Summer Fruit Salad with Coconut

I love summer for many reasons, but one of the best things about summer is the produce. Fresh fruits and vegetables with pungent flavors and bright colors are abundant almost anywhere you shop.

I like to take advantage of the bounty as best as possible, but often I am left with fruits in my refrigerator and on my counter that I just couldn't eat quickly enough. Since I hate letting things go to waste, I have two options: use it or freeze it. A great use for fruits that don't freeze well is fresh fruit salad. Here, I've combined chopped kiwi, strawberries, bananas, and apples. For a touch of extra sweetness to cut the sometimes tart fruits, I like to coat the entire salad with shredded sweetened coconut, but any type of coconut is great in this application.

Other fruits that are great in chopped fruit salad are oranges that have been cut out of the fibrous skins, fresh or canned pineapple, mango, nectarines, blueberries, peaches, raspberries, cantaloupe, blackberries, pears, cherries, and watermelon.

For an extra boost or flavor, texture and nutrients, you can also add slivered or sliced almonds, pine nuts, pistachios, walnuts, or pecans.