My Go-to Winter Fruit Salad

I cannot take credit for the deliciousness that is this recipe, only for the pretty photos that I took of what is now my go-to potluck dish for winter parties. Sadly pomegranate season is of very short duration, otherwise this would be my go-to dish year-round. I found this recipe for a Winter Fruit Salad and it is just too good not to share. It is very simple and very healthy. It calls for the following:

2 Pink Lady Apples, cored and diced

2 Pears, cored and diced

4-6 Mandarin Oranges, peeled and separated (This is my modification and I think it tastes better this way, the original recipe called for 2 large oranges) 

Seeds from 1 Pomegranate 

Juice from 1/2 lemon

1 T Honey

Mint (The original recipe calls for the mint as a garnish but I think the mint adds a nice kick to the salad and tastes great so I say why not add more and incorporate it, not just use it as a garnish.) 

Mix it all together and enjoy!

Copycat Zupas Maui Chicken Salad

Before getting into the details of this delicious salad, I must confess that I have only eaten the Zupas Maui Chicken Salad once and it was delicious. So delicious that I decided to try to recreate it at home so that I can eat it as often as I would like. I feel like this recipe comes pretty darn close, although I need to go back to Zupas and taste it again to be sure.

Serves 4

• Chicken, one pound chopped into bite sized pieces. Marinade in pineapple juice for a few hours and then cook.
• 1 Head Romaine Lettuce, chopped
• 1/2 of a Red Bell Pepper, diced
• 1/2 of a Yellow Bell Pepper, diced
• Pineapple, one can drained with juice reserved to use as a marinade for the chicken and to use in the vinaigrette 
• Mango, peeled and sliced into bite sized pieces
• Mandarin Oranges, one can rinsed and drained *I realized after the fact that oranges are not part of the original salad but they were really good.
• Toasted Coconut & Macadamia Nuts - Pulse the macadamia in a food processor slightly. Mix with coconut and toast in the oven, just barely. Watch closely. The results will be worth it, so yummy!
• Won ton Strips - Using about a tablespoon of coconut oil, cut won ton dough into strips and fry until done. Sprinkle these onto salad.

Pineapple Vinaigrette Dressing
(adapted from Oh She Glows)
1 cup pineapple (fresh or canned)
3/4 cup coconut milk
1/4 cup lime juice (I used canned but fresh is preferable)
1 T coconut oil, melted
1/4 t salt

Blend and shake before using. Next time I make this recipe I will be attempting to use caramelized pineapple since that's what they use at Zupas. I'll make modifications to this recipe if it turns out well, otherwise this dressing was absolutely delicious.