Hello Fruit Loops!
Or maybe I shouldn’t call you fruit loops. After all, you are all awesome, and fruit loops… well, they taste like cardboard. But here’s something that doesn’t taste like cardboard:
My breakfast this morning: Single-Serving Oatmeal Cake
Along with the oatmeal cake, I made a gorgeous fruit salad. Normally, I don’t like fruit salad. (It all melds together, meaning you can’t taste the distinct flavors of each fruit.) But every now and then, I crave something I don’t usually like. Is this weird?
This is actually my sister’s recipe, and it could not be easier. But she says whenever she makes it for a party or brunch, everyone asks for the recipe!
Addictive Fruit Salad
- juice of one and 1/2 lemons
- handful fresh mint leaves (about 1/2 cup)
- 1 tbsp powdered sugar (I left this out, because I think fruit is sweet enough on its own. But my sister always uses it when she brings the salad to parties.)
- fruit of choice (about 6-8 cups total)
Blend together the first three ingredients (I used a Magic Bullet) and pour over the fresh fruit. Stir to coat. Best if eaten at least one hour after making, so the flavors have a chance to marry.
Hello summer fruit season!
Above, with some of the best fruit, during my time in France.
I’m most excited for the raspberries, strawberries, blueberries, and honeydew.
Questions of the Day:
Are you excited for fruit season?
Jenny says
What a pretty fruit salad! I guess that’s just another plus about fruit… Not only is it incredibly healthy, but it’s also super pretty to photograph! — Just like chocolate chips I guess? Haha. 😛
I loved a lot of the chocolatey cereals as a child… I was in Singapore for a big part of my childhood, and they had a lot of cereals there that I don’t think they have in the US, like Weeto’s (I think those were my brother’s and my absolute favourite! But they discontinued it a long time ago…) and Koko Krunch. Oreo O’s were my next favourite… until I reached an age where I cared more about my health. Then I started to eat cardboard-y cereals like Special K and All Bran. Then I learned more about nutrition and finally started eating oats… Thank goodness for change!
The Cookie Crisps let me down, too! I’d agree that your Cookie Dough Bowl is 100 times better. (Yay for unprocessed but delicious food!)
Mariah says
Hi Katie!
I clicked over to your blog from your Blondie post on foodgawker today :). I keep seeing you on there, and so finally I thought I’d click over and say hi. You have some beautiful photos, and I’m really enjoying your blog :).
Alexis says
I can’t even tell you how many of your recipes I have “saved” and are waiting to use. I love everything you post on here!
I love fruit!! I especially love summer fruit. blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, strawberries! I can’t get enough of them some days 🙂
Lisa Fine says
I love fruit salad [unlike you], and don’t add sugar to it [like you]. 🙂
As for my favorite cereal as a kid, I loved Kix too, and Cocoa Krispies, although we didn’t get those very much.
Emily says
I was always that weird kid that likes grape nuts and museli. Currently I’m obsessed with Cracklin Oat Bran which is by far the most underrated cereal ever. It’s not the healthiest, but how can I say no to oatmeal, coconut and cinnamon?!
And my mom and I just demolished an entire cantelope! It was soooooo sweet and creamy. Yay summer!
Claire @ Live and Love to Eat says
I thought produce in Europe tasted better than I ever had in the US. No idea why!
Laura@keepinghealthygettingstylish says
I love fresh fruit and agree its more than sweet enough on its own! I love fresh mint, especially with strawberries, it makes an awesome smoothie combo 🙂
Liz @ Tip Top Shape says
I LOVED Kix when i was little. And Cookie Crips. That stuff was dangerously good. I also went through a Life phase which i have yet to leave..lol. It’s just so good!!
Pine Apple says
As a kid my favourite was Honey Smacks and Frosted Flakes, although they are called differently here. (Just “Smacks” and “Frosties”) Today sugary cereal is my vice … so I never buy it (not even the healthy unsweetened organic kind), otherwise I’d be eating nothing but cereal with vanilla soy milk … both are expensive, not the healthiest choice around and actually “binge foods” for me.
