Recipe: Eat the Rainbow Fruit Salad
This vibrant and refreshing dish celebrates nature’s vivid hues and is a perfect way to have fresh fruits ready for the week, making fruit an easy addition to meals or snacks. This fruit salad recipe is also bound to please many palates and can be a great option for your next gathering! Packed with a colorful array of red apples, orange-juicy peaches, succulent yellow pineapples, crisp green grapes, plump blueberries, and sweet purple plums, this fruit salad is as appealing to the taste buds as it is to the eyes!
Did you know that each color of the rainbow represents a distinct nutrient profile?
- Red produce is rich in lycopene, a powerful antioxidant tied to a reduced risk of prostate cancer, heart disease, and pulmonary diseases. Additionally, red fruits and veggies are rich in anthocyanins, which help protect brain and heart health. Some examples of red produce include peppers, radishes, apples, and tomatoes.
- Orange fruits and veggies are rich in beta carotene, a phytochemical that the body uses to create vitamin A. Vitamin A supports the immune system, vision, cell growth, bone health, and reproduction. Some examples of orange produce include squashes, persimmons, carrots, sweet potatoes, and apricots.
- Yellow foods are rich in lutein and zeaxanthin, compounds that protect the body against cancer and inflammation, and support heart, brain, eye, and skin health. Some yellow foods include lemons, starfruit, wax beans, yellow carrots, bananas, pineapple, and golden beets.
- Green fruits contain chlorophyll and magnesium to support blood sugar, energy production, and muscular health. Leafy greens, kiwis, grapes, peas, and broccoli are all wonderful green examples!
- Blue and purple foods are known to be anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer thanks to their compounds resveratrol and pterostilbene. These compounds may support healthy lipid levels and blood sugar.
Eat the Rainbow Fruit Salad
Serves 6-8
Ingredients:
- Red: 1 medium red apple, washed and diced
- Orange: 1 can peaches, drained and diced
- Yellow: 1 can diced pineapple (reserve 1/2 of the juice from the can and set aside)
- Green: 2 C green grapes, washed
- Blue: 1 pint blueberries, washed
- Purple: 2 purple plums, washed and diced
- Juice from 1 lime
Directions:
1. Add all fruit to a large bowl.
2. Whisk together lime juice and reserved pineapple juice. Pour over fruit and stir. Serve chilled or store in the refrigerator in an airtight container and consume within 2-3 days.
Swaps:
- For the red apples: strawberries, raspberries, red plums, cherries, or watermelon
- For the orange peaches: apricots, nectarines, papaya, cantaloupe, oranges, or tangerines
- For the yellow pineapple: yellow apples, bananas, Asian pears, golden kiwi, or starfruit
- For the green grapes: green apples, honeydew melon, or kiwi
- For the blueberries: blackberries
- For the plums: purple grapes
Recipe modified from: https://www.cookingclassy.com/honey-lime-rainbow-fruit-salad/
