AIP fruit salad dessert

This recipe is a healthy, fruity, refreshing dessert or side.  The main ingredients are fruit, coconut cream, and honey.

I originally made up this recipe when I wanted to use the cream from a can of coconut milk and I had some extra fruit.  So I whipped up a creamy coconut fruit salad concoction.  The second time I made it, this week, it was for a yoga club potluck.  I was nervous about the potluck because I normally can't eat anything at social events.  SO I decided to take initiative and bring something that I figured people would appreciate - fruit is pretty popular - and something I could enjoy myself!

The fruit mixture

I was very pleased with how much people liked it.  We didn't have any plates or forks so we just scooped it onto napkins and ate it with our hands!  (Which is shamelessly my favorite way to eat food!)  I'm used to how it was in high school, when my mom would labor over delicious homemade treats that I would bring to a class party, only to have my peers go for the skittles and soda instead.  But everything at this potluck was delicious and healthy.  People brought their homemade, vegan, gluten free, paleo treats and snacks.  I guess the yoga and meditation community is more in tune with wellness, which makes me happy to be a part of that.  Needless to say, my fruit salad dessert all went!

The cream mixture 

In this recipe, a small can (5.4 oz) of coconut cream will do, or you can use the cream off the top of a can of full fat coconut milk at room temperature.  This can be a little difficult, as I can't be sure how much that is and I would also try to get rid of the coconut oil at the very top.  If the mixture is too liquidy for your preference, simply add a half teaspoon of arrowroot starch.  There's no right or wrong with amounts here, it's easy to adjust.  You can also change up the fruit and spices.  I've tried it with clementine instead of orange before, and I definitely want to try peaches in the future.

I like the Native Forest brand of coconut milk without guar gum, organic simple coconut milk, and the Natural Value brand of coconut cream, Organic Coconut Cream.  Use the cans at room temperature because then the cream is easy to mix in with the other ingredients. 

AIP Fruit Salad Dessert

AIP, vegan

Yield: 6 to 6½ cups

Ingredients

• 1 banana
• 1 orange
• 1 apple
• 1 ½ C grapes (purple or green)
• 1 C strawberries
• 1 C melon (honeydew or cantaloupe)
• ½ C blueberries (frozen or fresh)
• ½ C raisins
• ½ C shredded coconut
• ½ tsp sea salt
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• ¼ C honey
• 5.4 oz can of coconut cream
• optional: ½ tsp arrowroot starch

Directions

1. Cut/separate fruit into chunks and mix together with raisins in a container
2. In a different bowl, combine the coconut cream, salt, cinnamon, vanilla extract, lemon juice, honey, and shredded coconut
3. Stir the cream mixture into the fruit mixture, adding in a ½ tsp of arrowroot starch if it's too liquidy

Substitutions

- lime juice for lemon juice

- coconut cream from a can of full fat coconut milk for the can of coconut cream

- any fruit (I've also tried pineapple and clementine)