Day 5 and I thought we’d venture into the dessert realm of the salad world together with a lightened up version of a classic favorite—Ambrosia Salad. If you’re looking for something cool, easy and healthyish to serve for a little treat this weekend, I’ve got you covered.

Growing up, Ambrosia, or 5 Cup Salad or as you may know it, was a staple summer dessert at our backyard parties and bbq’s and my sisters and I always looked forward to it. It was so colorful and refreshing and healthy. Except it wasn’t really all that healthy. That beloved concoction was loaded with calories and sugar from the canned fruit, sweetened coconut and sour cream. Yikes! No wonder it tasted so good!

This version relies on fresh fruit (except for the mandarin oranges—couldn’t part with those little juicy guys), unsweetened coconut and low-fat yogurt instead. And while there are still plenty of marshmallows, it’s a dessert you can feel a lot less guilty about indulging in.

It also comes together in about 5 minutes, so you can whip this up in no time and I guarantee that the nostalgia factor alone will make people smile. And that’s before they even take a taste. Top it with toasted coconut and you’ll see even more smiles! They’re gonna love the extra little crunch!

Well, my friends, that about wraps up Salad Week. Hope it was a yummy one for you. I am now dying to bake something!! Hmm…maybe we should sing the pendulum and do an entire week of desserts!! Do I dare? Let me know what you think. In any case, have a great weekend and I’ll be back next week with more food and fun, but definitely not salad!!!

Skinny Ambrosia Salad

Makes at least 6 servings

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 whole pineapple, cored and cut into cubes (about 3 cups)

• 15 ounce can of mandarin oranges, drained

• 2 cups seedless green grapes

• 1 1/2 cups miniature marshmallows

• 1 cup unsweetened, shredded coconut

• 1/4 cup toasted chopped almonds

• 3/4 cup vanilla yogurt (not Greek)

• A tablespoon of honey (optional—I think it’s sweet enough without it, but if you’re using unsweetened coconut, you may want it)

• Toasted coconut for topping (optional)

The Recipe

1. Place the pineapple, oranges, grapes, marshmallows, coconut and almonds together in a large mixing bowl and toss together. Fold in the yogurt. Cover and chill. This is best eaten on the day it’s made. If you want to make it a day ahead, I would mix everything but the yogurt together and fold that in right before serving, because it gets a little watery after a day.

Enjoy!