During the holidays, I had my girl friends over for lunch. Each of them brought a salad and I made the main entre, a grilled flat iron steak, served room temperature. Even though I didn’t specify what kind of salad to bring, they were all different!

My friend Lainie brought a very unusual, winter fruit salad. Spicy and sweet and so refreshing. Since plant proteins are one of the food trends for 2019, Lainie’s salad is a good start to add to your meals.

Spicy fruit salad

Ingredients

2/3 cup sugar

1/3 cup water

1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and sliced

1 tablespoon fresh lime juice or to taste

2 cups peeled if you want, diced Granny Smith apple

2 cups diced fresh pineapple

2 firm, ripe bananas, sliced

1 cup each orange segments and grapefruit segments, cut up OR 2 cups jarred or fresh orange segments, drained if jarred

1/2 cup dried cranberries

1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro or to taste

Instructions

Simmer sugar, water and jalapeno in a saucepan until sugar dissolves.  Stir in lime juice and let sit until it cools to room temperature. Strain and chill.

Pour over fruit and cilantro and mix well.

Tip: Don’t pitch the pineapple core. Chunk it up and let it infuse in a pitcher of water. You’ll get a boost of vitamin C and a subtle sweetness. Plus pineapple is good for a sore throat. When we were kids, chilled pineapple juice was always in Mom’s arsenal of “potions” for sore throats.