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My kids love fruit! And I love that they love it. But when you are on the go, some fruits just don’t travel well. Many of the favorite fruits are also harder to find in the winter. My solution? Dehydrated fruit!
Last winter I was buying some dehydrated fruits to try them out. Thinking that I was getting great healthy snacks that weren’t loaded with sugar. I got bananas, pineapple, kiwi, and mango at first. Then I read the labels. Every one of them had a sugar coating and some kind of dye. Lesson learned: read the labels very carefully before buying. I did find a few brands that were actually just the fruit and do get those for the occasional treat. You can buy the pineapple here.
Bananas proved a little harder to find without the extra sugar. So I decided to make my own, since my kids like them so much. The riper the banana the sweater they are. Bananas actually have quite a bit of fructose (fruit sugar) naturally. What I found is the over ripe bananas actually make really good chips, because they are so sweet. Bonus? You can usually buy them half price. They cut up really nicely as long as they aren't bruised or complete mush. If you don’t want them to brown you will need to dip them in a citric acid or lemon juice. I personally don’t mind, so I sip that step and cut them straight onto the dehydrator. I have found I can get around 3 bananas per tray, depending on how thick I cut them.
How simple is this little treat? Buy overripe bananas, purchase only enough to fill the dehydrator. They tend to go bad very quickly. Cut the bananas thinly onto the dehydrating trays. Once full, turn the dehydrator on 135 degrees and walk away for at least 24 hours. Let the bananas cool once dry and pack into freezer containers. I leave mine a little chewy, so I put them in the freezer for storage. I personally love these reusable containers.
Banana Chips
Over ripe bananas
Citric acid or lemon juice (optional)
Thinly slice bananas onto tray
Turn dehydrator on 135 degrees for 24 hours
Check bananas for dryness
Store in freezer safe containers
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