For a snack I just had 1lbs of locally grown strawberries, they are finally available here! Like candy, soooo sweet. One thing I’ve noticed is how my appetite for fruit changes with the seasons. In winter it’s oranges oranges oranges, as summer rolls around this changes to anything melon (oh honeydew, I love you!). I’m looking forward to apricots (:
It’s funny, when I lived in the US (Oklahoma) I would eat apples from Washington etc., but here I’d never ever buy apples from, say, Norway, although the distance Norway-Austria is probably much less than OK-WA.
VeggieGirl says
When I was a kid I loved Honey Nut Cheerios, Shredded Wheat, and Waffle Crisp cereals.
Sarah @ The Smart Kitchen says
Mint + fruit is perhaps one of my favorite flavor combinations of all time. I particularly love mint and watermelon and…mint and pineapple. I once told my students (after they asked why my pineapple had green spots on it) that eating mint and pineapple would literally change their lives. They looked at me a bit confusedly, but it’s true. 🙂
I make this same sort of “dressing” (not sugar for me either) but always use lime juice, and I usually just chop the mint real fine and not blend it all together…but I do like that idea. Sometimes I add a little crystallized ginger—that pairs wonderfully with mangos and blueberries.
Emily says
My mom rarely bought us “sugar cereals” when we were kids so we were usually pretty happy with cheerios or corn flakes. On the rare occasion that she DID buy fun cereals, I was pretty much in love with coco puffs!
Megan says
Im majorly pumped! I love berries and they cost major bucks when they aren’t in season.
When I was little I loved All Bran. I was a weirdo. But i was also a huge fan of cocoa puffs! Especially the chocolate milk at the end! Yum!
Lilly says
I adore berry season, and summer fruit in general- yum! As a kid my mom was smart and knew cereal would not fill me up so I rarely had it But at other people’s houses I loved those mini assorted cereals, frosted flakes (whoa sugar in a bowl), but cracklin’ oat bran was my fav. i still sometime crave it. Seriously, sounds gross but was soooo good!
Jennie says
As a kid I would only eat Frosted Mini-Wheats – nothing else! Now as an adult, when I eat cereal, I still eat mini-wheats, only I get the unfrosted ones (fav is Mom’s Best Toasted Wheat-fuls).
That fruit salad looks delicious. I also think fruit is sweet enough on its own and would not add the powdered sugar.
Hela says
this fruit salad looks soooo yummy!! I´m not that much into fruit salads, either, but I think it can be a great way of using up “tasteless” fruit.
I made your Cookie Dough Bowl today. My mum was saying all the time “this is bad, this is really bad, I can´t stop eating it” 😀 So, what did she do? Helped herself to another big spoonful of deliciousness, then another one, and went outside to stay away from the bowl 😉
Chocolate-Covered Katie says
LOL! Your mom sounds like mine!
Hela says
😀
Sarena (The Non Dairy Queen) says
We always had boring cereals growing up. Cheerios was as exciting as it got. I do love them, but I never knew the fun of cereal until I was older. I am so ready for cantaloup to come back into season! I was experimenting a couple of years ago and put orange zest and juice on my cantaloup. It took the flavors to a whole different level! Your fruit and oat cake look delicious!
amy says
Call me a freak, but I loved raisin bran most! My second favorite was smurf berry crunch … only because sugared cereal was banned in our house and I loved the smurfs. Knowing I could not take any of it home to eat, I may or may not have eaten it at Grandma’s until the roof of my mouth was gone and I peed blue …
Riss says
I can’t get super pumped fresh summer fruit… My parents live in the Philippines and whenever I visit them I absolutely gorge myself on fruit. My first few days there, I eat it for breakfast and dinner… and then I settle down a bit and stick to just breakfast (and second breakfast, and snack, dessert… etc.). The fruit here in the States (even from the Farmer’s Market) just doesn’t taste as good. =(
And I actually HATED cereal growing up. The only way I’d eat it was dry with a glass of milk on the side… But I did go through a slight Oreo O obsession around the 4th grade. And then Reese’s Puffs in high school. (I think we’re seeing a trend.)
Chocolate-Covered Katie says
I lived in the Philippines for a year… it’s where I learned to love mango! Oh my gosh the mangoes there are insane!
