Two Fruit Salad Tina: Savory + Snappy Fruit Salads I Love

Tired of salad? Same old same old lettuce with tomatoes and cucumbers …

Are you ready to stop hating and start recreating what a salad can be?!

Add a blast sweet to your snore worthy lunch salad and dare to taste what happens! My job is to share what I know and what I know is that when sweet pairs with acid, salt and herbs …

THE. MOUTH. GOES. WILD 

Often times I overbuy fruit so I can use it for morning smoothies, breakfast bowls or snacks. I have the best intentions (here comes my but) … BUT sometimes fruit alone bores me. Sometimes eating a piece of fruit is unappealing. I said it. Fruit. Alone. Can. Bore. Me.  So, without any further adieu, here are 2 fruit salads that have changed my summer. Ok, changed my summer may be an exaggeration, but they’re pretty dang delicious!

These salads are also helping me get more color into my day which means more energy and more mealtime hydration (veggies + fruits contain water so eating your hydration is real)) while switching up flavor profiles and making for some creative food pairings!  

Peach + Tomato Caprese Salad 

Nope, not your ordinary caprese! Adding peaches to this typical Italian antipasto makes for a sweet bite that doesn’t overpower the softness of fresh mozzarella and seasonal tomatoes, in fact, it elevates a salad experience. When all ingredients combine with extra virgin olive oil, a hit of red wine vinegar, salt and basil - what you get is a palate popper of mouthwatering flavor. 

Wanna pick out the perfect peach? When picking, look for the seam of the peach (you’ll notice peaches have a line that go all the way around their perfect curves), place your thumb on the line and lightly press. If the peach is just soft enough to the touch of your thumb (not mushy) - you’ve got a peach that’s ripe and ready for this salad. Can’t find the perfect peach? Place your peaches in a paper bag (you can even stick a mango or avocado in there as the shared oxygen allows the fruit to ripen) and check in on them in a day or two! 

2 ripe peaches, cut into large cubes
3 Roma tomatoes, deseeded and cubed *can also use 1 large heirloom or mini-cherry heirlooms
1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon of red wine vinegar
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon of salt 
4 pieces of basil, chiffonade
8 oz. fresh mozzarella cut into slices and plated

In a large bowl, mix cubed peaches and tomatoes with extra virgin olive oil, vinegar, slat and 1/2 of the basil
Pile salad atop fresh mozzarella and top with additional basil 

Watermelon + Berry Salad 

Basic and easy to find summer ingredients like watermelon, strawberries and blueberries make this salad simple to prepare. All of the above are standard for summer smoothies, so why not grab some feta, it makes everything betta,’ and go on a salad adventure. My preference is to pair these fruits with soft bibb/Boston lettuce leaves, but you can also use finely chopped romaine or baby spinach will also do. Adding walnuts for crunch help take each and every  soft salad bite you will take on a one way voyage to texture town. I guarantee it. 

Wanna pick out perfect berries? Pick up a berry container, flip it and reverse it! That’s right, turn it upside down and look at the bottom! This is when looking at a bottom is appropriate!  If your berries are stuck and you see too much moisture - move on. Grab a new container and give them a gentle shake, making sure the berries aren’t crowded/stuck together and have the freedom to move. Rinse upon use and get ready, set, salad! 

1 head of Boston/Bibb lettuce *finely chopped romaine or spinach will also do
1 cup of watermelon cubed
1/2 cup of strawberries thinly sliced
1/2 cup of blueberries
1/4 cup of walnuts
1/4 cup of crumbled feta
1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons of balsamic vinegar
Salt

Arrange Bibb lettuce on a plate and layer with fruits, nuts and cheese
Drizzle with olive oil and vinegar, salting to taste and serve
Makes a great main meal or side to your final barbecue of summer