingredients that can go into any meal or dessert you make.