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Fruit Salads as a Dinner Side Dish

Fresh, Flavorful, and Great with Supper

Apr 1, 2009 Mary Peach

For some reason, fruit salads don't always come up on the list of what to eat with dinner, and they should. Here are a few recipes to get you interested and cooking.

Whether it's springtime or the middle of winter, fruit salads are a healthy way to brighten up any snack, dinner, or even as a good, healthy breakfast. With so many flavors and colors in one bowl, fruit salads are an easy way to wow guests and family with very little culinary knowledge. The fact that some fruits are only available in certain seasons is even more of a reason to take full advantage of them when they are in season. Here are a few recipes that help you do just that.

Tropical Fruit Salad

2 kiwis, cut into 1/4 inch half moons
2 cups strawberries, quartered
2 tangerines
1 1/2 c. chopped pineapple
mint, optional
whipped cream, optional

Combine the kiwi, strawberries, and pineapple in a bowl. Peel the tangerine with a knife so that all of the white membrane is gone from the outer flesh of the fruit. It is okay if a little of the fruit is lost here, but not too much. Cut the tangerine into segments along the white lines that make the segments, so that just the flesh of the fruit goes into the salad. It is suggested that you do this part over the bowl, as a lot of juice will come out. Once all the segments are cut out, squeeze the remaining juice from the tangerine into the bowl. This will give it the acid needed to help the salad keep.

To serve as part of the meal, this dish is great as a side for Hawaiian chicken or Barbecue. As a dessert, serve in small dishes and garnish with a dollop of whipped cream and a sprig of mint.

Basic Fruit Salad

1 large granny smith apple
1 large red delicious apple
2 large bananas
1 large orange
1/2 grapefruit

Peel(optional) and core the granny smith and red delicious apple. Chop into about 1/2 inch pieces and put aside in a large bowl. If granny smith or red delicious aren't quite the favorite of the party guests, feel free to change them to any apple that may be. If the peel is kept, Gala, Pink Lady, or Golden Delicious apples are all great colors, and all three apples are sweeter than the tart granny smith. Peel the bananas and slice at 1/4 inch thickness, then add to the apples. Peel the orange and the grapefruit so that none of the white membrane is on the outer skin, only between the segments. Cut the segments between the white membrane into the bowl, so that only the flesh is in the salad. Squeeze any juice out of the fruit into the bowl. The citric acid in the fruits serves as the preservative for the apples and bananas in the salad.

Serve as a side dish to any meal, an on the go snack, or add some ice cream to make a fun dessert.

The copyright of the article Fruit Salads as a Dinner Side Dish in Recipes is owned by Mary Peach. Permission to republish Fruit Salads as a Dinner Side Dish in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.