Hello, FilterForGoodians. I blogged about some yummy yellow-eyed peas** a little while ago, and since it was so well received, I thought I would whip up something new for you to taste. Filter For Good’s not just about doing good for the planet. It’s also about doing good for yourself.

I am in the middle of my latest battle of the bulge. I call it a battle, because the war is far from over. I call it a battle, because I’ve fought it several times before. This time, however, I’m trying to use my powers of good food to my advantage, so I invented this simple, guilt-free salad snack. I call it Ginger & Mary Ann Salad Snack.

Ok. So, what you’ve got here are three ingredients: strawberries, bananas and ginger snaps. For the fruit, it’s up to you as to how much of each you want. I would recommend keeping the proportions equal, and although I chopped the strawberries in the picture above, it probably would have been better to slice them like the bananas for continuity and balance. That’s your basic strawberry and banana fruit salad, but that’s a little boring.

I’ve learned that boring food rarely holds my attention. If it can’t be triple-fudge chocolate cake, then it better be something with flavor and texture and leaves me wanting more. Hello, bag of ginger snaps. I’ve discovered that I love ginger snaps, and in moderation, they’re a great little trick for satiating an abominable sweet tooth.

I dusted off my old mortar and pestle, tossed in three cookies, and pummeled them lightly. Now, you may want a fine, ginger powder in your salad, but I wanted big, crunchy chunks, so I barely broke them up. I sprinkled them over the fruit mixture (and garnished with a whole ginger snap…:)…what? who are you to judge me! lol!).

I LOVE this little salad, and suspect we’ll be making it a couple of times a week. It wasn’t until I took the pictures of the dish that I came up with the name. Something about the sweet, innocent berries and the spicy cookies mingling together made me think of Ginger and Mary Ann, characters from the TV show, Gilligan’s Island. You may think they’re a little naughty, but they’re really just there to make you happy. Soft and supple, there’s no better way to cheat. (Sorry, I couldn’t resist.)

Call it what you will, I’m certain you’ll call it delicious!

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