Stephanie says
I loved Cap’n Crunch, even though it completely shredded the skin off my alveolar ridge. I can’t even imagine eating that stuff now! These days I crave oatmeal with ground flax seeds and chia seeds, maybe with chopped apple and cinnamon with almond milk. Sooo good!
Renee says
This has nothing to do with this post, sorry! I found a blog that I thought almost jumped on your new healthy sweet trend and wanted you to know about it (if you didn’t already)http://www.mycreativeflavors.com/2011/05/coconut-chickpea-bars-or-besan-ki-burfi.html
Love your goodies! Protien and sweets what a great combo!
Ashley O. @ The Vegetable Life says
I cant wait for farm stand and fresh fruit season…. its sooooo close!!!!!!!
Anonymous says
This looks AWESOME!!!
Hmmm…favorite cereals. When we were little, we used to make mixed-up mini-bowls of all the cereals we had on-hand in the cupboard, and nibbled on this dry while watching Saturday a.m. cartoons. Then, later, our mom would make a yummy breakfast (like french toast or pancakes!) We usually only had one or two “sweet” kinds or granola, and the others were Chex cereals, Cheerios, Shredded Mini-Wheats, etc.
NOW: Our daily “Default Cereal” is Kashi Go-Lean w/ blueberries! And, our favorite snack cereal to munch on is Barbara’s Shredded Oats. It also comes in Cinnamon! We’ve even thought about drizzling melted dark chocolate over these, and letting it “harden,” and eating for snack/dessert! Maybe…w/ chopped dried cherries or cranberries mixed into the chocolate…YUM!!!
Bethany Davis says
Note: Vanilla Almond, too! Thinking…in a blind taste-test, the Vanilla Almond is our favorite! The other cereal I keep on hand is exclusively for non-dairy ice cream topping: organic chocolate brown-rice krispies! 1/10th the calories per spoonful as chocolate chips, and fat-free/ nice crunch to boot! ( :
Averie (LoveVeggiesandYoga) says
Oh I love fruit season! And just yesterday posted about this awesome watermelon I bought down here in Aruba. Had not had watermelon in ages! Like a year, or nearly, and this watermelon just hit the spot.
But going to the farmers markets in San Diego, the local fruit from berries to orchard fruits in the fall…it makes me sooo happy!
Cheerios, Golden Grahams, Cocoa Krispies to Raisin Bran and healthy granola and muesli cereals..I did not discriminate as a kid!
Holly @ The Runny Egg says
I love fruit — I bought a ton of strawberries, apples, blueberries and bananas last night and they will be gone in no time.
I *love* Count Chocula!!! And Lucky Charms and any other cereal with little marshmallows. But my favorite is Blueberry Morning — especially after it sits in the milk for a minute or two and gets kind of soggy — and the last bite of all blueberries since they all sink to the bottom. Love that!
Lisa says
I loved peanut butter cap’n crunch! and I agree, chocolate cereals are icky for the most part. Unless its like a granola with ACTUAL pieces of chocolate in it like the one by Nature’s Path. Now thats a good cereal!
and i dont think its weird that you crave something you dont like- i think its becase you dont eat it super frequently bc you dont like it, which makes your body actually want it!
crazy how the body works, eh? 🙂
Katy sparrow says
Ohman!! I just made a fruit salad last night and as an afterthought put fresh spearmint from my moms garden in and was so amazed! Similar brainwaves, Katie! Love ur dressing w/ lemon though that will be perfect for my next one! I put fresh strawberries, kumquats, papaya, pineapple, and mango in my salad, mmMm! Fruit and mint are totally bff.
I loved Golden Grahams!… Nowadays my taste buds crave the simplicity of bran flakes, and I add in a whole host of seeds and raisins.
Can’t wait to try ur bowl of blondie dough! I agree cookie crisp was so terrible.
I made the genius blondes and liked them a lot! I made them with half a very ripe banana added in and that made them good but very bananay so I want to try them out original style next and snicker doodle too!
