5 Ways to Eat Pears

Soft and sweet, pears bring additional flavor and texture to many dishes. Although, often eaten simply alone, whole or sliced, the light flavor of pears compliment many other dishes quite well, and since they pack in plenty of healthy nutrients including dietary fiber, vitamin C, vitamin K, and copper. Try these 5 creative and delicious ways to eat pears:

1. Salad
Pears compliment many other ingredients you can toss into a salad to eat for lunch or dinner. Some great ones to try are pecans, walnuts, almonds, gorgonzola cheese, goat cheese, feta cheese, currants, raisins, cranberries, grapes, and cherries. Feel free to get creative and try all different varieties of ingredients when using this great, easy way to eat pears. Try various dressing ingredients, as well, such as oil, vinegar, honey, lemon juice, herbs, mustard, garlic, and pepper.

2. Sandwich
Pear also goes well with a variety of ingredients in a sandwich. One of my favorites is to put slices of pears on a sandwich loaded with grilled vegetarian (or vegan) sausage, and shredded cheddar cheese. For an even more interesting way to eat pears, add grill the pears lightly in cinnamon and sugar before adding them to the sandwich.

3. Dessert
Of course pear can be made into a pie or topped on other desserts, but for a bit more savory take on dessert, try this out: Cook pears that have been halved and cored in the oven, topped with goat cheese, pecans, and honey. The variety of flavors combine to create a delicious, wholesome dessert. This is one of the tastiest ways to eat pears, too. So, also consider trying this dish out for breakfast sometime.

4. Side Dish
Pears go well in a variety of side dishes. (A side salad with pear, of course, is one.) A couple you can try is a pear crisp - just like an apple crisp, but with pears - which included oats and brown sugar, as a sweeter dish and pears mixed with couscous and feta cheese for a more savory side dish.

5. Breakfast
Of course whole pears make an awesome snack, but they also are a great start to your day. Try waffle topped with pears and honey, pancakes filled with shredded pears and ground ginger, pears and brown sugar mixed into homemade oatmeal, or a honey wheat bagel topped with cream cheese and sliced pears.

There are so many varieties of ways to eat pears, so try out a few for yourself!

You can read about 5 Ways to Eat Apples here or learn about 5 Ways to Eat Avocados here.