Fall Fruit Salad

As all of you probably know by this point, I am a fall fanatic! Aside from the weather, colors, and clothes, I love the seasonal fruit! Apples are definitely my favorite, but there is a whole plethora of all fall fruits that are delicious!

Several weeks ago I was at the grocery store with my husband shopping for apples in the organic produce section and I saw a bag of fresh cranberries. I had actually never seen fresh cranberries in person before and was very excited. I just had to get some and see what I could do with them. First off, if you've never eaten a cranberry by itself before, it is nothing like cranberry juice, or the cranberry sauce everyone loves at Thanksgiving. Real cranberries, though flavorful, are incredibly tart! I knew of all of the great benefits cranberries have, especially as a woman, so I really wanted to try to make something with the cranberries without adding much sugar to balance our the tartness. What I ended up with was a delicious fall salad made with apples, pears, grapes, cranberries, vanilla yogurt, walnuts, and cinnamon. 

My husband Kris loved it surprisingly. The natural sugar from the other fruit balances out the tartness in the cranberries and makes for a good mix. This salad recipe is also extremely versatile as you can play with different kinds of nuts, or no nuts at all, different kinds of fruits, yogurt, and spices. You can also do different proportions than what I did to get the flavor you want. It is also great because you can eat it almost any time of day for breakfast, a side to lunch, or dessert. Below is my recipe for my fall fruit salad that is also incredibly healthy for you. (I gave general proportions for the cranberries and grapes so that you can have it either more tart or more sweet depending on if you use more of one or the other):

Ingredients:
About 8 servings:

A couple handfuls fresh cranberries (quartered)
Several handfuls red seedless grapes (quartered)
1 Honey crisp apple (chopped)
1 Green pear (chopped)
6 Oz low fat vanilla yogurt
A handful chopped walnuts
Sprinkling of cinnamon

Directions:

1. Once you have chopped everything up, combine all of the ingredients (except the cinnamon) in a large bowl and gently mix them together until the yogurt lightly coats all of the fruit and nut pieces (If you want, you can toast the walnuts in the oven at 350 degrees for 2-5 minutes).
2. Sprinkle cinnamon on salad to taste and gently stir again. 
3. Chill in the refrigerator, or eat right away and enjoy!

Nutrition Facts:

•  Calories: 117
• Total Fat: 5.5 grams
• Potassium: 137.3 mg
• Fiber: 3 grams
• Sugar: 12.2 grams
• Protein: 2.4 grams
• Vitamin B-6: 7%
• Vitamin C: 16%
• Calcium: 5%
• Copper: 8%
• Iron: 3%
• Magnesium: 5%
• Manganese: 20%
• Phosphorus: 6%
• Riboflavin: 5%
• Thiamin: 4%

Why It's Good For You:

• Pretty much all of the fruit in this salad (except the grapes) are in season in the fall. This means that you can buy organic (they will have ripened naturally and without the use of pesticides or other chemicals) and they will taste amazing!
• Apples: As I have written about in previous posts (Marvelous Mini Apple Pies), apples are great for you. The skin on them provides a lot of fiber and they have a lot of antioxidants in them to prevent you from getting sick. Read my previous post to learn more about apples.
• Pears: Pears provide both fiber and potassium and are not very high in calories. They also contain a lot of other good minerals like calcium, phosphorus, and magnesium. Some have said that pears are great because they are less likely than other fruits to provoke an allergic reaction. 
• Grapes: Grapes contain a compound called resveratol. In humans, high intakes of resveratol is associated with a reduced risk in cardiovascular disease and a reduced risk of cancer. Resveratol is also one of the best anti-aging substances around. The life spans of all life forms tested so far has been dramatically lengthened by even small amounts of resveratol. Grape skins are also a good source for favonoids called oligomeric proanthocyanidins. This is basically a "super-antioxidant." They also lower cholesterol and are terrific for allergies as they have a natural antihistamine effect. 
• Cranberries: Studies have shown that cranberries have some of the most potent antioxidants of any common fruit studied. They have anticancer properties as well as antibacterial properties that aid in preventing urinary tract infections. It's true, doctors will recommend eating raw cranberries if you think you might be contracting a UTI. Cranberries are nutrition-packed red bombs and though tart, are balanced out very well in this salad.

• Walnuts: Walnuts contain the highest amounts of omega-3 fats of any other nuts. Omega-3 is an incredibly healthy fat that can benefit you in many ways. One of these ways is to support brain function in several ways. Omega-3 fats can actually improve your mood. High consumption of omega-3's has been linked to low levels of depression. Walnuts are also great for kids and have been linked to less behavioral problems and less ADD-like behavior. Walnuts can also help you manage your weight. Eating a few walnuts before a meal decreases levels of hunger and may cause you to eat less at meals. 
• Yogurt and Cinnamon: are also really good for you as well, providing benefits such as having a healthy digestive system because of the "good" bacteria in yogurt and upping your immunity. Cinnamon is good because it can help with pain and stiffness in your muscles and joints as well as reducing blood sugar and lowing cholesterol. There's not a lot of yogurt or cinnamon in this recipe, however, if you are interested in getting more benefits from these other two ingredients you can add more of either. Just be aware that adding yogurt will up the fat and/or sugar content depending on what kind of yogurt you get. I would even recommend getting an organic Greek yogurt and adding either agave and vanilla to sweeten it up or just buy vanilla flavored Greek yogurt. 
• *Most nutritional information in this section was taken from The 150 Healthiest Foods on Earth by Jonny Bowden.    

I love this salad because it uses so many fruits that are in season. As I have said before, I think it is truly amazing that God allows fruits with lots of antioxidant power which helps you from getting sick, to be abundant in the seasons when we need protection from sickness the most. Feel free to experiment with this salad and make it your own. Hope you enjoy and as always, thanks for reading and eating along with me!

P.S. I will also be posting some delicious chilly weather soup recipes very soon!