American ambrosia salad basically submerges a perfectly healthy fruit salad in artificial ingredients. This Paleo ambrosia salad recipe is a much better choice!
What’s In Your Ambrosia?
In true, “go big or go home” fashion, sometimes we like to make a sweet thing even sweeter. While it might taste good, it’s not doing our health any favors.
Ambrosia salad is a perfect example of this. An otherwise lovely, simple fruit salad is jacked up with a compilation of foods that are best avoided. Even the fruit itself is sometimes the canned, sweetened variety that is just not necessary.
And that’s just the beginning. Mini marshmallows are often found in this colorful dessert. The store-bought stuff features a triple threat of sugar, corn syrup, and dextrose. And if you buy the colored kind, you’re also getting a dose of artificial dye.
My stance on marshmallows is that you’re better of making them yourself. While I did not include them in this ambrosia salad, you could always whip up some of your own Paleo marshmallows.
Next comes the dairy, which can take on many forms. Sour cream, cream cheese, pudding, yogurt, cottage cheese, or whipped topping are common. Interesting choices, but not Paleo.
Finally, chopped nuts may be used as a garnish.
How I Made This Paleo
With a few simple modifications, you can enjoy an ambrosia salad that you won’t have to feel guilty about eating. It tastes good and it’s got some good-for-you ingredients. Win win!
For the fruit, you can choose fresh or frozen berries and pineapple. Just make sure the fruit does not have any sugar added.
For the cream or dairy component, you can use coconut cream. You can either buy cans of coconut cream or refrigerate a can of coconut milk and use the hardened part on the top.
Either way, you’ll get the luscious quality of whipped cream without the artificial ingredients and added sugar.
Nuts are completely fine for Paleo, and you can garnish with whichever nut you please. I like roasted hazelnuts with this recipe.
If you’re planning on taking it to a gathering you may want to omit the nuts to make it safe for those with allergies.
More Paleo Desserts
Don’t be fooled into thinking you’ll never be allowed to treat yourself on Paleo. Occasional desserts keep me satisfied and motivated to stick with it for the long haul.
You do have to be mindful of your dessert choices, however. Most ice cream, cookies, and cakes are hardly Paleo.
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