This fresh fruit salad is nature's candy in a bowl - juicy, colorful, and ready in minutes. It's a simple, delightful way to enjoy the best of what nature has to offer. This easy fresh fruit salad is going to become your go-to recipe. This salad is filled with delicious, sweet, fresh fruits, and it’s the perfect salad for summer.
Why Fruit Salad is Great for Weight Loss
Fruit salad can be a satiating way to satisfy cravings for sweet foods for very few calories. Healthy eating is a lifestyle change to adapt. We need to be mindful in choosing our snacks while counting on calories. It is a healthy salad with high satiety, will keep you full for longer, and is great for sweet cravings.
Key Ingredients and Their Benefits
A great fruit salad is more than just a random mix of fruits. It's about variety in color, texture, and flavor. Here's a look at some key ingredients and their benefits:
- Berries: Blueberries are so good for your gut because they are a natural, well-known prebiotic. They can support healthy digestion, fight inflammation, and gut dysbiosis. For many, it’s so important to focus on gut-healthy foods in their diet. Strawberries are another great option.
- Kiwi: Did you know that only one cup of kiwi contains your daily dose of vitamin C? This little fruit also packs prebiotic fibers that help protect the gut and keep the microbiome balanced. Another easy fruit to add to your diet, like in this fresh fruit salad, to help maintain your gut health.
- Melons: Watermelon (or another melon) adds a refreshing sweetness.
- Mango and Papaya: These tropical fruits bring a unique flavor and texture.
- Apples: Choose your favorite variety.
- Plums: Choose sweet plums.
- Nectarines/Apricots: Ripe, juicy nectarines are perfect, so are sweet oranges.
- Grapes: The addition of black grapes is also good, they add an excellent sweet, rich, base flavour.
- Banana: Use a banana that is reasonably firm. Banana can be quite soft when ripe, so it’s an exception to the trend here that the riper the fruit the better.
Sugar-Free Fruit Salad
A sugar free version sounds awesome, but I didn’t just want a bunch of chopped up fruit in a bowl. The classic recipe’s sugar syrup does add something of value in bringing out flavours. It needs replacing, not just removing. Several ingredients replace the sugar in this fruit salad. Top of the list is lime juice. Not lemon, this needs lime juice for a very specific reason. Underneath the sharpness lime is intensely fragrant and fruity, and in small amounts it greatly enhances the flavour of other fruits - just like sugar does. Just a little lime though, we only want to bring out the flavour, not make the salad sharp.
The other fruits in this salad can be varied to suit tastes and availability, but something sweet and juicy is needed to create a natural syrup.
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So, a little lime juice, at least one sweet juicy fruit and time to meld together are the must have ingredients. As long as these three elements are there, it’s an easy recipe to adapt.
Healthy Greek Yogurt Fruit Salad
Healthy Greek yogurt fruit salad where fresh summer fruits are served with vanilla-flavored Greek yogurt that is mildly sweetened with monk fruit. Perfect protein-packed & sugar-free yogurt bowl with fresh fruits. It is a gluten-free, low-fat, low-sugar, and skinny fruit salad for weight loss.
This fruit salad is made with greek yogurt and does not contain cream cheese, whipped cream, marshmallows, or mayonnaise.
Key Ingredients for Greek Yogurt Fruit Salad
- Greek Yogurt: I use 2% low far Greek yogurt to make this creamy fuits salad. But full fat Greek yogurt is great to use as well. Use plain nonfat Greek yogurt to make it. Pre-made flavored yogurt comes with extra sugar which adds in calories. Greek yogurt is thicker than regular yogurt due to elimination of whey. It is a good source of protein due to condensed nutrients. 250 gram of greek yogurt provided 24 grams of protein. Including fruits with yogurt add carbs and make a complete meal for one time.
- Fruits: The good part of fruit salad is you can use any fruits of your choice. Here I am using fresh berries with apple and banana. Add a variety of fruits like, Blueberries, blackberries, mandarin, pineapple, mango, orange, clementaine, mandarin, basically any fruits as per choice.
- Sweetener: Now a days I am on Monk fruit for most of dessert and have cut down on refined sugar significantly. Feel free to use honey, maple syrup, stevia or agave syrup as per choice to make it refined sugar-free.
- Optional Additions: Vanilla essence, and granola are extra additions for flavor and crunch. Crunchy Granola gives an extra touch of crunch to yogurt fruit salad. Sprinkle some and enjoy. Chia seed- Add Chia seeds, 1 tbsp chia seeds will also go well with the salad. Add them if you have a calorie surplus. Seeds- Sprinkle some seeds like pumpkin or sunflower for some healthy fats.
