Fruit Leather

I am now always on the alert for anything different I can make for the children for some different tastes and textures. Also, because we are not buying foods made in factories, I am now simply assuming, everything can be made at home.

Lately, I have been very pleased with nearly all the results from my attempts at making homemade goodies and treats. The halva I made last week was perhaps one of the trickier types of recipes to try, even though it did not get as hard as the one from a shop, it was much tastier with a creamy texture we loved.

Then each of the nut butters I have made here - almond butter for instance, so simple yet an elegant taste of only almonds. The difference between a shop bought one and a homemade nut butter seems to be the flavour. The one I made was still very 'almondy' even after a few days.

Then the sunflower seed butter - the kids are still raving about it. I added a splash of honey to it which not only changed the taste to something very sweet, but gave the butter a depth we had not tasted before. The children were not interested in the least in anything coming from a factory, they preferred our own homemade versions of each food I prepared.

I guess at this point into these changes to our diet, I have renewed hope and a sense of purpose, because there is no turning back! 

Today I thought to try my hand at some fruit leather or fruit roll-ups as I have seen them in shops previously. We love dried fruit of any kind and use lots of it in our muesli and baking or anywhere else it can fit in. So, this stuff should be a hit as well.

Fruit leather is generally cooked pureed fruit, that has been dehydrated in some way. To make this food, I cooked some apples and kiwis, mostly because that's what is on hand, put some orange juice and water with it, and a splash of maple syrup. Then used my handy blender to get it to a smooth texture once it had cooked down a bit.

raw apples and kiwi

I poured it into a flat baking pan on a piece of parchment paper - now it is still in the oven and has been for about 4 hours or so on a very low heat. This will (hopefully) dry out into a type of fruit strip that can be rolled up and eaten as a snack. Apparently it may take a few hours before it is tacky, but not sticky to touch.

Totally unnecessary? Perhaps, but something different for us to try out. I will let you know how this one tastes once it is done. 

Have a lovely day!

April

Apple Kiwi puree ready for the oven