Makeover Monday: Black Cherry Salad

For those of you who don't know me personally, I recently started a new chapter of my career as the food service director for my old high school and elementary school.  I never dreamed when I was eating school lunches at Beloit High School that I would one day be planning said meals, but I am!  And as someone who loves food, I am totally loving this career move!

One of the best things about my new job is that I get a free lunch every day.  And despite what the kiddos might say, I think our meals are awesome!  Unfortunately, they might be too awesome.  I have found myself perhaps eating a tad too much on occasion.  Okay, practically every day!  So to make up for my overindulgence during the day, I have been cutting back in the evening, especially with dessert.  My only problem is that I have a serious sweet tooth.  

So to satisfy my sweet tooth I turned to this delicious black cherry salad.  I tweaked it slightly to cut out some calories so I could feel even less guilty about my yummy lunches.  It totally hit the spot!  You might have noticed by my lack of posts for a while that I have been a little busy since school has started.  Another bonus of this "dessert" is that it took almost no time to make.  Perfect!

All there is to this fruit salad is sugar free Jello, sugar-free cherry pie filling, walnuts or pecans, and fat free plain yogurt.  The only sugar in this recipe is that found in the cherries and yogurt, plus a smidge from the marshmallows if you choose to use them.  I actually added the yogurt because I needed to get rid of some, but I think it really made this thicker and more satisfying.   And the bit of nuts add some crunch.  I love cherries, so the dark cherry flavor was right up my alley!  With this recipe, you get the cherry taste of cherry pie, but without the calories of a crust.

My overall description of this fruit salad is that it is simple, sweet, satisfying, and downright super!  It would be great as a side for a potluck (fruit salad's traditional role!), but feel free to use this black cherry salad as I did--dessert replacement.  Don't tell your tastebuds that it isn't bad for you!

Black Cherry Salad
Ingredients:
1 (3 oz) pkg sugar-free Black Cherry Jello
1 can no sugar added cherry pie filling
1/2 cup pecans or walnuts, chopped
3/4 cup fat free plain yogurt
1/2 cup miniature marshmallows (optional)
Directions:
Prepare Jello according to directions, omitting 1/4 cup of the liquid.  In a large bowl, stir together Jello, cherry pie filling, nuts, and yogurt.  Pour into 8x8" pan.  Top with marshmallows if desired.  Chill at least 4 hours.

Recipe adapted from Mom Street's Collection