When you don’t have a whole lot of domestic talent to tap into, you’ve gotta get creative when party sustenance is (somehow) assigned to you. I may have no idea what formally pairs well with what, but I do know that fresh local produce beats anything canned, processed, or flown in from across the country. I’m lucky, too, since Florida is known for growing some of the most delicious blueberries, tomatoes, sweet corn, and watermelons, as well as catching some of the freshest seafood, in the country. Two of my favorite fruits, which both happen to be Fresh from Florida commodities, are watermelon and blueberries, and since the 4th of July is around the corner, I decided to put a fun spin on a traditional fruit salad by cutting star-shaped chunks out of watermelon slices and calling it my patriotic watermelon fruit salad. If you’ve got any summer barbecues coming up on your social calendar, I highly recommend offering to bring this dish; it’s a crowd pleaser, and it requires a very rudimentary level of culinary skill.

This patriotic watermelon fruit salad wins the unofficial award for most healthy summer recipe and is painfully easy to make, but I’ll go through all the super complex requirements step by step anyways. All you need is a large, fresh Florida watermelon, Florida blueberries, and a star-shaped cookie or sandwich cutter. Once you’ve gathered all your ingredients, cut a fresh Florida watermelon into at least 6 large slices. Ideally, you’ll want 8-10 slices of medium thickness. Cut out as many star-shaped chunks as you can per slice and refrigerate.

Make sure you wash the blueberries before tossing them into the mix. Next, place all your star-shaped watermelon in a large bowl and mix in fresh blueberries

Stick the patriotic watermelon fruit salad in the fridge until it’s ready to eat– and enjoy!

And if you want to be fancy, you can add feta cheese and sprinkle with balsamic vinaigrette for a more gourmet, sweet-and-salty taste. For more delicious recipes that are also fresh from Florida, click here, and for more fun 4th of July party ideas, click here! Happy almost Friday!

_{This post was sponsored by Fresh From Florida as part of Influencer Activation for Influence Central.}