Liven Up the Lunch Box

School may have only been in session a couple of weeks in some parts of the country, but my son's school resumed the beginning of August.  If your child takes lunch everyday, liven up the lunch box by replacing fresh fruit with fruit salad.  The recipe I'm sharing uses fruit most kids love:  apples, bananas and pineapple.

When I was growing up, my mother made a fruit salad that her mother made for her when she was a child.  I make the same salad for my son, the fourth generation to enjoy this salad.  My mother always called it fruit salad but, to distinguish it from my other fruit salad recipes, I call it Lillie's Fruit Salad in honor of my grandmother.

Start by emptying the pineapple with its juice in a mixing bowl.  The pineapple juice will help keep the apples and bananas from turning brown. Now that I own a pineapple slicer, I substitute fresh pineapple when I have one on hand.  If you use fresh pineapple, put some orange juice in the mixing bowl first as a substitute for the pineapple juice.

 Fresh pineapple cut into smaller chunks.

I use a Red Delicious apple, but you can use your favorite variety or pair two different varieties for a contrast of taste and texture.  Peel and core the apple, dice it into bite size pieces and put in the mixing bowl with the pineapple.  Slice the bananas into rounds and add them to the mixing bowl.

Made with fresh pineapple.

To make sure the fruit doesn't turn brown, cover the mixture with orange juice or an orange juice blend, such as orange pineapple or orange pineapple banana.  These blends work well because the juice enhances the fruit used in the salad.

Store the salad in an airtight container in the refrigerator.  To keep the salad cold in a lunch box, pack it in an insulated container.  If you don't have one, put the salad in an airtight container and use an ice pack in the lunch box.  Ice packs like the ones pictured below are inexpensive and reusable.

If you don't have to pack a lunch box, the salad makes a great side dish, snack or dessert.  It's a tasty way to eat a variety of fruit at one time.

Lillie's Fruit Salad

4 to 6 Servings

1 (8 oz.) can crushed pineapple in its own juice (undrained) or desired amount of fresh pineapple, chopped into small pieces

1 or 2 apples, peeled, cored and diced into bite size pieces (I use 1)

2 bananas, peeled and sliced into rounds

orange juice or orange juice blend (enough to cover)

Empty the pineapple and juice into a mixing bowl.  (If using fresh pineapple, put some orange juice in the bowl first.)  Add the remaining ingredients, stirring to combine.  Keep refrigerated.

© Margaret's Morsels

Thirst Quencher

Several years ago when my mother-in-law celebrated a milestone birthday, we hosted a luncheon for her at our house.  Since it was spring, I served my favorite warm weather meal:  individual mounds of chicken salad topped with a sprig of fresh parsley served on a bed of lettuce, cherry gelatin fruit salad made in individual molds, raw veggies with dip, a basket of croissants and, as with any family function, fruit tea.


I wanted to offer another beverage other than soft drinks and water, but didn't want to serve punch since the only sweet item on the menu was birthday cake.  I had recently attended an event where Cranberry Orange Cooler was served and decided to make it for the luncheon.  Everyone loved it!  In fact, it ran out before the fruit tea.


With summer fast approaching, I thought this would be a great time to share the recipe.  The recipe uses four ingredients and takes only a few minutes to prepare.  Like so many recipes, it's best made a day ahead of time so the ingredients have time to blend.


A lot of drink recipes call for the ingredients to be combined in a bowl and stirred until the sugar is dissolved.  The directions for Cranberry Orange Cooler say to heat the cranberry juice cocktail and orange juice first.  Out of curiosity, I decided to make a batch and see what would happen if I didn't heat the ingredients first.  It wasn't pretty.  Instead of a beautiful pink shade, I ended up with one that looked like this:

Science isn't my forte so I have no idea what caused this to happen.  The beverage still tastes the same so, if you don't care what the finished product looks like, you can prepare it without heating the ingredients first.


If you want a more aesthetically pleasing color, heat the cranberry juice cocktail and orange juice on low heat until warm; don't let the mixture boil. Pour the warm juices over the sugar and stir until the sugar is dissolved. Stir in the lemon juice and refrigerate the mixture.


Although the beverage is served cold, it's nice to serve it over ice.  Regular ice cubes dilute the beverage.  To avoid this problem, freeze some of the leftover orange juice.  You can even freeze some of the Cranberry Orange Cooler if you have enough.


You can use any ice cube tray.  I prefer silicone ones.  Not only are they available in a variety of shapes and sizes, the ice cubes are easy to remove.  A quick and easy way to fill these small compartments is with a bulb baster.

A bulb baster's not only for basting a turkey.

For a ladies luncheon or shower, I like to use this ice cube tray with three different types of flowers:

If I want whimsical ice cubes, I freeze orange juice in ice cube trays with compartments shaped like orange slices.  If you purchase additional cranberry juice cocktail, you can freeze some of it in ice cube trays with round compartments.  The ice cubes would give the illusion of orange slices and cranberries, but without the choking hazard of real fruit.

Ice cubes that resemble orange slices.

Cranberry Orange Cooler is a versatile recipe.  Not only is it a refreshing tangy fruit drink, the beautiful pink shade makes it an ideal beverage for baby or bridal showers.  It's also a good way to get your kids to drink juice!

Cranberry Orange Cooler

6 to 8 Servings

1 cup sugar

1 (2 qt.) bottle cranberry juice cocktail

2 cups pulp free orange juice

1/4 cup lemon juice

Put sugar in a large mixing bowl; set aside.  Heat the cranberry juice cocktail and orange juice over low heat until warm, but not boiling.  Pour warm juices over sugar; stir until dissolved.  Add lemon juice; mix well. Refrigerate. 

© Margaret's Morsels