Emma (Sweet Tooth Runner) says
I loooove fruit salad!! And you’re so right- chocolate chips make EVERYTHING look better 😉
Haha you probably don’t get a lot of our cereals over there, but whenever I went to the States as a kid I LOVED Lucky Charms and Cap’n Crunch! 😀
Alex@Spoonful of Sugar Free says
LOVE LOVE LOVE Fruit!!!! I am sooooo excited for fresh watermelon! It is so…..FRESH! and juicy and sweeet and oh so yummy….
cereal I liked as a kid? well….just plain ol cheerios I guess! Ooo and rice chex!
Jen says
Growing up, I actually didn’t eat a lot of cereal. Once in a while I liked Rice Krispies, doused in sugar. Healthy, right? But truly, I didn’t start eating cereal until after I got into health, which means the cereals I’ve enjoyed most in my life have been of the whole grain/organic varieties. Kid cereals are WAY to sweet!
Tori (Fresh Fruition) says
I loved cocoa puffs! I’m still a chocoholic! And I love bananas and berries! And citrus, too. Come to think of it, I love all fruit…. 🙂
Ashley says
Fruit Loops is much better name than what Lady Gaga calls her fan, “little monsters” 🙁 My mom never really bought us sugary cereals, lucky for me she always made oatmeal with sprinkles or homemade waffles, YUM :)Now that im older i usually stick with the low sugar cereals that no one else really likes because they fill me up. I really like lettting the milk sit for a while and my mini wheats cereal becomes kind of like oatmeal!!
Amy @ ElephantEats says
I’ve been a silent stalker for a while now…i may have commented once before. Anyway, I just wanted to let you know that I finally got around to buying Agar and I’m going to make your Soy-Free Vegan Cream tonight! I’m beyooooond excited. I plan to eat the whole thing in one sitting 🙂
Chocolate-Covered Katie says
Oh I hope you love it!!!
Lauren says
I’m so excited for berry season! Fresh summer fruit is so addictive in the warm weather.
Faith @ lovelyascharged says
I’m super psyched about fruit season! Fresh berries and juicy peaches? Cheeea, baby!
My mom never went for blatantly sugary cereal, but the raisin bran that she allowed was surely just as loaded! I snuck froot loops at my grandma’s house, though!
Krystina (Organically Me) says
Apple cinnamon cheerios were my favorite too. 😀 And cocoa pebbles!
Ragnhild says
Im usually no big fan of fruit salads either. I ecpesially dont like bananas in it, even though I like them on their own.
But this salad looks really good, all my favorits- berries and melon and is it mango? And I love mint! Sounds refreshing!
Chocolate-Covered Katie says
Yup, manila mango (the ones that are yellow on the outside)!
Katherine: Unemployed says
I want BERRY season; why are they never cheap
Moni'sMeals says
Great fruit salad katie! I am not a big fruit salad type… only this time of year. I like your addition of mint, I always add that if I have it too. (great pic too!)
Noya - gluttonandstudent says
That fruit salad looks so pretty – I love all of the colors. I’m looking forward to fruit season because 1) I love fruit and 2) I’ll be working at a fruit stand at our local farmer’s market this summer!
Growing up, I was a hard core Honey Nut Cheerios girl.
Cait's a Runnerchick says
Hey Katie!! First off, I just found your blog and want to tell you how much I LOVE it! Well, for lots of reasons but I’ll name the biggest: 1) umm, the name had me right away, because anything with chocolate already has me drooling 2) I then see cookie dough listed as a recent post and you’ve become my best friend off the bat…haha 3) you write so genuinely and openly and are honest. The last thing is that you’re a runner too!! 🙂
I love running, and like you I am skinny and can eat a ton. Often times people don’t believe me, but this girl can outeat most football players. 🙂 So as a fellow skinny runnerchick I’m happy you can take what some people may say with a grain of salt. As long as you know you’re healthy foggeddaboutit. Anyways, I’m so happy I’ve found your blog and see all your amazing recipes. Sadly, I’m a horrible cook and don’t know if I’ll be able to actually make any of them to turn out like yours, but I hope to give it a shot….haha.
Keep on blogging, running, and chowing down. 🙂
Chocolate-Covered Katie says
Hi Cait! Thank you so much for such a sweet comment :). It’s always nice to meet a fellow run-a-holic! Especially one who loves chocolate!
