Breakfast in a Jar: Fruit Salad

When I was a kid my mom used to buy those huge jugs of fruit salad at BJ's, she and my dad would eat fruit salad with yogurt for what seemed like a month. While I don't think I could stand eating the same thing every breakfast for that long, it's nice to have something healthy and easy to grab in the morning, and the home made version doesn't have all the preservatives often found in the prepackaged varieties. I like to make two or three breakfasts worth of fruit salad at a time, put it in a clean jar and just dump out however much I’m using and top it with some granola. 

Fruit Salad (and how to save some for later)

Adjust portions to your taste/what you have on hand

Ingredients:

1 Apple

1 Banana

1 Orange

1/8 scant cup Orange juice

1 Tbs Lemon juice

(Other fruits that work well: strawberries, blueberries, kiwi, cantaloupe and other melons)

An easy way to gauge how much you're making; If you would eat about 1 piece of fruit for breakfast, then a salad with 3 pieces will last you 2-3 days. I don't recommend making more than a couple of days worth at a time, particularly when using fruits that brown, and especially when using bananas.

Directions:

1. Peel and slice the banana, Place in a medium bowl
2. Wash, core and cube the apple into bite sized pieces (leave the skin on, that’s where most of the nutrients are,) add to the banana.
3. Sprinkle half the lemon juice over the apples and oranges, stir and sprinkle the second half over them.
4. Peel, separate, and slice orange width-wise, and add to the bowl.
5. Prep any other fruits you want to use and add them (if using pears or other fruit that browns quickly add before you sprinkle with lemon juice.)
6. Pour the juice over the fruit and stir to coat.

If you’re omitting oranges, don’t like citrus, or don’t have OJ any somewhat acidic juice will work, as long as the flavors complimentary to the fruits you used.

Don’t leave out the lemon juice, or your apples and bananas will start to oxidize and turn brown. If you don’t have lemon juice, the brown fruit won’t hurt you, but it will get mushy faster if you don’t eat it right away, negating the whole saving it for later bit.