Healthy Toddler Snacks: Fruit Leather

Wyatt's first remarks were "yum, cookies", I think he approved.

Fruit Leather

2 cups of fruit (strawberries, peach, apricot, mango - any kind of fruit)

1/4 cup of water

1/2 of a lemon

1/4 cup sugar or honey, optional

Measure your fruit, clean, and chop.  Place in a large saucepan, add water.  I used frozen fruit so I did not add water.

Bring to a simmer, cover the mixture and let it cook for 10-15 minutes on low heat.

Taste your fruit to determine if any additional sweetener is needed.  Sweeten to your preference, and add lemon juice (I don't add sweetener).  Continue to cook another 10-15 minutes, or until mixture begins to thicken.   Preheat your oven to 170ºF or lower if your oven will allow.

Pour the fruit mixture into a food processor or blender (you can use an immersion blender as well).

Line you baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicon baking liner and pour the puree onto the sheet.

Bake for 6-8 hours.

 Alternate cooking options: in the sun on a hot day, or with a food dehydrator.  I think I may try using the dehydrator next time.

Enjoy

Healthy Toddler Snacks Part 1: Fruit

I was recently asked for some ideas on healthy toddler snacks, now everyone has different standards for "healthy" snacks.  To clarify, for me healthy snacks mean all natural, non-gmo (genetically modified organisms), preferably organic, unprocessed, no artificial colors/flavors, no high fructose corn syrup, and no MSG or like substances.  Using natural sweeteners like honey and maple syrup is also important, but I'm not terribly bothered by using organic cane sugar.  So over the next few weeks, I'll try to add a few ideas for snacks that meet my standards for healthy.  I'll also throw in a tutorial here and there.

Fun Snack Ideas: Fruit

  My toddler LOVES helping me make his snacks, and he usually enjoys his snack more when he gets to help.

• Bananas dipped in yogurt and rolled in chopped nuts. Freeze them on a popsicle stick.  You can use chocolate instead of yogurt for a special treat (still much better than packaged candies/cookies).  You can also roll them in homemade granola or graham crackers instead of nuts.  Strawberries are also yummy but if you don't eat them right away they get mushy.
• Yogurt mixed with pureed fruit and honey.  Pour into ice trays or popsicle molds and freeze.
• Frozen bananas blended in the food processor or blender.  Super creamy just like ice cream, you can add peanut butter or chocolate as well.
• Apples or bananas with peanut butter.
• Fruit salad, add as many colors as possible & discuss the colors/fruit in the mixture.
• Fruit kabobs, have your toddler help skewer the fruit.  Great for hand-eye coordination, you can use a wooden chop stick for a safer alternative to skewers.
• Frozen blueberries are an easy yummy snack, and can be eaten right away.
• Homemade applesauce is easy and a toddler favorite.  Cook apples down, add cinnamon, and sugar (if desired) blend in food processor.   
• Smoothies are fun and easy to make.  You can add pretty much anything to them, of course fruit and yogurt, milk, orange juice, peanut butter or any nut butter, honey, ice (or you can freeze your fruit).
• Fruit Leather, tutorial coming soon.
• Dehydrated fruit, you can dehydrate the fruit in a dehydrator or a conventional oven.

I hope these give you some ideas, there are more to come.

A note about ingredients. I use organic peanut butter, because peanuts are a "dirty" food for pesticides, and because most peanut butter has a lot of garbage in it like hydrogenated oils.  I make my own chocolate syrup with cocoa, sugar, and water.  I use plain whole milk yogurt (I buy organic as well) because once they start adding flavors the extra sugar and garbage gets added as well.  I also always buy full fat dairy products due to free glutamates (more on that later).  

Curry Chicken

Food, is appropriately my first blogging topic.  Curry chicken to be specific, my first attempt.  All and all things went pretty well, this was a use what I had kind of dish.  Fortunately my cabinets were surprisingly filled with Indian ingredients.  So here goes:

I put a couple of tablespoons of olive oil in a dutch oven over high heat.  Seasoned my choice of chicken, thighs with skin, with curry powder, salt, pepper, and a dash of cinnamon and paprika.  I seared the chicken on both sides and removed from the pot.

I added an onion, coarsely chopped, garlic, and two carrots.  Once softened I added a handful of cherry tomatoes and grated ginger, and I deglazed the pot with some white wine.  

I then added a splash of water and a can of coconut milk.  I added the chicken back in, and threw in a sprinkle more curry & cinnamon.  Covered it and put it in the oven for approximately 40 minutes.

Served with saffron rice, and curry lentils.

The "gravy" was delicious, I could have eaten it on anything.  But I guess I am a gravy lover.  The chicken was super moist.  Matthew made the lentils, they were the best I've ever had.  He browned them, and seasoned them with garlic, ginger, coriander, anise, cinnamon, and curry.