Go Tropical with Delicious Fruit

Fruit is good for you and most are negative calorie snacks! My son is an extreme fruit lover and so we are always loading up on fruit at the grocery store. Here are some great, fruit inspired snacks that are delicious for any age group:

In my house we love fruit pops! Here are some all natural fruit pop recipes:

What you need:

Plastic cups or popsicle molds

Any fruit of your choosing

The popsicles:

These are pureed kiwi, strawberries, mango, blueberries, watermelon, and pineapple. Use a cup or mold and add the first pureed layer. Freeze for 30 to 45min and then add the next layer. Repeat the process until all the layers are filled and add the stick around layer 3. Freeze completely after all layers are filled for about 1 hour.

Now these are whole fruit popsicles. Fill in the cup or mold with your chopped fruit: Kiwi, blueberries, raspberries, diced peaches or nectarines, and even cherries. Then layer on the top a puree or your choosing (the picture is watermelon). Freeze for 6 to 8 hours and then enjoy!

Fruit Roll Ups:

This is a great snack for the kiddos but I have to be honest I love fruit roll ups as an adult too!

Use any combination of fruit that you desire. