Fresh fruit, classic spices and mini chocolate chips make for a sweet treat

This simple dessert is easy to make and full of sweet, fresh fruit flavor. It’s a perfect recipe for warmer months when fruit is in season.

Ingredients

  • 2 small ripe peaches, sliced
  • 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • Pinch of nutmeg
  • 1/4 cup (1 ounce) fresh raspberries
  • 1/4 cup (1 ounce) fresh blueberries
  • 1 1/2 tbsp mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions

  1. Combine sliced peaches with cinnamon and nutmeg.
  2. Transfer to two serving plates.
  3. Top peaches with raspberries, blueberries and chocolate chips.

Ingredient health benefits

  • Peaches: There’s nothing like biting into a fresh peach on a hot summer day, but you can also turn these stone fruits into a delicious and nutritious seasonal dessert. Peaches are full of vitamin A, potassium and vitamin C, which strengthen your immune system, keep your blood pressure in check and preserve your peepers. They also have soluble and insoluble fiber that help regulate your blood pressure, blood sugar and cholesterol and smooth things over with your gut.
  • Cinnamon: Some spices do more than enhance the flavor of a dish. Cinnamon, which comes from the bark of the cinnamon tree, is one of them. It has antioxidants that fight harmful free radicals and unwanted inflammation (both of which can damage your cells if left unchecked). Cinnamon may also lower your blood sugar and cholesterol levels.
  • Raspberries: These little berries are loaded with nutrition. Raspberries have polyphenols, phytonutrients that help your cells stay in shape. Like peaches, raspberries have vitamin C and potassium, but they’re also full of manganese and gut-friendly fiber. Natural plant pigments called anthocyanins give raspberries their deep red hue and protect your heart and brain from disease. Anthocyanins may also help prevent or fight cancer growth, but research is still in progress.
  • Blueberries: Another delectable summer treat, blueberries are full of vitamin K, an essential vitamin for sturdy bones and healthy blood cells. They’re also a good source of fiber, manganese, omega-3s and anthocyanins. And if you needed another reason to eat blueberries on the reg, they have heart-helpful properties, as well — like helping keep your blood pressure and cholesterol in a healthy range.
  • Semi-sweet (dark) chocolate: What’s not to love about chocolate that loves you back? Semi-sweet chocolate is high in flavonols, a type of flavonoid that supports your heart health by helping to regulate your blood pressure and promote healthy circulation. And the benefits don’t end with your physical health; the polyphenols in dark chocolate may also help boost your mood. But before you go wild, you should know that semi-sweet chocolate has at least 50% cocoa, and the darker the chocolate, the greater the benefits. So, shoot for 75% to 80% if you can!

Nutrition information (per serving)

Serving = 2

Calories: 46
Total fat: 0.4 g
Saturated fat: 0.1 g
Fiber: 2.6 g
Carbohydrates: 1.5 g
Sugar: 8.9 g
Protein: 1 g
Sodium: 0.5 mg
Calcium: 22 mg
Magnesium: 11.5 mg
Potassium: 202 mg

— Recipe reprinted from You on a Diet, The Owner’s Manual to Waist Management, by Michael F. Roizen, MD, and Mehmet C. Oz, MD.