Sunday Seasonal: August (Week 1)

Hi! If you’re new to my page — Welcome to your new home of simple, delicious, yet gut-friendly recipes. Health begins in your gut, so let me show you how. I’m your go-to gut health dietitian, Jasmin, and I’m here to show you that good nutrition shouldn’t be complicated (or tasteless). Make sure to subscribe! && if you’re a local to the Jasmin D the RD community, welcome back.

Where I provide you with 2-4 new recipes every Sunday that are made with produce that are seasonal to that month.

I’ve been sharing monthly seasonal produce lists since 2023 and it’s officially time that I put those lists to work. I want to show you that your cooking can be not only gut healthy (reminder that I am a gut health dietitian), but also rooted in the season.

We want to eat foods that aren’t traveling too long to get to us, that’s how they lose their taste and freshness. Studies show that produce picked at their peak of ripeness are going to contain more nutrients when allowed to ripen on their parent plant. I mean, think about it logically, it’s like when you go apple picking every September/October. The apples taste immensely better than when you go to grab them at your local supermarket. So, it’s essentially the same concept.

This is my fun and creative way of giving you more gut friendly recipes while also staying in season.

From now on, you can count on a weekly Sunday Seasonal article to be sent directly to your email, so make sure to be subscribed and locked IN.

Welcome to Week 1 of Sunday Seasonal: August 9th

I understand that chili may not be so much of a summer recipe, I get that. But sometimes, we do have those rainy summer nights… so I don’t think a nice bowl of chili would hurt anyone. This is my Summer Beef Chili recipe that includes SEVEN different sources of August produce.

• Garlic

• Onion '

• Celery

• Carrots

• Bell pepper

• Corn

• Tomatoes

  

Yields: 4 servings

Portion: 1 bowl

Prep time: 20 minutes

Total time: 1 hour and 10 minutes

This recipe is dairy free and gluten free (depending on choice of garnish).

What you’re going to need:

• 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

• 1 lb lean ground beef

• Salt, cumin, chili powder, smoked paprika, black pepper

• 1/2 yellow onion, finely chopped

• 2 celery stalks, finely chopped

• 1 carrot, finely chopped

• ½ green bell pepper, finely chopped

• 1 corn on the cob, kernels removed

• 1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes

• 4 garlic cloves, minced

• 1 15oz can cannellini beans, drained and washed

• 1 15oz can black beans, drained and washed

• 4 cups beef broth (or vegetable broth)

Garnish:

• Mexican cheese

• Tortilla chips

• Fresh cilantro

How you’re going to make it:

1. Season the ground beef: grab a large pot and place it onto the stovetop on medium high heat. Pour in olive oil and add in the ground beef. Add seasonings. Mix in the seasonings well, break the beef up, and allow the beef to brown.

2. Add the veggies and aromatics: once the beef has browned, add the onion, celery, carrot, bell pepper, and corn. Allow them to soften for 5 minutes. Add in the tomatoes and garlic. Mix them in and allow the tomatoes to blend in.

3. Add the beans and broth: add in the beans and broth. Stir well.

4. Cook: Allow beef to come to a boil and once it does, lower the heat to medium. Allow chili to cook until thick.

5. Serve: Serve with Mexican cheese and tortilla chips (because why not). Enjoy!

We don’t always have the time in our busy schedules to make a full lunch, trust me, I get it. So, this is my dietitian brain showing you a visual of how you can have a delicious lunch, while taking less than 5 minutes to make it AND getting your seasonal produce in at the same time.

This is my Nectarine-Inspired Snack Plate and it’s my way of cheating the system. You do not have to make a full meal in order to get your nutrients in. This is the concept of “girl-lunch” you may have seen floating online.

I wanted to use the nectarines that I grabbed from the farmer’s market but didn’t have time to make a full meal. So, I made the nectarines the foundation of this snack plate and went from there. I focused on the big three: protein, carbs, and fats.

• Protein: turkey breast & mozzarella

• Carbs (fiber too): nectarines & pita chips

• Fats: walnuts

You do not need to make the snack plate to enjoy your nectarines you may have at home! This is simply a plate of inspiration, to remind you to not let your produce go to waste just because you may not have the “time”. To my vegans and/or vegetarians, make this plate, yours.

Yields: 1 serving

Portion: 1 plate

Prep time: 5 minutes

This recipe can be yours to make — can be easily dairy free, vegetarian, or gluten free depending on choice of ingredients.

What you’re going to need:

• 1 nectarine, sliced

• 6 walnuts

• ¼ cup cubed mozzarella

• Handful of pita chips

• 2 ground turkey roll-ups

Does anybody else wake up craving sun gold tomatoes or are you normal? Last Monday I was at my local farmer’s market down in South Florida when I stumbled upon these gorgeous sungold tomatoes. I wait every summer until sungold tomato season and for a good reason — their high sugar content and low acidity makes them perfect for summer recipes.

You know what’s better than sungold tomato? A Sungold & Mozzarella Pasta Salad. As your gut health dietitian, I needed to make sure that I also made it gut-friendly, so I added a cup of kidney beans in for extra fiber.

Who said you can’t feed your heart and your gut at the same time? Not me!!

Yields: 2 servings

Portion: 1 bowl

Prep time: 20 minutes

Total time: 25 minutes

This recipe is vegetarian and can be easily made gluten free by using gluten free pasta.

