How to Make Ambrosia
To make an ambrosia salad, start by washing your grapes and draining the canned fruit. In a mixing bowl, combine sour cream and whipped topping using a spoon. Continue stirring as you add the coconut flakes and marshmallows to the mixture, then fold in the grapes and canned fruit. Before serving your salad, chill it in the fridge for 1 hour. To make a yogurt-based salad instead, replace the sour cream and whipped topping with vanilla yogurt, mix in the coconut flakes and marshmallows, and add bite-sized pieces of fruit as desired.
Wash and slice the grapes. Pick 1 cup red or green seedless grapes off the vine. Wash the grapes and pat dry. Carefully slice each grape in half. Set the sliced grapes to the side. Drain the canned fruit. With a can opener, open the cans of pineapple, mandarin oranges, and maraschino cherries. Empty the contents of the cans into a large colander. Drain the fruit very well. If you could not find halved maraschino cherries, slice the cherries in half now. Combine the sour cream and whipped topping. Scoop one 8 oz container of whipped topping into a medium sized mixing bowl. Add 1 cup sour cream to the bowl. With a spoon, combine the sour cream and whipped topping. If you are using a frozen whipped topping, thaw before combining it with the sour cream. Fold the ingredients into the dressing. Add 1 ½ cups sweetened coconut flakes and 1 ½ cups mini marshmallows to the sour cream-whipped topping dressing. Carefully fold the coconut and mini marshmallows into the dressing. Add the drained fruit and nuts (optional) to the bowl. With a spoon, fold the fruit into the dressing. Cover the ambrosia and chill before serving. Cover the fruit salad with a lid. Place the covered bowl into the fridge for 1 hour. Once chilled, remove from the fridge and serve. If your mixing bowl does not have a lid, you cover the dish with saran wrap or aluminum foil. Drain the canned fruit. Open the cans of pineapple and fruit cocktail with a can opener. Pour the contents of the cans into a large colander. Drain the fruit very well. Set the drained fruit to the side. Wash and slice additional fruit as desired. You are welcome to add a variety of fresh fruit to your ambrosia salad. To prep this fruit, wash it, slice it into bite sized pieces, and then set it to the side. Popular options include: 1 cup green grapes 1 cup seedless red grapes 1 medium banana 1 apple Combine the ingredients. Scoop ¾ cup vanilla yogurt into a medium sized mixing bowl. Add the fruit to the bowl and fold it into the yogurt. Add the marshmallows and coconut flakes to the bowl and fold them into the yogurt. If your ambrosia salad looks dry, add more yogurt. Cover and chill before serving. Place a lid over the ambrosia salad and put it in the refrigerator. Allow the dish to chill for approximately 30 then serve. Instead of covering the dish with a lid, use saran wrap or aluminum foil. Chill the coconut milk overnight. The night before you plan to make the paleo ambrosia salad, put a can of full-fat coconut milk into your refrigerator. Leave the can in the fridge until it is needed. At the very least, the coconut milk must chill for 3 to 4 hours. Preheat the oven and toast the pecans. Turn your oven to 350ºF. As it heats up, take out a baking sheet and line it with a piece of parchment paper. Spread the raw pecans out onto the baking sheet. Once the oven is preheated, toast the pecans in the oven for 5 to 8 minutes or until brown. Remove the pan from the oven and let the nuts cool. Peel and cut 6 navel oranges. Remove the orange peels with a sharp knife. Use the knife to remove the white pulp and membrane from the outside of orange. Separate the orange slices and cut each piece into 1 inch sections. Transfer the oranges to a large bowl. Add the raspberries and pineapple. Wash and dry the raspberries. Add the clean, dry berries to the large bowl. Drain the fresh or canned pineapple and it to the large bowl. You may save a handful of berries to garnish the salad. If you have the cut the pineapple, do so before adding it to the large bowl. Chop the pecans. Remove the cooled pecans from the baking sheet. Place them on a cutting board and chop them coarsely with a sharp knife. Add the cut nuts to the large bowl. Alternatively, use a nut chopper. Add 1 cup unsweetened, dried, shredded coconut. Measure out 1 cup of unsweetened, dried, shredded coconut. Pour the coconut into the large bowl. Carefully stir the fruit, nuts, and coconut with a rubber scraper. Whip the coconut milk. Remove the can of coconut milk from the fridge, flip it upside down, and place it on the counter. With a can opener, open the bottom of the can. Pour off the liquid. Scoop the thick coconut milk into a bowl. Add 1 tablespoon of coconut sugar or honey and 1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract. Whip the ingredients together with an electric beater until it resembles whipped cream. This process takes between 5 to 7 minutes. You may use a handheld electric beater or a stand mixer. Fold the fruit into the cream and let the salad set. Scoop the cream into the bowl with the fruit, nuts, and shredded coconut. With a rubber scraper, fold the ingredients into the homemade cream. Allow the salad to set for 10 minutes. Plate and serve the salad. Transfer the set salad to a serving dish. If you set aside fruit, nuts, and/or coconut, use these items to garnish the salad. Serve the paleo confection. To store, cover the ambrosia salad and place it in the fridge. It will remain good for 3 to 4 days. 
Wash and slice the grapes. Drain the canned fruit. Combine the sour cream and whipped topping. Fold the ingredients into the dressing. Cover the ambrosia and chill before serving. Drain the canned fruit. Wash and slice additional fruit as desired. Combine the ingredients. Cover and chill before serving. Chill the coconut milk overnight. Preheat the oven and toast the pecans. Peel and cut 6 navel oranges. Add the raspberries and pineapple. Chop the pecans. Add 1 cup unsweetened, dried, shredded coconut. Whip the coconut milk. Fold the fruit into the cream and let the salad set. Plate and serve the salad. 