Fruit Salad

I know what you are thinking. Do you really need a recipe for a fruit salad? Don’t you just cut up a bunch of your favorite fruit and toss it in a big bowl and call it good? Well, yes as a matter of fact, that is exactly what you do. However, this fruit salad gets amped up a notch with a secret ingredient.

First of all, making a fruit salad is fun and totally something you can get your kids involved in. From, washing the fruit, cutting tops off strawberries, to pealing oranges, etc. Let them help choose the fruit and prepare it. Kids are more likely to eat food that they had a hand in making, plus, most kids like fruit!

There are some fruits I avoid in fruit salad. One – bananas. They tend to get mushy and if you have leftovers, they turn brown and do not save well. Also, watermelon – it’s grainy texture doesn’t mesh well with other fruits. Let watermelon shine on its own and serve it in another bowl, or slice it up.

You’ve heard the expression, “know your audience.” In this case, know the people you are feeding. If you know that the majority of your people do not like cantaloupe, leave it out. Choose fruits you know your people will eat.

Now, for the moment you’ve all been waiting for – the secret ingredient. I have a dear friend, teacher, and surrogate mother to thank for this. Helen Brown taught me to love the Old Testament, family quilts, to always have baked goods on the counter, and add lemon pudding to your fruit salad. What? Lemon pudding? What is this craziness? I couldn’t believe it either, when she told me what was in her delicious fruit salad but it is true. Adding a couple tablespoons of dry instant lemon pudding creates a kind of glaze over the fruit and the slightest bit of flavor that takes your fruit salad to another level. You really need to try it to understand.

You also need to stick to the brand on this one. Buy the Jello brand of instant lemon pudding for the best results. Store brands tend to have a slightly different flavor that isn’t quite the same. I encourage you to try this with the next fruit salad you make. Isn’t July national fruit salad month? If it isn’t, it should be!

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Fruit Salad

Combine all your favorite fruits and a bit of dry instant lemon pudding to make this a crowd pleaser.

Course Side Dish

Cuisine American

Keyword fruit salad

Prep Time 15 minutes

Servings 8

Ingredients

• 8 cups fruit cut into bite size pieces
• 2-3 Tbsp Jello instant lemon pudding

Instructions

1. Wash fruit. Cut into bite size pieces. Place in a large bowl. Sprinkle dry lemon pudding over the top. I start with 2 Tablespoons and then mix. Let sit for a few minutes and then taste it. If you think you would like more, add another tablespoon. Mix, let sit for 10 minutes and serve.