Gen says
I looooove apple jacks and cheerios!! 😀
That fruit salad looks amazing!
The Teenage Taste says
Oh my goodness. I am BEYOND excited for fruit/berry season. Berries are my favorites!
When I was younger my favorite cereals were always frosted flakes and cinnamon toast crunch. Now it’s FiberOne and still cinnamon toast crunch. I love that stuff! 😀
L says
Three cheers for Fresh fruit! I love fruit salad in the spring/summer time. But sugar?!? I don’t get that either.
Dawn @ Blonde on a Mission says
My favourite cereal growing up was French Toast Crunch. I would pretend I was eating actual bread. Other than that, Corn Pops were pretty amazing too. Whenever I stayed at my grandparents we would just eat plain old boring Corn Flakes lol.
I am most excited for strawberries & blueberries. Then again, I buy all the local produce, so watermelon & cantaloupe are also on my list of favourites! And I can’t put sugar on fruit… it makes it way too sweet!
Eleanor@eatinglikeahorse says
I can’t get enough strawberries at the moment, especially as the hot Easter we had meant a bumper crop – and that means they’re much cheaper than usual 🙂
My favourite cereal as a kid was Coco Pops but my mum always said it was too expensive. now I come to think of it, it wasn’t any more expensive than the others; I think that was her cunning plan to stop us having a chocolate cereal – but it worked!
Jordan says
I am SO excited for fresh fruit!!! I bought cherries yesterday and was thrilled! 🙂
Liz @ IHeartVegetables says
There are so many recipes of yours I’ve been meaning to try! I need to add this one to the list. I love the idea of mint + fruit! I Love love love summer because if the watermelon, cantaloupe, strawberries and other fresh fruit!
Katherine says
Fruit season = LOVE!
I am so excited for my mission trip in Guatemala (leaving June 2nd) because fruit is in such an abundance there! Heck, I am just excited about the mission trip. It isn’t so much as us spreading the word as us just giving love to these people and giving them vitamins and feeding them and the like. O, I am so excited 😀 lol
Katelyn @ Chef Katelyn says
I lah lah loooove putting lemon juice on my fruit salad:)
Danielle says
Long-time non-vegan but chocolate-loving (and animal-loving) follower of your blog. I’m an artist specializing in animal portraits, and I’d love to draw a portrait of Molly for you. If you’re interested, maybe I can provide my email so you can send me a ton of photos of Molly, I could see if I can work with them.
Chocolate-Covered Katie says
awwww wow, you are so sweet! Your offer made me smile so much! I have some really cute photos of Molly on this page: https://chocolatecoveredkatie.com/veganism/ccv-in-a-box/test/door-1/up-a-tree/henry/you-again/good-golly-miss-molly/molly
Parita says
I love a good mango any day! Strawberries, pineapples, oranges are all also on the list.
And my favorite cereals growing up were Lucky Charms and Count Chocula…so.much.sugar!
Deanna says
I was kind of a weird kid in that, while I liked Lucky Charms and Captain Crunch (the peanut butter kind), my all time favs were frosted shredded wheat and grapenuts. (Of course, I spooned sugar on the grapenuts.)
Sam says
I absolutely love fruit. I could eat it all day long. So yes, I am very excited for fruit season! That fruit salad pictured above looks amazing.
When I was growing up, Cinnamon Toast Crunch was my all time favorite cereal. Cocoa Pebbles followed in a close second.
Chocolate-Covered Katie says
I forgot about cinnamon toast crunch! More than the cereal, I loved how it made the milk taste!
KatieH says
I am sooo excited for fresh fruit season! Especially berries and then apples in the fall. When I was a kid, Lucky Charms were the BEST treat ever. It was rare that we got them, but man, we savored every bowl. Also, I have a theory that the third bowl out of a box is the best. Probably I should get a box at the store this weekend to revisit my theory….
Nichole (Flirting with Food Fitness & Fashion) says
My favorite cereals were Kix, Life, Golden Grahams & Honey Nut Cherrios. I still eat Life sometimes when I have the craving for it 🙂
McKayla @ Green Groats says
I love mint with fruit!
I used to eat cereal for breakfast almost every morning. My favorites were shredded wheat with raisins inside (I don’t think they make these anymore), honey bunches of oats, and life!
