Lily and Grandma make healthy and tasty dehydrated fruit snacks in the latest episode of Lily-Rose: Kindergarten Cook! Kids love to make these (and eat them!)
Dehydrated Fruit Snacks
8 ripe bananas
3 apples
4 small seedless oranges or clementines
Peel bananas and slice into ¼” slices. Lay slices in a single layer on a food dehydrator tray.
Thoroughly wash and dry apples. Cut in half and remove seeds, stem and stamen. Using a mandoline, slice the apple into ⅛“ slices and lay slices in a single layer on a food dehydrator tray.
Thoroughly wash and dry oranges. Using a sharp knife, cut into ¼ “ slices. Lay slices in a single layer on a food dehydrator tray.
Place trays into food dehydrator and set the heat at 130℉. Allow to dry until they have reached the desired level of dryness, either chewy or crunchy, 6-12 hours.
10 servings, 130 calories per serving
Hack: Drying time varies depending on the water content of the fruit, thickness of the slices and the efficiency of the dehydrator itself but, in general, the time required will be between 6 and 12 hours.
Hack: Store dried fruit in an airtight plastic or glass container. Dried fruit should not be stored in or come into contact with metal. If a condensation forms inside the storage container, it indicates that the fruit is not dry enough and should be returned to the dehydrator for further processing.
Hack: Most dried fruit can be stored for up to a year but temperatures above 60℉ or a higher level of retained water will deteriorate that time frame. They can be stored in the refrigerator or freezer to protect it from higher temperatures. Any fruit that begins to darken after a period of storage, develops an unpleasant odor or loses its flavor should be discarded.
Hack: Many fruits (such as apples and bananas) tend to brown when they’re dehydrated. This doesn’t affect the taste, nutrition or food safety of them but if you prefer your snacks to remain closer to their natural color (or perhaps another color altogether!) click here to learn different methods to achieve this.
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I love recipes that get kids involved, as I find they are more likely to be up to trying new foods. It gives them a sense of investment into the dish. Of course, fruit snacks are a hit no matter what, so this is a great recipe for anyone who has children at home. Could also be great as a homeschool lesson for home educators.
I like to look at all things as a learning experience but I also want to make sure it’s fun. Cooking (and/or making a video) is something the kids will often request to do on our days together!
It’s so helpful to find some great ideas for ways to make healthy snacks. We bought a food dehydrator this year to help us dry the chilis and peppers that we grew in our garden. I think we’ve just about finished processing our harvest for the year, so we were thinking about putting the dehydrator into storage. Instead, I think we’ll keep it handy so that we can make some of these snacks to enjoy! The oranges/clementines sound really good!
I was pleasantly surprised that the oranges were so good. I’d never come across dried oranges so this was just an off-the-cuff, “let’s see what happens” thing. It certainly pays to experiment!