What you’re going to need:

• 2 cups cooked shell pasta

• ½ cup (or more) halved Sungold tomatoes

• 1 cup white kidney beans (I used canned kidney beans, drained and rinsed)

• ½ cup finely chopped arugula

• 3/4 - 1 cup cubed fresh mozzarella

• ⅓ cup halved castelvetrano olives (or green olives)

• Fresh basil to garnish

• Fresh parmigiano reggiano to garnish

Dressing:

• 3 tbsp olive oil

• 1½ tbsp lemon juice

• 1 tbsp red wine vinegar

• ½ tsp Dijon mustard

• Salt & black pepper

How you’re going to make it:

1. Cook the pasta: Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add shell pasta and cook until al dente, according to package instructions. Drain and rinse under cold water to stop the cooking process. Set aside.

2. Prep ingredients: have sungold tomatoes, beans, arugula, mozzarella, and olives ready to use. Leave basil until serving because it browns immediately.

3. Make dressing: In a small bowl or jar, whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, red wine vinegar, and Dijon mustard. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste. Set aside.

4. Assemble the salad: In a large bowl, combine the cooked pasta with the sungold tomatoes, kidney beans, arugula, mozzarella, and olives.

5. Serve: Drizzle the vinaigrette over the salad and toss gently to combine. Taste and adjust seasoning with additional salt and pepper if needed. Serve immediately or chill for up to 4 hours before serving. Enjoy!

For the last recipe we have this delicious and very easy-to-make, Sheet Pan Chicken & Summer Squash Couscous Bowl. I wanted to give you a recipe that you could rely on for the rest of the summer when you really don’t want to have a huge clean-up situation. For this recipe all you need is a cutting board, a bowl (to marinate the chicken), a sheet pan (to roast the chicken thighs and vegetables), and a pot (to cook the couscous).

This recipe screams summer — you have summer squash, zucchini, cherry tomatoes, and of course, our beloved sungold tomatoes. I also fully believe that if couscous was a season, it would be summer.

I wanted to note that I accidentally used boneless chicken thighs rather than bone-in chicken thighs. The recipe came out exactly how I wanted it to, but bone-in would have made the skin a little crispier like I enjoy it. Feel free to use either!

As for the dressing, you’ll be sad to hear that my favorite mini food processor has passed on. I was unable to make the actual dressing I wanted to make for this recipe, which I’ll keep a secret until I remake it for a new recipe. So, I created a simple lemon garlic dressing that paired perfectly with the chicken and vegetables. But, please use a dressing that speaks to you! Pesto would work wonderfully here.

Yields: 2 servings

Portion: 2-3 chicken thighs

Prep time: 20 minutes

Total time: 50 minutes

This recipe is dairy free and gluten free.

What you’re going to need:

Chicken:

• 6 bone-less or bone-in chicken thighs

• 1 ½ tsp kosher salt (more or less depends on your liking)

• ½ tsp ground black pepper

• 1 1/2 tsp garlic powder

• 1 tsp lemon pepper

• 1 tsp dried oregano

• ½ tsp dried basil

• ½ tsp Aleppo pepper

• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

• Juice of 1 lemon

Rest of ingredients:

• 2 zucchini, chopped medium

• 2 summer squash, chopped medium

• 10 cherry tomatoes, halved

• 10 sungold tomatoes, halved

• ¼ cup thinly chopped red onion

• Salt & black pepper to taste

• 1 cup pearl couscous

• Garnish of fresh basil

• Garnish of fresh parmigiano reggiano

Dressing:

• 3 tbsp olive oil

• Juice of 1 lemon

• 1 tsp Dijon mustard

• 2–3 grated garlic cloves

• 1 tsp honey

• Salt & pepper

How you’re going to make it:

1. Prep vegetables: Have oven preheated to 400°F. Prep summer squash, zucchini, cherry tomatoes, sungold tomatoes, and red onions. Add to sheet pan.

2. Cook couscous: Over medium heat, heat 1-2 tbsp of olive oil in a saucepan. Add pearl couscous and stir for 2 to 5 minutes until lightly golden. Pour in 1 ½ cups of water (or vegetable broth) and ½ tsp of salt. Once water boils, then cover the pan with a lid and reduce the heat to low. Simmer for 10 to 12 minutes until the liquid is fully absorbed and the couscous is tender. Remove from heat. Allow it to sit covered for 3 to 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork before serving. Set aside.

3. Mix your seasonings: In a small bowl combine all seasonings.

4. Toss chicken thighs: In another bowl, add chicken thighs and season with salt, ground black pepper, garlic powder, lemon pepper, dried oregano, dried basil, and Aleppo pepper. Coat with extra virgin olive oil and juice of 1 lemon. Mix well. Make sure chicken thighs are evenly coated with marinade. Marinate for at least 30 minutes in the fridge. 2-4 hours would be ideal, but it’s okay if you can’t.

5. Add chicken thighs to sheet pan: place chicken thighs (skin side up if using bone-in) on top of vegetables.

6. Roast: Roast for 40–45 minutes, or until the chicken skin is crisp and the vegetables are golden and tender. You can opt to broil the chicken sheet pan for the last 5 minutes.

7. Serve: Grab two serving plates. Spoon couscous onto each plate. Arrange the chicken thighs and vegetables on other side of plate. Top chicken, vegetables, and couscous with a drizzle of dressing and garnish with fresh basil. Enjoy!

Which recipe are you making first? Make sure to save this post and I’ll see you next Sunday for another Sunday Seasonal.

💬 Want to ask your own questions?
Inside my monthly community, you get access to Ask a Gut Health RD, where you can submit gut health, digestion, and nutrition questions anytime and get thoughtful, science-backed answers from me.

It’s a supportive space for learning, asking, and growing — without the overwhelm.

You can also find me on Instagram and TikTok for even more ideas and inspiration.

Interested in working on your gut health and nutrition foundations 1:1? - please take advantage of booking a complimentary discovery call with me to get started on your personal healing journey. Don’t wait!

xoxo,
Jasmin D the RD

Leave a comment