Fruit salads are so underestimated. They are not just sugar substitutes nor something you eat just to add some juicy delights to your diet. They are also powerful and supremely healthy, often on a par with veggies in this regard.

In the fruit salads we are going to cover below, there will be a mix of ingredients including fruits. From the way they taste and look to what the fruits bring to your diet, we will discuss it all. In keeping with the theme of the topic, fruits alone will be detailed for the advantages they bring to your plate.

You can make these ultra-healthy salads in the comfort of your home. They require little to no preparation; unless you plan to have guests over (perhaps a local health club group) and you want the presentation to be top notch.

Fruits are powerhouses of minerals, vitamins, and other substances essential to your body. Of course, there is no verified rule that says too much fruit is bad for you. There are exceptions but it is alright for you to pile on a little extra fruity goodness with the selections we provide in the salads below.

Note: When you come across the word ‘Vinaigrette’ it only means ‘Oil and vinegar with mustard and garlic’. There are different kinds and you can buy the ones you need for a particular salad dish at a quality department store.

There is a fun way to eat salads. Not only do you pack the goodness of both veggies and fruits on your plate, their individual benefits work together to promote outstanding overall health.

1. Orange, Fennel & Lettuce with Black Olive Vinaigrette

Your olive choices include: chicory, Belgian endive, and radicchio. Since these are a bit bitter, flavor the fennel leaves with licorice to balance the taste. The leaves will be crisp to the bite and the orange slices make everything sweeter. Then there is the lettuce, bringing healthy volume to the plate. As fruit salads go, this one is a flavor-happy burst of goodness.

Health Benefits of Oranges:

1. One of the richest sources of Vitamin C, oranges suffuses your body with natural antioxidants (including beta-cryptoxanthin, alpha-carotene, zea-xanthin, beta-carotene, and lutein) and gears it to fight infections and inflammatory free radicals in the blood stream.
2. It is also full of B-Complex Vitamins: folates, pyridoxine, and thiamines. Your body needs these chemicals to replenish it and it can find them in abundance only from outside sources like food, in this case oranges.
3. Low in calories and containing absolutely no saturated fat or cholesterol, oranges pack plenty of dietary fiber called Pectin.This is responsible for protecting the colon’s mucus membrane from overly toxic substances often producted in the digestion process.
4. By latching onto carcinogenic compounds, it fights cancer-causing chemicals while reducing blood cholesterol levels. By binding to bile acids in the colon, oranges keep cholesterol re-absorption from occuring.
5. Bringing Vitamin A to your system it promotes vision, mucus membrane, and skin health in addition to safeguarding your body from oral and lung cancers.
6. Phytochemicals like Naringenin, Hesperatin, and Naringin (different from the first) are also present in oranges. No more free radicals and inflammatory substances but plenty of immune system boosts.

As you can imagine, oranges are mighty indeed. Now you know why people eat it or drink the pulpy juicy version for breakfast everyday. You can also have it with the delicious salad idea mentioned above.

2. Black Bean, Mango & Roasted Corn

This salad is an exceptionally good choice to accompany grilled foods; dishes with chicken, halibut, salmon, or pork. By using a skillet to brown the corn, you impart a caramelized flavor (distinctly nutty) to them. The black beans bring veggie goodness while mango, another healthy fruit choice, brings the sweet punch.

 Health Benefits of Mangoes:

1. Filled with Vitamin C, fibers, and Pectin, it lowers serum cholesterol levels.
2. All your cell and body fluids will thank you for the Potassium you gave them via mangoes.
3. Soaking mangoes overnight and drinking the filtered mixture next morning has shown to fight diabetes by regulating insulin levels.
4. Though it is so sweet, it has a low glycemic index (41-60), making it a superb sugar substitute.
5. Mango fibers boost digestion and burn extra calories, aiding in weight loss.

Mangoes are an all-rounder vitamin, fiber, magnesium, copper, and potassium powerhouse.

Conclusion

There is much more to say about oranges and mangoes that work through the above salad selections to fill you up with health so plentiful, organic, and wholesome that you will not need to worry about a future spent fighting ailemts and disease.