Homemade Organic Fruit Snacks
September 19, 2009 by Jennifer Chait
Filed under Green Living
Kids love to cook and they love to get sticky. Well, some kids. My son Cedar loves being tidy and wails against messiness – but that’s bizarre and a much longer story for another time. That said, if you’ve got one of those kids who doesn’t mind sticky fun, try out this recipe for tasty homemade organic fruit snacks on a lazy, rainy, weekend.
WHY MAKE HOMEMADE FRUIT SNACKS:
For health: Almost all store bought fruit snacks come with gross additives like high fructose corn syrup, fake chemical colors, and other icky stuff your kids don’t need. Homemade organic fruit snacks are chemical, pesticide, and preservative free. Plus, while fruit snacks aren’t exactly health-food, homemade fruit snacks have less sugar and are a healthier alternative to store bought.
For the planet: Store bought fruit snacks come in little plastic or foil wraps which are then packaged into bigger boxes. Such a waste! And don’t forget about all the manufacturing and transport energy used.
For fun and education: Cooking green with kids is the perfect intro to green. Green cooking is easy, fun, and you can work in topic discussions like creating less waste, health, organics, and more. These are also fun to make for a child’s birthday party activity.
INGREDIENTS FOR HOMEMADE ORGANIC FRUIT SNACKS:
- A pound of assorted dried fruit. Grab a reusable bag or container and hit your local co-op or the natural bulk food section at any grocery store. Look for unsweetened, organic, bulk dried fruit. Dried fruit we’ve tried at my house includes; blueberries, pineapple, papaya, apricots and more. we’ve never tried super crunchy dried fruit like bananas or strawberries – I’m not sure that would work. You can also build your own solar food dehydrator and make your own dried fruit.
- Organic orange juice. You can buy a tiny carton of organic or squeeze your own fresh. FYI: My son is allergic to oranges so we make our fruit snacks with mandarin or lemon juice which is a little more tart but it works.
- Citrus rind – about as much as you’d get from one medium to large sized fruit.
- Optional – Finely ground nuts of any flavor. We don’t like them with nuts at my house, but my pal’s household loves these fruit snacks with nuts. Experiment to see what your family enjoys.
MAKING YOUR HOMEMADE ORGANIC FRUIT SNACKS:
- Grind up dried fruit in a blender on chop, then grind. A food processor might do the job better, but I refuse to buy an extra appliance for fruit snacks, so we use the blender.
- Add the citrus rind and grind until nicely combined.
- Slowly add the citrus juice. You want the mixture to be a sort of sticky mass that will hold together but you don’t want it watery.
- Have your kids grab a nice spoonful of the sticky mixture. Roll with hands into small balls. Alternatively you can roll the mixture out with a rolling pin and cut into bite sized squares or other fun shapes with a cookie cutter.
- If you made sticky ball shapes and are using nuts roll the balls in the nuts.
- You can munch these right away or store them in an airtight container.
Safety Note: These are chewier than store bought fruit snacks and could pose a sticky choking hazard for little ones under the age of three to five years. Use your best judgment and your child’s chewing ability as a guide when it comes to offering sticky treats and never leave your tot alone with food.
[image via stock.xchng]
I love homemade snacks and enjoy creative recipes, but your article shares incorrect information by stating, “Almost all store bought fruit snacks come with gross additives like high fructose corn syrup, fake chemical colors, and other icky stuff your kids don’t need.” High fructose corn syrup may have a complicated-sounding name, but it’s simply a kind of corn sugar that is nutritionally the same as table sugar or honey with four calories per gram. Replacing high fructose corn syrup with other sugars will not reduce obesity or improve health.
As a registered dietitian, I counsel patients on making wise food choices and work towards sharing science based information to this end. Demonizing certain types of sweeteners adds to the confusion and does not help kids or parents with the necessary tools and information to lead healthier lives.
Carol Sloan RD
I’m well aware that high fructose corn syrup is not a complicated word. I know what’s in it, how it’s made, and so fourth. As of the health complications, the jury is still out on if it’s healthier or less healthy than basic table sugar based on supply. BUT about half the HFCS tested in a recent study was found to contain mercury. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/26/AR2009012601831.html Plus while it may contain the same calories as sugar, and the HFCS supporters says that makes it healthy in moderation, it’s found in some 60% of products, many marketed right to kids, so eating it in moderation would be tough unless you’re specifically trying to avoid it. This recipe specifically does try to avoid both HFCS and extra added sugar.
You go to the stores or schools nowadays and all you see are chubby little kids running around. People are seriously killing their children by allowing them to eat sugar and HFCS in excess – both of which can lead to diabetes, obesity, and a slew of other health issues that can lead to death. So, yes, HFCS is not nutritionally worse than sugar, but right now, its cheaper and in more foods so it is likely to be one of the root causes of childhood obesity and other health issues. We need to seriously rethink how we feed our kids, and allowing them snacks filled with sugar or HFCS, when there are other options is not a step in the right direction.