Late summer fruit is perhaps my favorite. Berries are juicy and sweet, in their last flourish before slipping away into elite and expensive status. Peaches and plums are soft and caramel-like in flavor. Even the humble pebbly-skinned cantaloupe boasts rich orange flesh and syrupy-sweet flavor.
Like most in-season produce, it is least inexpensive this time of year, which makes my wallet happy. I’ll admit: I almost always overbuy late summer fruit. Perhaps it’s the threat of my favorites disappearing, or maybe it’s the great prices and vitamin supply. But now is the time when I find myself serving fruit plates to my family to finish every meal, and I reach for a basket of berries for snacking. Dessert for summer barbecues almost always star sweet fresh fruit.
The perfect addition to your fruit repertoire is today’s incredibly easy Tangy Orange Fruit Dip. It has only three ingredients, so it’s whipped up in seconds, not minutes. And it’s healthy enough that if you end up eating a whole recipe yourself, you’ll still feel great, and celebrate the big boost of protein you just had. (This might be the voice of experience.)
The base of the dip is low-fat plain Greek yogurt, which gives it tang, and the aforementioned protein. Simply stir in a surprise ingredient: orange juice concentrate. A little goes a long way, but this sweet gem of an ingredient magically transforms acidic yogurt into a tangy-sweet delight that brings out the best in ripe, almost-oversweet fruit. Add some finely chopped fresh mint leaves, and you have an unbeatable combination that will complement your late summer fruit stash.
Tangy Orange Fruit Dip with Fresh Mint
TANGY ORANGE FRUIT DIP
Serves 6
Start to finish: 5 minutes
3/4 cup 2 percent plain Greek yogurt
3 tablespoons thawed orange juice concentrate
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh mint
3 cups halved strawberries, or other berries or cut fruit
Stir the yogurt and orange juice concentrate together in a small bowl. Top with the mint. Serve with fruit for dipping, or spoon on fruit for eating with a spoon.
Nutrition information per serving: 49 calories; 7 calories from fat; 1 g fat (0 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 2 mg cholesterol; 10 mg sodium; 8 g carbohydrate; 2 g fiber; 6 g sugar; 3 g protein.
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