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This Creamy Grape Salad recipe, with hints of maple and a crunchy cereal topping, is a simple and delightful brunch side dish or afternoon snack!
For me, comfort food comes in all sorts of delicious flavors and dishes and come packed with so many different heart filled memories. Since my family is from Texas and Louisiana, every time I eat a bowl of gumbo I instantly picture my Grandmother standing over a large bubbling pot with her hand on her hip, stirring and singing as she pours her soul into this favorite family meal.
And every time I bite into pecans, I am instantly transported back to my childhood and running around with my cousins on my Uncle’s ranch deep in the heart of Texas, as we tried to pick up as many pecans as we could carry in our pockets and the front of our shirt. I then remember watching my Mom, Aunts and Grandmother sitting around the kitchen table shelling ALL those pecans by hand laughing and telling stories and talking about the family recipes those pecans would be used for.
Later, when I met Eric and his Italian family, I learned so much about Italian food and their family’s traditions. My heart swells as I think back to one of the first Easters I spent with his family and his Mom, Aunts and cousins teaching me how to make homemade manicotti; and after so many attempts at carefully pouring the batter, tilting the skillet and flipping each one, then hand rolling what felt like hundreds of manicotti, feeling like I was truly a part of Eric’s family.
Cereal is another food that holds so many memories. Cereal will always remind me of my Dad. Sure, my Mom would buy cereal for us to eat for breakfast every day before school, because it was quick and easy as she ushered all of us kids out the door. But my Dad taught me that cereal could be so much more than just a quick breakfast.
You see, my Dad would always eat a bowl of cereal as a snack in the middle of the afternoon on a rainy Sunday, when Sunday supper was still hours away. Or as an after-dinner treat as we watched a movie. He also let us kids have cereal for snacks too, and would always let us each pick out our favorite box when we went on our weekly grocery shopping run.
To this day I still LOVE cereal! It’s still my favorite quick breakfast but just like my Dad, I love cereal for snacking and enjoy settling in on the couch at the end of long day, pulling out a craft project to work on, the current book I’m reading or to watch my favorite show to relax, with a bowl of my favorite cereal in hand to snack on.
Recently when I was doing my weekly grocery shopping run at Wal-Mart, I of course, stopped down the cereal aisle to pick out a few favorites, just like I did with my Dad when I was a kid. It was exciting to see so many of my lifelong favorite cereals (who didn’t love fruity and cocoa PEBBLES™* cereal as a kid!), as well as some more recent favorites, like Honey Bunches of Oats, in new flavors like Honey Bunches of Oats Pecan & Maple Brown Sugar and Cinnamon PEBBLES™*.
In addition to loving cereal for breakfast and snacking, cereal is a great addition to so many recipes. Inspired the unique flavors and crunchy texture of the new Honey Bunches of Oats Pecan & Maple Brown Sugar, I decided to whip up one of my favorite snack salads/side dishes, Creamy Grape Salad. This fruit salad recipe only has five ingredients and whips up in minutes. Traditionally this salad is topped with just pecans, but I love how the Honey Bunches of Oats Pecan & Maple Brown Sugar adds extra flavor and texture with the crunchy oat clusters and crispy flakes!
What is your favorite way to enjoy cereal? Please share in the comments below!
- 6 cups seedless grapes, preferably both red and green (about 2 pounds)
- 4 ounces Neufchâtel cream cheese room temperature
- 1/2 cup vanilla Greek yogurt
- 1/2 tablespoon maple syrup
- 1/4-1/3 cup Honey Bunches of Oats Pecan & Maple Brown Sugar
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the cream cheese, yogurt and maple syrup, whisking until smooth.
- Add grapes to yogurt and stir to evenly coat.
- Refrigerate salad until serving.
- When ready to serve, top chilled salad with cereal right before serving.
If you love this Creamy Grape Salad recipe, then you’ll want to follow POST’S Pinterest account for more delicious recipe ideas! And for more information about Honey Bunches of Oats, check them out online and follow them on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
*THE FLINTSTONES and all related characters and elements © & ™ Hanna-Barbera. (s17)
This looks super delish – what a great way to add a little cinnamony crunch to a fruity salad!