Healthy Ambrosia Salad

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Healthy Ambrosia Salad

Take out all of the processed junk and sugar from regular ambrosia salad, and you'll get this Healthy Ambrosia Salad, which is made with fresh fruit, honey and coconut milk!

Course Dessert, Sweet Thangs

Cuisine American

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Total Time 40 minutes

Servings 8 -10

Author Brewing Happiness

Ingredients

• 2 cups mandarin orange slices, freshly peeled
• 2 cups red grapes, halved or whole
• 2 cups pineapple, diced
• 2 cups frozen cherries, thawed, rinsed, and drained
• 1 cup coconut flakes
• 2 cans full fat coconut milk, refrigerated overnight
• 1/4 cup honey (sub coconut nectar or agave nectar)
• 2-3 teaspoons beet water (for color)

Instructions

1. Peel, slice, and dice your fruit. Set aside.
2. Open your cans of refrigerated coconut milk from the bottom, and drain any liquid. Then scoop out the hardened coconut milk into a bowl, add in your honey and beet water, and mix with a hand mixer or standing mixer until it is smooth.
3. Fold in your drained fruit and coconut flakes to the coconut cream mixture until everything is evenly covered.
4. Refrigerate for 20-30 minutes before serving.
5. EAT UP.

I have this very vivid memory from my childhood of the days when my mom would come to eat lunch with me. I was in Elementary school and hadn’t learned to be embarrassed by my parents yet, so it was a special thing. I remember how I would sit waiting to be called to the front of the school over the loud speaker, so I could go pick up my mom and walk with her to the cafeteria. I remember feeling like royalty on those days. I was the special one, who’s mom was here, and I got to get my lunch from the secret teacher’s line in the cafeteria. I remember that the teacher’s food choices were especially exciting because they had ambrosia salad. 

Ambrosia salad is one of those things that I didn’t really know was southern until very recently. I also had no idea how truly disgusting the ingredients are either (ie. heavy cream, refined sugar, sour cream, marshmallows, maraschino cherries, canned pineapple, canned mandarin oranges, and maybe some nuts.) It’s pretty awful when you think about it. But when you are a kid and you see a fluffy fruit salad with marshmallows in it and – well, you’re pretty stoked. 

I thought the idea of a health-ified ambrosia salad, with all of it’s fruit and it’s pink color and it’s delicious fluffiness, could be the perfect Easter treat! Now, the salad is usually pink in color from the maraschino cherries, but I obviously excluded those. So instead I colored mine with a little bit of beet water. (Aka. basically I just bought a can of unsalted beets and poured a little of the liquid into the coconut cream.) So now it’s light an fun and great for the whole family! Easter just got health-ified. And if you wanna find more health-ified Easter dishes, check out the hashtag #virtualEasterparty on Instagram and Twitter today! There are a ton of amazing bloggers sharing great recipes for your easter festivities!  (You can also check out the list at the bottom of the post – it has links to all the other blogger’s Easter recipes. Enjoy!)

A Sunshine Mission /// Carrot Cake Oatmeal Bars

Brewing Happiness /// Heathy Ambrosia Salad

Real Food Healthy Body /// Blackberry Chocolate Cups  

She Can’t Eat What?! /// Easter Coconut Oat Granola with Rosewater Cream

Nourish Everyday /// Superfood Chocolate Cake with Matcha Frosting

Wholehearted Eats /// Rainbow Rolls with Creamy Miso

Rebel Recipes /// Carrot Cake Baked Oatmeal with Lemony Cashew Cream

Hot for Food /// Vegan Carrot Cake

Chocolate for Basil /// Green Apple Celery Slaw with Candied Pecans

Naturally Hanne /// No Bake Chocolate Mousse Tarts

Scaling Back Blog /// Spring Artichoke Pesto Pasta

Some Bits and Bobs /// Steamed Veggies with Quinoa and Sprouts

Well & Full /// Purple Cauliflower Tabbouleh

Gratitude & Greens /// Vegan Easter Egg Truffles

Nourish Atelier /// Beluga Lentil Caviar 2 Ways

Food by Maria /// Vegan Potato Gratin with a Twist

Vegetaryn /// Vegan Chocolate Covered Easter Eggs

Dower Hollingsworth /// Hot Cross Cupcakes

Pinky’s Pantry // Raw Lemon Cheesecake with Candied Lemon Peel