Sweet salad ensures no fruit goes to waste

Fresh fruit is almost never cheap, so we get really tired of tossing out the last few grapes, stray strawberries and the apple half that our kids don't eat. Our frustration led to fruit salad, and this one recipe has cut the weekly fruit waste to almost zero.

The exact combination of the different fresh fruits doesn't matter, and while our salads never turn out exactly the same way twice, they're always delicious and healthful. The tricky part is to end up with more or less the amount of salad everyone will eat so that you don't end up wasting the fruit despite your efforts. So feel free to vary the amounts in our recipe to fit your family.

One surprising secret we discovered a few years ago is that canned fruit juice keeps sliced apples and pears from turning dark. There's always the standby trick of tossing the fruit in a little fresh lemon juice or orange juice (fresh or breakfast style), but canned fruit, especially pineapple, works even better.

So take a look in the fridge and grab all of the fruit that doesn't stand a chance on its own. With a fruit salad, the whole is definitely more than the bits.

Beverly Mills and Alicia Ross are co-authors of "Cheap. Fast. Good!" Reach them at www.desperationdinners.com.