Good healthy food that kids will actually eat can be a challenge to find. Today we have a great fruit leather recipe that is not only healthy but also fun to eat.
Kids Activities Blog is excited to share this recipe with you because we know how much kids love fruit leather.
Good Healthy Food
Fruity snacks are a staple in our house. I generally try to buy fruit snacks, fruit rolls, and fruit leather that are made with natural ingredients, natural dyes and are low in sugar. As fast as we go through them, I’ve always asked myself, “How hard would it be for us to make our own?”. Using a recipe I got from a friend, my son (4.5 yrs) and I set to work to have my question was answered.
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Ingredients and materials for DIY Fruit Leather Recipe
- Fresh fruits such as strawberries, bananas, grapes, and raspberries
- Water
- A lemon
- Sugar or sugar substitute
- Non-stick spray or Vegetable Oil
- Blender or food processor
- Baking sheet
- Wax paper or silpat baking sheet
Steps in making a good healthy fruit leather snack
Step 1
To prep your fruit, first wash it, then cut it into small pieces. Place the pieces into a saucepan and heat them until they get mushy and turn to a bit of gel.
Step 2
Place the contents of the pot into a blender and blend until it is fully mixed. At this point, it should have the consistency of a smoothie. If it looks thick, you can add a bit of water to thin it out.
Step 3
If the mixture tastes tart to you, you can add a small amount of sugar. We were extremely light on this because my aim was to make these as healthy as possible.
Step 4
Line your baking sheet with wax paper or a Silpat baking sheet. (We used wax paper because I didn’t have the Silpat sheet.)
Step 5
Spray the paper/sheet with non-stick spray or brush on a light coat of vegetable oil.
Step 6
Pour the mixture onto the baking sheet and smooth it out.
Step 7
Let it bake in your oven, set at 170 degrees, for 6-8 hours.
Step 8
Prepare a second baking sheet exactly as you did your first. Flip your pan with the large fruit sheet on it and transfer it to your second baking sheet. Remove the wax paper backing. Now bake for another 6-8 hours at 170 degrees.
Step 9
After it’s cool, you can remove the fruit sheet from the baking tray and cut it to the sizes you’d like. We cut ours into strips, but I think that next time I’ll catch them before they are cool and cut fun shapes out of cookie cutters.
Step 10
If our fruit leather was on the sticky side, I would’ve wrapped them individually in wax paper. Ours turned out a bit crispy so all we had to do was place them in a plastic bag to prevent them from becoming rubbery.
Our expereince in making this Good Healthy Fruit leather strips
The result was super yummy snacks that were natural and tasted so good! The next time we make these, I’m going to try and sneak a little bit of carrot in for increased nutrition. But, both my son and I think that this first batch was a total success.
Yield: 1 tray of fruit leather strips
Giving good food and healthy snacks to kids can be challenging, right? Well, this fruit leather recipe has the answer for you! Baking time is quite long, but I'm so sure good food takes time, and so do healthy snacks! Check this good food recipe out and try making them for your kids!
Prep Time5 minutes
Cook Time12 hours
Total Time12 hours 5 minutes
Ingredients
- Fresh fruits such as strawberries, bananas, grapes, and raspberries
- Water
- A lemon
- Sugar or sugar substitute
- Non-stick spray or Vegetable Oil
Instructions
- Wash the fruits and cut them into small pieces. Place them in a saucepan and turn the heat on until they get mushy, almost jelly-like.
- Put the fruit jelly into a food processor or blender and mix until it looks like a smoothie. Add water to thin out the mixture if it looks too thick.
- Add a bit of sugar if the mixture tastes tart, to even out the sweetness.
- Put wax paper or Silpat sheet on your baking sheet.
- Spray the paper/sheet with non-stick spray or brush on a light coat of vegetable oil.
- Pour the mixture onto the baking sheet and smooth it out.
- Bake it in the oven at 170C for 6-8 hours.
- Once the first baking time is over, prepare a second baking sheet like the first one. Turn your pan upside down with the large fruit sheet on it and transfer it to your second baking sheet. Remove the wax paper backing. Then bake for another 6-8 hours at 170 degrees.
- Take it out of the oven and let it cool down. Remove the fruit leather from the baking sheet and cut it into desired shapes and sizes.
- Wrap the leather strips individually with wax paper if it's too sticky, or store them in a plastic bag to prevent them from becoming rubbery. Eat whenever you like!
more healthy food ideas for kids
- Good Healthy Food for Kids: Granola Bars
- Homemade Fruit Leather Recipe from Healthy Mama
- Kids Love These Yummy Foil Surprise Balls
- Make your very own fruit roll-ups using applesauce!
- You can get this dinner winner plate! This dinner tray will help your kids be excited to finish their plate!
- Make your own homemade fruit roll ups!
Have you ever used a fruit leather recipe to make it at home? We’d love to hear about it!
