Costa Rican inspired Hearts of Palm and Tropical Fruit Salad with Balsamic Dressing
After 12 glorious days in the hot sun we are back to the arctic tundra. We are so lucky to have escaped for a little while to Playa Negra, Costa Rica. Our days were spent swimming, soaking up the sun, building sand castles, watching Shaye surf, searching for shells and straight up relaxing! We stuffed our faces with the best fresh fruit, avocado tostones, smoothies, and rice and beans you can imagine, and this salad…
A mix of greens, mango, pineapple, corn, red onions, avocado, hearts of palm and cucumber drizzled with a balsamic dressing!
If you are snowed in like we are, try this salad to brighten your day!
- 1 cup mango, peeled and cubed (1 small mango)
- 1 cup pineapple chunks
- ¼ cup red onion, thinly sliced
- ½ cup organic corn (fresh or frozen)
- ⅓ cup cucumber, sliced
- 1 small jar hearts of palm (about 3-4), chopped
- ½ avocado, sliced
- 4 large handfuls of mixed greens
- For Balsamic Dressing:
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon garlic, finely minced
- 1 teaspoon brown sugar (optional)
- sea salt and pepper to taste
- For Balsamic Dressing:
- Whisk all ingredients together or blend in a food processor.
- For Salads:
- Mix all ingredients together, drizzle with desired amount of dressing and enjoy!
Here are a few clips from our trip 
We stayed at Hotel Playa Negra, which I highly recommend! You get to stay in little palm covered cabinas right on the beach and listen to the swaying bamboo as you fall asleep at night. Close by is a sea turtle sanctuary, where we were able to see sea turtles hatch in protection. The weather is hot, hot, hot, but that was just what we needed to thaw out!
…and one of the best parts of the trip was that I didn’t need to wear maternity jeans!!!