Fruit salad. Yummy, yummy!

If you’re the parent of a toddler, you probably get the fruit salad reference.

If you’re not the parent of a toddler, you should be glad you don’t get the reference. It’s from a song by The Wiggles. Some days, Grace wants that song on repeat the whole way to school.

I’m always glad it’s a short drive to school, but on those days, I’m especially thankful.

Anyway.

In my quest to get 5 servings of fruits and vegetables per day, I’ve been eating a lot of crudites with balsamic vinegar dressing for dipping. So delicious.

We’ve also been making a lot of fruit salads. I have a beautiful glass trifle bowl, and we cut the fruit up and layer it in the bowl for a nice presentation.

The recipe for this fruit salad is almost a non-recipe, but here it goes:

Fruit Salad with Yogurt “Dressing”

Ingredients:

• 1/2 of a cantaloupe, cut into cubes
• 1/2 Granny Smith apple
• 1/2 sweet red apple
• Lemon juice, lemon-lime pop, or orange juice
• 1 jar of mandarin oranges , well drained
• A bunch of purple grapes
• Assorted other fruit to your liking
  • We love to add different kinds of melon, whatever we can find at the grocery store.
  • Joe often adds bananas, but I don’t like to because they don’t hold up well with all of the other fruit.
  • Strawberries or blueberries add some color.
  • Kiwi and pineapple add a tartness.
  • Peaches are wonderful when they’re in season.
  • Are you getting the idea? You can add as much or as little as you like.
• A couple of handfuls of walnuts, almonds, or pecans
• A couple of handfuls of marshmallows
• 2 cups of vanilla-flavored yogurt
• Granola – our favorite is Bear Naked Fit Vanilla Almond Crunch, but you can choose whatever you like

Instructions:

1. Core and chop the apple. Toss the chopped apple in a tablespoon or two of lemon juice or lemon-lime pop. If you’re in a pinch, orange juice will work, too.
2. Add the rest of the fruit, the nuts, and the marshmallows, one kind at a time, keeping it in even layers.
3. When you get to the top, spoon yogurt over the whole thing. It will fall down into the crannies and crevices, and it will be beautiful.
4. To serve, put the granola in a bowl next to the fruit salad and let everyone add granola to their liking. I personally like a lot of crunch, but Joe likes just a little bit. Plus, if you add the granola too soon, it will get soggy.

Alternately:

• If you don’t have a trifle bowl (or a similar tall glass bowl), you could just mix everything together. It tastes the same, but it’s not as pretty.
• Still serve the granola in a separate container so that it stays crunchy.

Happily submitted to Ultimate Recipe Swap, What’s Cooking Wednesday, Friday Feasts, Foodie Friday, and Food on Friday

Photo by April Zosia