Mexican Fruit Salad

Total Cost: $4.49 – Serves 6 at $0.75 per serving

How oh how had I never heard about this insanely good concoction before moving out west? If you’ve ever been to Los Angeles (and I’m assuming other SoCal locations), then you’ve probably seen those shiny metal carts with the rainbow umbrellas set up on the corners of almost every major street. Every neighborhood seems to have their own “fruit cart” that has a beautiful display of fruit that they will cut for you by hand on order and throw in a plastic container for $5. Sounds dull, but it’s not, and it’s not for three important reasons: lime juice, salt, and chili powder. The addition of these three ingredients results in some game-changing results. Results that I think should be shared with the world or maybe hung in a museum.

This method has forever changed the way I eat fruit, or rather, has actually turned me on to fruit. I’ve never been much of a sweet eater so fresh fruit never really appealed to me. But in my effort to try and eat more healthy foods, or “real” foods, I’ve been buying it more and more. The fruit carts carried watermelon, cantaloupe, mango, pineapple, coconut, cucumber (sounds weird but it’s genius), and oranges.

I just use whatever is cheap and available. The 99 Cents Only Store usually has a good selection of fresh fruit on hand, especially in the warmer months. This week they had fresh cherries for $1.50/lb that I couldn’t pass up. *Pro-tip: don’t be a masochist like me and deseed and chop cherries. Find another fruit for your Mexican fruit salad and save the cherries for soaking in that cheap bottle of vodka you never drink. No? Just me?

Fresh squeezed lime juice, a dash of salt (however much you like, or none if you’re really watching your health), and an amazing spice called “pico de gallo” that can only be described as magic pixie dust for those of us with a love for spicy foods, turns this into something special. This is not the chili powder that you put in chili or tacos. I think that might be too smoky. This is a much “brighter” chili powder and a little goes a long way as far as heat. It can be found in any Mexican market in a variety of brands and probably even large grocery stores in the latin food aisle. Some of them come pre-seasoned with lime or other flavors, but I just use the plain one:

Ingredients:

1 pineapple, cubed (99¢)
1 bunch of strawberries, quartered (99¢)
1 english cucumber, sliced (99¢)
10 – 20 cherries, deseeded & halved (less than 50¢)
1 mango, cubed (79¢)
2 limes, juiced (20¢)
Pico de Gallo chili powder
Salt

Directions: Couldn’t be more simple. Make a fruit salad, squeeze fresh lime juice over the top and mix. I would suggest letting everyone season their own with the lime, salt, and chili powder to their taste. Eat. Eat more. Repeat. Aaaaand repeat.