Autumnal Chia Fruit Salad Recipe

Are you looking forward to January 1st?  A day of so much hope for the new year.  New you.  A healthier you.  Nearly half of Americans set out to make New Years resolutions, but according to this report, only 8% are successful in achieving their goals for the new year.  Many will fail within the first week.

Thankfully, you can get a head start in achieving a healthy 2016 by swapping out a desert for this delicious salad.  Because, really how many Christmas cookies can one person consume?  Don’t answer.  That was a rhetorical question but we all know come January 1st, we’ll be buying gym memberships and vowing to never eat junk again.  Disclaimer: though if done right, Christmas cookies can be chock-full of nutrients (I’m thinking gelatin and Einkorn flour!)

We are well into December but our farmer’s markets are still boasting Autumn’s beautiful warm hues of persimmons, pears and citrus fruits of all kinds.  This fruit salad is a wonderful addition to your Christmas brunch – all the fruits can be chopped the night before and tossed in dressing just before serving.  The addition of chia seeds gives a powerful nutrient boost to this salad making this salad high in fiber, magnesium and phosphorus (among other nutrients).  Chia seeds get extra brownie points for doing that ever so important job of absorbing the salad juices making this salad still tasty the next day.

Any fall fruit will work in this recipe though my goal was to make a quick and easy desert with just a handful of my favorites like granny smith apple, D’anjou pear, persimmon and an orange from our backyard.  I’m sure the addition of pomegranate anvils would be lovely atop this salad.  Really, anything goes.

The dressing is just as simple as the contents: plain yogurt, real maple syrup and of course, chia seeds.  Feeling ambitious?  You can give a hand at my homemade yogurt, find those directions here.

Garnish with mint and it makes a beautiful potluck dish to a Christmas party.  Because those Christmas cookies do look enticing but at least you have this salad to redeem you from your guilty pleasures. 🙂

5.0 from 1 reviews

Autumnal Chia Fruit Salad Recipe

 

Serves: 4 cups

Prep time: 15 mins

Total time: 15 mins

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Ingredients

• 1 granny smith apple, diced
• 1 D'anjou pear, diced
• 1 persimmon, diced
• 1 orange, diced
• ¼ c. plain yogurt
• 2T Pure Organic Grade A Maple Syrup
• 1T Organic Black Chia Seeds

Instructions

1. Combine all ingredients in a medium sized bowl.
2. Enjoy immediately or keep refrigerated up to 24 hours.

Notes

The fruit can be chopped and combined ahead of time. Toss in yogurt-maple syrup dressing just before serving. Garnish with pomegranate anvils or mint and enjoy!

3.5.3208