Do you make fruit salads in an attempt to eat more of these healthy foods, only to find that the fruit turns brown and mushy? Are you strapped for time and don’t want to make a fruit salad every morning for breakfast? In this article, you’ll discover my secrets in creating a fruit salad that stays fresh and tastes great for days.

For over a decade, I’ve eaten a fruit salad with Greek yogurt for breakfast. Not to mention having a fruit salad for a snack or as a treat after dinner. Needless to say, I’ve become an expert on how to get this fruit salad thing done.

I prefer to eat healthy yet I don’t want to spend each morning in the kitchen preparing a fruit salad. With that goal in mind, I’ve learned how to make a fruit salad that tastes great and lasts for at least 3 or 4 days.

Here’s my 6 tips for creating a fabulous fruit salad:

1. Go with In-Season Fruits. Depending on the time of year, I change up my fruit salads to capitalize on the fruits that are in-season and taste great. In the spring, I use cherries and berries of all sorts. By summertime, nectarines and peaches play a prominent role. In the autumn, I opt for apples and grapes. In the winter, I look forward to pomegranates, oranges and grapefruits.

2. Avoid Mushy Fruits. These are fruits that go soft and mushy quickly and include pears and kiwi. Keep these fruits out of your fruit salad. Instead, reserve them for when you consume them whole or right away.

3. Hard Fruit on Bottom/Soft Fruit on Top. When making a fruit salad, put harder fruits on the bottom of the bowl and softer more delicate fruits on the top. Hard fruits include apples, oranges, pineapple and grapes. Medium soft fruit includes peaches, nectarines, cantaloupe, strawberries and blueberries. Softer fruits include mango, papaya and raspberries.

4. Cut Fruit Into Medium Sized Pieces. You’re not a baby so why cut your fruit into baby-like pieces? Cut fruit into 1 inch cubes and it will hold up much better over time.

5. Add Juice from Fresh Squeezed Lemon. Toss the fruit salad with the juice from a cut lemon. The juice is a good source of vitamin C and antioxidants which help protect the fruit from turning brown and acts as a flavor enhancer.

6. Add Berries & Bananas Before Serving. Some fruits especially bananas and raspberries are better if added just prior to serving. Even with lemon, banana slices get soft and brown and raspberries get really mushy after a day. Having freshly sliced banana or a spoonful of firm raspberries is worth the extra minute it takes to top off your fruit salad as you head out to work in the morning.