What's on My Plate This Week: peach BBQ
National Grilling Month always sneaks up on me the same way. I open the fridge, see a half-used jar of peach BBQ sauce from last week, and think: this is the week the grill earns its keep.
If you've been following me over on Instagram, you know I don't believe the grill is just for burgers and hot dogs. It's one of the easiest tools you have for hitting your plate goals without heating up the kitchen — lean protein gets a smoky char, vegetables caramelize in minutes, and cleanup is a hose-down instead of a sink full of pans.
This week's plate
Breakfasts
Grilled peach overnight oats — rolled oats, chia, lactose-free milk, grilled peach, cinnamon. Made the night before.
Weekend warrior veggie egg skillet — eggs, leftover grilled chicken, bell pepper, spinach, onion.
Dinners
Peach BBQ grilled chicken thighs — grilled corn, vinegar-forward slaw, farro.
Peach BBQ glazed grilled tilapia — grilled zucchini and squash, quinoa.
Marinade night: citrus-herb grilled chicken — from my "boring chicken is a choice" carousel, grilled peppers and onion, barley.
Foil-pack grilled tilapia — green beans, lemon, brown rice. Oven-friendly if it rains.
Peach BBQ chicken kabobs — the Saturday cookout centerpiece, served over farro salad.
Snacks
Grilled cinnamon peaches — with a drizzle of lactose-free yogurt, optional.
Crispy chickpea bites — roasted, smoked paprika, sea salt.
Why this week is built around peach BBQ
You've probably already seen the peach BBQ sauce video. It's one of my favorites because it shows how a little fruit sweetness can replace some of the added sugar in a store-bought bottle, while still giving you that sticky, caramelized glaze you're craving off the grill. This week, that sauce shows up three times: on grilled chicken thighs, brushed over tilapia, and basted onto kabobs for a Saturday cookout. Using up an ingredient across the week instead of letting it sit in the door of your fridge is one of the simplest ways to stretch your grocery budget and cut down on food waste.
The plate stays the same, even off the grill
Every dinner this week follows the same framework I always come back to: lean protein, fiber-rich vegetables, and a low-glycemic carbohydrate. Grilled chicken thighs get farro and a vinegar-forward slaw instead of mayo-based coleslaw. Tilapia gets zucchini, squash, and quinoa. And when a quick marinade keeps chicken from being a "boring" choice, it's paired with barley — a grain I keep coming back to because its beta-glucan fiber is one of the more well-supported dietary tools for supporting healthy LDL cholesterol levels, right alongside oats.
No grill, or a rainy Saturday? The foil-pack tilapia recipe this week is written to work equally well in the oven. It's the same technique as the sheet pan method from last week, just with the char if you want it.
Marinades gets its own spotlight this week too. I firmly believe that "boring" chicken is a choice no one has to make to be healthy. My choice: a citrus-herb marinade that takes chicken breasts from flavorless to genuinely craveable, no peach BBQ needed. Grab the full marinade recipe handout for a few more combinations to keep in your back pocket all summer.
Shortcuts that still count
If cooking a pot of farro from scratch isn't happening on a summer weekend, a precooked shelf-stable version can be done in 10 minutes and still gets you the same fiber and the same beta-glucan benefit. There's no extra credit for doing it the hard or long way.
Same goes for the tilapia in both recipes this week. Not a tilapia household? Catfish is the easiest swap for either preparation. It has a similar cook time, holds up just as well on the grill, and takes to the peach glaze the same way. Mahi-mahi, red snapper, or cod all work too, if that's what's in your freezer.
Grab the free downloads
Two free PDFs pair well with this week's plan: my simple chia pudding recipe for a make-ahead breakfast alternative, and my sheet pan meal one-pager for the nights the grill stays covered.
Which recipe would you try first? Drop it in the comments.
About Dawn Anderson Nutrition
We provide evidence-based culinary nutrition guidance for adults managing metabolic health conditions including MASLD, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. Our approach honors cultural food traditions, particularly Southern and Black foodways, while supporting sustainable health changes.
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