Anna says
My favorite cereal as a kid was Lucky Charms. I used to eat one color of marshmallows at a time for some strange reason 😉
I am excited for fresh fruit! I added some raspberries into my green monster this morning and it was delicious! I need to look into local farmer markets now that I am in a new area.
Chocolate-Covered Katie says
I just went to our farmers market for the first time last week. There was so much fresh fruit! …and so many cute puppies walking around! Next time I’m bringing Henry! 🙂
Serena says
I can’t wait for fruit season! I love all types of fruits and incorporating them into my diet with different recipes. I was so disappointed with cookie crisps because they taste nothing like the real deal, but I get excited over Kashi, Cheerios, Oatmeal Squared, and Shredded Wheat.
Pure2raw twins says
yes I am looking forward to watermelon and peach season!!
I loved all types of cereal growing, would go through phases of eating one king and then another, seriously think I used to live off it haha
BroccoliHut says
I can’t wait to go berry picking this year!! Berries make me so happy.
My favorite cereals as a kid were Honey Nut Cheerios and Rice Krispies Treats cereal (anyone else remember that?) My uncle worked for Kellogg’s so we got a LOT of Frosted Flakes in our house.
Misadventures of Fat-free Baking says
Haha. It’s not exactly fruit season in singapore. We have different kinds of fruits all year round. The craze right now is guava, mangoes and lychees! love ’em all! 😀 I didn’t really eat cereals when I was younger but did LOVE frosties, cocoa crunch and cookie crisps but revulsed fruity loops (despite loving fruits) haha 😀
kaila @ healthy helper! says
I love fruit salad…..but I know what ya mean about all the flavors melding together. I keep all the fruits in separate bags and then when I want some I take a bit of each to put in a bowl to prevent that!
My fave cereals growing up were kix, lucky charms, and cheerios! I was also really disappointed that the cookie crisp didnt taste like cookies….more like plastic 🙁
Molly says
Hey Katie!
So i’ve been experimenting around with your genius blondie recipes because after you posted those pictures, I just HAD to try them. I was a bit skeptical because I’ve had chocolate and black bean brownies before and they tasted way too “beanie” for me. But these just looked so yummy I had to give them a batch. I made a batch with chickpeas last week and replaced some of the brown sugar with chopped up dates (I actually ran out of brown sugar and threw in the dates as a quick substitute). It turned out totally delish. Then today, I was craving those genius blondies again but decided to try it with white navy beans. And actually, I think like the white navy beans better than the chickpeas. That’s just my opinion, but I thought I’d share. Keep up with the awesome recipes!
Chocolate-Covered Katie says
I’ve gotten a LOT of comments from people who have used white beans… and now, after reading your comment, I’m REALLY wanting to try it for myself! You’ve convinced me! 🙂
Heather @ Kiss My Broccoli says
I am SO excited for fruit season! I can’t wait for peaches!! My favorite cereals as a kid where Lucky Charms and Captain Crunch! It was always a treat when my mom bought them for me!
I love your braids! Soooo cute!
Mirza Ghalib says
It is very fantastic news beacuse these fruits keeps our body very cool and our body water level become not descrese so these fruits very usefull in summer seasons .moatly we eat very quantity.
Oc Ziegler says
I just made this as desert for the Memorial Day cookout my family is having 🙂 its such a refreshing, healthy, desert that everyone (evern people like me with food alergies!) can enjoy! thanks Katie!
Mia says
I adored Cap’n Crunch with crunchberries 😉 I’m so with you on the cookie crisp thing! They tasted like little pieces of cardboard -_-
Punjabi Lover says
Its no doubt that fruits keep us cool and maintain healthy water levels in our body, thus preventing dehydration. So this super fruit salad is a great option.
Dost Prachi says
Really nice addition to encourage anybody to eat some healthy diet, These fruits are very useful and having good vitamin for body…
Clare says
Omigoodness Katie this is FABULOUS
I need something in the morning to keep me going for track, and this is absolute PERFECTION
Thank you!
PS. You are gorgeous! A total beaut!
rachel says
My mouth is watering. Looks really yummy.