Editor’s Note: For our Summer Recipes series, we’ve paid homage to the health benefits of the cucumber with the “Chilled & Dilled Cucumber Soup” and took an adventure starring quinoa with the “Crunchy Quinoa Tabouli.” Last week, we showed you how to put the sunshine in a hearty Sunshine Summer Salad—another no-cooking recipe. As we find more ways to cool down, this week Ellen Sue Spicer-Jacobson shows us how delicious antioxidants are via two delectable fruit salads.

The bevvy of berries, fleshy fruits like mangoes and plums, as well as grapes and avocados (actually a fruit) provide a perfect summer buffet of mix-and-match selections for fruit salads and smoothies (next week’s recipe). Berries and mangoes are especially high in antioxidants. Here’s information on these gems:

Antioxidants—a classification of several organic substances, including vitamins C and E, vitamin A (which is converted from beta-carotene), selenium (a mineral), and a group known as the carotenoids. Carotenoids (beta-carotene is the most popular) are pigments that add color to many fruits and vegetables. Together as antioxidants, these substances are thought to be effective in helping to prevent cancer, heart disease, and stroke. (Source: www.goaskalice.columbia.edu) Also, in a major study on fruit and vegetable antioxidant content published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, berries won easily in terms of the amount of antioxidant for the price. Antioxidants are disease-fighting compounds that scientists believe help repair and/or prevent the stress of oxidation, a process that occurs naturally during normal cell function. (Source: Natural News.com).

Berry Fresh Fruit Salad

(Consider buying organic fruits, because the skin of berries cannot be peeled, and the other fruits have such thin skin, that even peeled, I think pesticides can penetrate.)

Ingredients

1-2 cups combined berries, washed and drained, any or all:

Blackberries
Strawberries
Blueberries
Raspberries

½ mango, peeled and cut into bite-sized pieces
1 yellow or green kiwi, peeled and cut into bite-sized pieces

Topping of choice: Dried, unsweetened coconut or slivered almonds

Directions

1. Place washed berries, mango and kiwi pieces into a large bowl. Toss, add topping of choice and serve chilled.
2. Feel free to add other summer fruits, like peaches, plums, apricots, and grapes, and top with yogurt and coconut or almonds. If you want a moister salad, add ¼ cup of unsweetened juice, like apple or orange.
3. Serves 2-4 depending on whether you use one or two cups berries. . . and your appetite!

Note: I added some fresh mint for color and taste, but it is optional.

Ginger-Spicey Rainbow Fruit Salad

Ingredients

Note: My goal is to have as many colors of the rainbow as possible.

1 (purple) plum and/or peach
1-2 apricots
¼ to ½ ripe mango
½ cup strawberries or raspberries
a few grapes, green and purple
½ ripe avocado *

small sliver of fresh ginger
½ tsp. cinnamon or allspice
organic applesauce for topping

Directions

1. Wash plum and/or peach. Wash, peel and cut mango into small pieces. Rinse berries and grapes and drain. Wash avocado, peel ¼ and slice or chop into small pieces.
2. Toss the fruit in a bowl with ginger and cinnamon. Serve chilled, topped with applesauce right before serving. (Feel free to use nuts or unsweetened coconut bits as toppings.)
3. For a wetter salad, feel free to add ¼ cup unsweetened apple, orange, or pineapple juice.

Serves 2-4 depending on whether this is your whole breakfast or just a snack.
*Avocado is a fruit and adds a smooth texture to the salad. But it is optional.