Zesty Fruit Salad

Summer time is the perfect for a delightful picnic. Here in Denver we have so many beautiful parks to eat with friends and enjoy the sunshine. Picnic packing can be tricky. You really shouldn't pack anything that is difficult to transport (cupcakes, pot pies) or else you may have a layer of slop in your picnic basket. Nobody needs to envy the squirrels for their ability to forage for food. 

 Unless you have a large cooler, bringing things that could spoil is also a bad idea (mayonnaise based sauces, cheese and meat). This salad is a perfect picnic pick! Zesty Fruit Salad has so much flavor and is sure to please everyone's palate. First, start with really delicious fruit and let it soak up a dressing that is so tasty and refreshing.  It gets even better as you let it sit, so it is great through out your stay at the park.

Ingredients

2 limes

2 tablespoons white sugar

1 pineapple, cut into bite sized pieces

1 pint of strawberries, hulled and sliced

3 to 4 mangoes, cut into bite sized pieces

4 bananas

 This makes about 8 to 10 large servings

In a large bowl, zest the two limes and squeeze out all the juice. If your limes are not very juicy, pop them into the microwave for 15 seconds. Whisk in the two tablespoons of sugar with the lime juice and zest. This is a delicious dressing for the fruit to drink up while it sits.

Add in all of the fruit except for the bananas. Stir the fruit until all of it is coated in the dressing. Let this sit for at least 30 minutes before serving. 

When you are ready to serve the salad, slice up the bananas. I like to slice up about 1/2 a banana for each serving at a time. I find it keeps the bananas from getting too mushy if I slice them per serving like this. 

A fresh taste of summer in every bite, yum!