I know we have all made a fruit salad at some point in our lives. You mindlessly throw a few cut up pieces of fruit in a bowl, toss, and serve. Since fruit is always enjoyable, this method has been fine in the past, but I am here to tell you that there is a better way. Take out the bland fruit staples like oranges, apples and bananas and sub in an assortment of berries. Then coat everything in a simple “dressing” (for lack of a better word) made from honey, fresh orange juice, and the secret ingredient that pulls it all together – cinnamon!

These few small tweaks can elevate your fruit salad from this…

this-salad-tastes-like-id-rather-be-fat-0c5fd

 

… To looking like one of those bizarre stock photos where people are laughing about how funny their food is. You know – something like this:

 

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So bizarre… Seriously, what is so funny about a bowl full of veggies…?

 

What I love about this fruit salad is that you still get that pop of orangey brightness throughout the dish without having to shove a huge wedge of orange in your mouth. The honey can also be adjusted to fit the sweetness of your fruit, so you can hide some of the tartness if your berries are slightly out of season. Ohhhh, but the cinnamon… The cinnamon is what brings everything together and provides a hint of “something extra.” It’s not a prominent flavor, but just a subtle spice that makes this fruit salad a dish you will be proud to bring to your latest potluck.

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Beautiful Blueberries!

 

Feel free to adapt this recipe by adding in some of your favorite fruits too.  Peaches, nectarines, watermelon, and pitted cherries are wonderful in this dish.  Just promise me you will leave out banana, apple, and orange slices!

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The gorgeous components of a delicious fruit salad. I made this for a huge gathering, so the pictures do not accurately reflect the amount of ingredients listed in the recipe…

 

Fruit Salad with “Something Extra”

Fruit Salad Ingredients:  You can adjust the proportions of your fruit according to how many people you will be serving. The listed amounts are ballpark figures.

  • 1 pound of strawberries, stems removed and halved or quartered, depending on their size
  • 1 pint blueberriesPrintable-Recipe-dark
  • 1 pint blackberries
  • 2 plums, cut into bite size chunks
  • 1 cup of green seedless grapes
  • 1 cup of red seedless grapes
  • 1 pineapple, peeled, core removed and cut into bite size pieces (Or you can get the plastic tub of pineapple spears in the cold section and cut those up – so much easier…)

Ingredients for the Dressing:

  • 1 orange, juiced
  • 1-2 tablespoons honey
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon

 

Fruit-Salad-Strawberries
Strawberries!!

 

Instructions:

Place all prepared fruit in a large salad bowl.

In a small mixing bowl, combine the orange juice, honey and cinnamon. Whisk well to combine.

Pour half of the juice mixture over the fruit in the large salad bowl and gently toss with wooden spoons. Taste the fruit and, if necessary, add more honey to the remaining dressing. Once you have reached your level of desired sweetness, add the rest of the dressing to the fruit and gently toss.

Since the dressing will settle at the bottom of the bowl after it sits for a while, make sure to toss immediately before serving.

 

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Fruit Salad ready for a party or potluck.  Apparently I was feeding a small army…

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