Fruit Salad with Mint & Maple Syrup
Summer doesn’t officially start until this Saturday but it’s 99° today in Richmond so I think it’s safe to say that summer is here. Of course I got in my car this morning and realized that my air conditioning is no longer blowing cold air. Perfect timing! It doesn’t look like the warm weather is going to subside anytime soon so I guess I’ll be needing to get that fixed asap.
On a much cooler note, I have a tasty little fruit salad to share with you today.
I love that fruit salad are so easy to put together — all you have to do is chop the fruit and mix! Plus, the possibilities are endless. Whatever fresh fruit you have on hand (or is on sale) will work. I mean I guess you could potentially come up with a bad tasting combo of fruit for a fruit salad but I don’t think I’ve ever had one.
My one fruit salad rule is that you MUST use fresh fruit. Canned fruit is definitely a no-go (just don’t!) and frozen fruit makes the fruit salad too juicy (in my opinion). I’m also not a huge fan of bananas in fruit salad. They stick to other fruit, turn brown and get too mushy.
The combination I came up for this recipe is nice because it involves a bunch of different textures and flavors. I love the juiciness of the pineapple, the crunch of the apple and the sweetness from the melon and strawberries. I think grapes would a nice addition as well — I just didn’t have any on hand.
The one component that you don’t want to skip is the fresh orange juice, maple and mint dressing. All three components add a nice pop of flavor to the salad, especially the fresh mint. It also makes it a bit more special than a simple bowl of fruit — something you’d feel good about serving for brunch or bringing to a party.
So yeah, this salad is cool, fresh and flavorful — perfect for summer snacking! Make a batch for the week and have it for breakfast or snacks, bring it to a cookout or pack it in Tupperware for your next picnic.
I would also say that you could serve this salad for dessert because I’m a big fan of having fruit for dessert but I know some people don’t consider fruit dessert. If you’re one of those people, simply add a spoonful of the fruit salad to ice cream, dip the fruit into melted dark chocolate or top the fruit salad with a dollop of coconut whipped cream. Yum!
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Prep time 20 mins
Total time 20 mins
Author: Brittany Mullins Serves: 4
Ingredients
- 1 pint of strawberries, hulled and quartered
- 1 medium apple (I like Pink Lady, Honey Crisp or Jazz)
- ½ large pineapple, chopped into chunks
- 1 medium cantaloupe, chopped into chunks
- ¼ cup freshly squeezed orange juice
- 1-2 teaspoons 100% pure maple syrup
- 1 Tablespoon fresh mint, finely chopped
Instructions
- Just before serving combine all the fruit into a large bowl and gently mix. Top with orange juice, maple syrup and fresh mint. Gently stir to combine and serve.
Nutrition Information Serving size: ¼ of recipe Calories: 156 Fat: 1g Carbohydrates: 38g Sugar: 32g Fiber: 5g Protein: 3g
3.2.2708
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