Back in the day my mom would make the best fruit salad for special occasions. I was a really picky kid and the fruit salad was something I looked forward to. Canned fruit cocktail, sliced bananas and a tub of whipped cream. The bananas were the best part. I make it a little differently now. But I still get just as excited about it. This chamomile fruit salad is an updated version without the whipped cream.
Don’t get me wrong, I love whipped cream but it’s all sugar. I’m a huge fan of sugar and that’s exactly why I need to eat less of it. Nowadays I use tea to sweeten my fruit salad. My go-to is chamomile. Surprise, surprise. Any tea could be substituted. Here are a few others that would work well:
- Mint
- Orange peel
- Lavender buds
- Rose petals
- Hibiscus
- Ginger root
- Jasmine petals
- Green tea
- Cinnamon
- Rosehips
- Lemon balm
- Butterfly pea
I also switch it up by using fresh fruit. The canned fruit is great but there were just too many things I didn’t like in it (like pineapple and grapes – both are not my favorite when they’re canned). I find that fresh fruit is ideal because I can pick and choose and nothing goes to waste.
The tea is used to coat the fruit. I pour in just enough to coat everything. Not too much so it doesn’t become soupy.
CHAMOMILE FRUIT SALAD
Ingredients
- 1 mandarin orange
- 1 kiwi
- 1 banana
- 8 blackberries
- 4 strawberries
Directions
- Brew a cup of chamomile tea and allow it to cool to room temperatute.
- Chill the tea in the refrigerator until ready to use.
- Slice up the fruit (except the mandarin oranges) and combine them in a medium mixing bowl.
- Pour over the chilled tea until all of the fruit is coated.
- Serve immediately.
- Enjoy!