Tag Archives: fruit

Fruit Skewers – Day 30 of 30 Days of Healthy Homemade Summer Treats

30 Days of Healthy Homemade Summer Treats

Sometimes a great snack is all in the presentation. Fruit on a skewer can be more appealing than plain chopped fruit, even if you don’t add anything else to it.

Get some bamboo skewers and slice up some chunks of fruit. Think about what will go easily on the skewers – you don’t want to stab yourself with the skewers too often, and you don’t want it to be too hard for younger kids to get the fruit off.

Fruit Skewers - Day 30 of 30 Days of Healthy Homemade Summer Treats

Fruit Tacos – Day 27 of 30 Days of Healthy Homemade Summer Treats

30 Days of Healthy Homemade Summer Treats

Cinnamon coated taco shells holding wonderful chopped fruit makes a really fun snack. You can also use cinnamon chips and just dip them in the fruit if that’s easier, but the taco shape is kind of fun, if potentially messy. You know how kids are.

Ingredients

2 apples
1 lb strawberries
2 kiwis
1 banana
1 cup pineapple chunks
1 tbsp lime or lemon juice
1-2 tbsp brown sugar if needed for sweetness

flour tortillas (1 per person)
melted butter
cinnamon and sugar mix

Peel, core and dice each fruit as appropriate. I’m trusting here you know how to deal with each of these fruits. You want small pieces.

Mix all fruits, lime or lemon juice, and brown sugar in a bowl and refrigerate.

Take one flour tortilla per person, brush with melted butter and fold loosely in half to make a taco shell. Sprinkle with a cinnamon sugar mix, inside and on top. Bake in a 350 degree F oven for 8-10 minutes.

Have fun with the fruit and switch it up. You don’t have to use the same fruits all the time. Use whatever’s in season and available in your area as much as possible.

Fruit Tacos - Day 27 of 30 Days of Healthy Homemade Summer Treats

Homemade Fruit Leather – Day 26 of 30 Days of Healthy Homemade Summer Treats

30 Days of Healthy Homemade Summer Treats

My kids are always eyeing junk like Fruit By The Foot and similar snacks. I consider those close to candy, with perhaps a touch of fruit in them, although it’s really hard to tell. I’d far rather make homemade fruit leather for them and control my ingredients.

Lucky me, I inherited my grandmother’s dehydrator and a recipe book to go with it. Things like fruit leather are very possible for me.

You don’t have to have a dehydrator to make fruit leather, although it does make it easier. Just set your oven to its lowest possible temperature. You can make it work.

3 cups chopped fruit (have fun, mix it up!)
1 tsp lemon juice
1/4 to 1/2 cup water as necessary
sugar or honey to taste if necessary (not always)

Preheat oven to its lowest setting or check settings on your dehydrator. Line trays or baking sheets with silpat or parchment paper.

Puree fruit with lemon juice thoroughly, adding water if necessary. Check for sweetness and add sugar or honey to taste. Pour onto prepared trays and place in oven or dehydrator. Allow to dry for 6-8 hours or until the center is no longer sticky. Remove from oven and cool to room temperature.

Cut into sections. See how fast kids snag fruit leather, then prepare any remains for storage. Roll up extras in pieces of parchment paper and store in an airtight container. These should be good for about a month, if the kids let them last that long.

Many recipes call for boiling the fruit for 10-15 minutes first to soften it, and you can do that if you like. With my blender, things turn out just fine without that step.

Homemade Fruit Leather - Day 26 of 30 Days of Healthy Homemade Summer Treats

Fruit with Yogurt Dip – Day 19 of 30 Days of Healthy Homemade Summer Treats

30 Days of Healthy Homemade Summer Treats

Fruit and yogurt are wonderful, healthy snacks. Some sliced fruit with yogurt available as a dip is a great snack.

You can change plain yogurt up with a little honey and cinnamon mixed in, or choose a flavored yogurt if that’s what the kids prefer.

Slice the fruit in snack size pieces that are easy to dip. You can offer a single type of fruit or a mix to make things more interesting.

Fruit With Yogurt Dip - Day 10 of 30 Days of Healthy Homemade Summer Treats