Simple Party Fruit Salad

by Mary Ann Romans | More from this Blogger

24 Jun 2007 06:29 PM

Last weekend, we had my son's sixth birthday party. I really wanted to include some healthy choices for the kids and the adults, to go along with the chips and birthday cake. Plus, summer was just here and I was really starting to get a big craving for fresh fruit.

So we put together this simple fruit salad, and it was a huge hit. I say "we" because it was a team effort. My husband picked out the fruit, and a friend and I cut it all up. (I believe in putting my guest to work.) It was prepared very quickly, and the cutting allowed us to have a little bit of conversation before having to chase down the kids and get started on the birthday activities.

The flavors worked so nicely together.

This "recipe" makes a very large bowl of fruit, but it went so quickly that I'm glad we made so much. You could always halve the recipe, if your gathering is smaller or just your immediate family.

Here is how we made our simple party fruit salad. Make sure that the fruit you choose is perfectly ripe for the best results. You can layer the fruit for a nice effect, especially when served in a clear glass bowl, or mix it all up, as we did.

The salad won't last past the day, even if you refrigerate it, so if you want to save any leftover fruit, you will need to freeze it. To freeze the fruit so that it doesn't stick together, spread it out on a cookie sheet and freeze it for 30 minutes. Then transfer it to a freezer bag or container and put it back in the freezer.

INGREDIENTS:

• Two medium-sized pineapples
• 1 cantaloupe melon
• 1 honeydew melon
• 2 pounds of strawberries
• 1 bag of red seedless grapes.

DIRECTIONS:

The directions are so simple. Wash the grapes and strawberries. Slice the berries, pineapple, cantaloupe melon and honeydew melon into chunks. Gently mix the fruit together and serve.

Mary Ann Romans also writes for the Frugal Living Blog here at Families.com, where she shares money saving tips for today's families. She also writes for the Computing Blog here at Families.com where she shares everything from the latest news on technology to cool downloads and fun websites.

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Learn more about Mary Ann Romans

Mary Ann Romans is a freelance writer and mother of three children. She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband, the kids and a 16-pound cat.

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jonesx6 (1606) 25 Jun 2007 03:03 PM

I sometimes like to make up a cream cheese dip for fruit. I used to buy them at the store but they are so expensive and full of junk. 1 package of cream cheese several good splashes of milk tsp of vanilla Tbsp of sugar or sweetner of your choice I throw it into a mixing bowl and blend it until it's creamy and yummy. Sometimes I need to add more milk if it is thick. You will probably need to play around with it. Laura

Mary Ann Romans (26791) 25 Jun 2007 08:51 PM

Thanks Laura! It sounds yummy.