Last week I got into the mood to make some healthy all natural snacks for the kiddos. I do not claim to be a health nut (although its not a bad thing to be one) and I in no way claim I never give my kids any yummy sugary treats every once in a while, but sometimes trying out new healthy snacks is fun and beneficial for everyone. Of course, both snacks came from Pinterest, DUH! I thought I’d give a mini tutorial on how to make these 2 yummy healthy all natural treats. I figures since so many of my friends have kiddos that maybe a few of you would also give these treats a try. Okay here we go…
Homemade Strawberry Fruit Leather
Ingredients:
2 Cups Strawberries
1 Tbsp. Lemon Juice
Sweetener of your choice (Optional) ex: Agave, Honey, Sugar
Step 1: Dice 2 Cups Fresh strawberries and put into a small sauce pan
Step 2: Add a little bit of water and Stew them mostly covered until they are very soft and mushy.
Step 3: Pour the stewed fruit into a blender and blend away. Taste and add sweetener of your choice if necessary. Before you go and add a lot of sugar, keep in mind that as the fruit leather dries it will concentrate the natural sugars in the fruit and it will become sweeter on its own. (I added about an 1/8 of a cup of sugar and that was plenty!)
Step 4: Pour the blended mixture onto a baking sheet covered with plastic wrap that has been brushed with olive oil. Don’t worry about the plastic wrap melting in the oven, you bake it at an extremely low temp.
Step 5: Spread mixture around to create an even layer. Make sure the plastic wrap does not fall over the mixture or the fruit will not dry out.
Step 6: Place the pan in an oven that is set as low as it will go. Some go as low as 150 and some only go as low as 170 degrees. Mine only went to 170. Since it only went to 170, I left the oven door cracked through the entire baking process. Mine baked for 4.5 hours until it was completely dried out. The time for it to dry out will depend on how thick you make them. After about 3.5 hours in the oven, check it occasionally so it does not scorch the fruit.
The dried fruit will just peel right off the plastic and you are left with some super delicious Fruit Leathers. Store them in an air tight container and enjoy a healthy snack all week long!
O my goodness they were so delicious. The kids and I could have eaten the entire pan in one sitting. The only thing I will do different next time is make them a tad bit thicker. I already bought some peaches for my next batch. Yum! I highly recommend giving them a try :)
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Baked Apple Chips
Ingredients:
2-4 Apples
Cinnamon
Sugar (optional)
Step 1: Pull out your awesome Apple corer/peeler/slicer and Core and Slice only. If you don’t have this cool apple contraption you can just do this part by hand.
Step 2: Cut your cored apple spiral into slices and lay on a lightly greased baking sheet and sprinkle them with Cinnamon and Sugar if you want to sweeten them.
Step 3: Bake them 250 degrees for 1-2 hours flipping them over once. The baking time will depend on your oven and the thickness of the slices. After 45 minutes, I recommend checking on them every 15 minutes. Once they look nice and golden (even if they don’t look crisp) take them out. They will crisp up as they cool down on the counter.
A simple healthy treat the kids loved! Enjoy!
P.S. They will make your whole house smell heavenly :)
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