Instructions for Greek Yogurt Fruit Salad
- Prepare Greek yogurt fruit salad dressing: Start by whisking yogurt with sweetener & vanilla essence. Whisk till everything combines well and yogurt looks creamy and smooth. (pic 1-4)500 gram greek yogurt, 1 tsp vanilla essence, 3 tsp monk fruit
- Combine salad & serve: Serve this whisked yogurt in a bowl or plate, and add your favorite fruits. Sprinkle some granola and garnish with mint leaves. Serve this immediately or portion them in a container and store. You can use any sort of fruit you would like to have. Adding granola gives an extra touch of crunch it brings to yogurt fruit salad. 1 tbsp chia seeds will also go well with the salad.
Low Carb Fruit Salad
This deliciously sweet & tangy low carb fruit salad recipe is the perfect healthy side dish or sweet treat to enjoy any time! This easy fruit salad recipe is also a great thing to satisfy your sweet tooth. This sweet fruit salad is perfectly refreshing on a hot summer day. This delicious lower-carb fruit recipe is a favorite.
Key Ingredients for Low Carb Fruit Salad
The fruits we used to achieve this are apples, strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, peaches, plums, and pineapple. Fresh berries are a key ingredient, but we have seven different fruits in this salad!
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Instructions for Low Carb Fruit Salad
- Wash all of your fruit thoroughly and pat dry.
- After chopping the apples, slice the lemon in half and squeeze the juice right on top of the apples.
- Chop all of the rest of your fruit ingredients into pieces the same size as the chopped apple.
- Add your Greek yogurt to the bowl, then gently toss the fruit. Stir until everything is evenly coated with the yogurt and lemon juice.
Important Considerations for Low-Carb
There isn’t one right answer for this. It’s going to depend on how many carbs you plan to eat in a day, how you want to divide them, and what other foods you’re eating that contain significant carbs. Each person has a different definition of what constitutes “low carb.” For the purpose of this salad, I planned the carb count to easily fit as a nutritious snack into a macro plan of around 100 carbs per day, which is much less than the standard diet.
General Tips for Making the Best Fruit Salad
- Seasonal Swaps: Use whatever fruits are in season for the best flavor and price.
- Size Matters: Cut fruits into similar-sized pieces for even distribution and easy eating. Bite-sized pieces work best - about 1-inch chunks for larger fruits.
- Prevent Browning: Coat it with an acidic juice such as lemon, lime, orange, or pineapple juice. The citric acid prevents oxidation and keeps fruits looking fresh and colorful. Slice your apple and then chop each slice into bite-size pieces. Put in a large mixing bowl. Slice your lemon in half or quarters and squeeze the juice onto the apples. Alternatively, you can use 2-3 tbsp bottled lemon juice. Toss with a spoon to coat the apples. Chop the rest of your fruit into bite-size pieces the same size as the apples. Add to the mixing bowl.
- Fruit Combinations: Avoid acidic fruits with sweet fruits. To have a nice balance in your fruit salad, it’s best to keep acidic and sub-acidic fruits separate. However, a small amount of acid (like citrus) can actually enhance sweeter fruits.
- Fresh vs. Frozen: Fresh fruit works best for texture, but you can use some frozen fruits that have been thawed and drained. They’ll be softer but still delicious, especially berries.
Storage Tips
- You can prepare it up to 24 hours ahead, but add delicate fruits like bananas or soft berries just before serving. The dressing actually helps preserve the fruit and enhance flavors over time.
- Store covered in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. The fruit may release some juice over time, which is totally normal. Give it a gentle stir before serving leftovers.
- This salad makes 10 servings. Store this delicious salad in an airtight container. It has the best texture within the first two days of making it but will last up to 4 days in the refrigerator.
- To store any leftovers just transfer them to a container and refrigerate for 1-2 days. Storing for more than 2 days, fruits start losing their water content and become soggy. So finish it if you are storing it prepared. I do not recommend freezing it.
- If you like to prepare Greek yogurt fruits salad in advance then do make the Greek yogurt dressing and cut fruits (except bananas), store both of them in separate containers and store them for 3-4 days.
Nutritional Information
This easy, and creamy yogurt fruit salad bowl has 231 calories with 19 grams of protein, 34 grams of carbs, and 3 grams of fats. Calories will depend on the ingredients you will use.
Greek yogurt fruit salad is prepared to complete the protein requirement in the one-time meal. It provides 19 grams of protein with other macro or micronutrients. Can be customized easily as per requirement. So definitely Greek yogurt fruit salad is good.
Serving Suggestions
Serve them in small portions and it makes a perfect side in BBQ parties, family gatherings, Mother’s day, Father’s day, and the holidays season.
Adding Protein
Use full-fat Greek yogurt, low-fat Greek yogurt, protein powder, cream cheese are a few ways to add protein to your favorite fruit salad. If you plan to make a fruit salad without yogurt then paneer, tofu, ricotta cheese are other options.
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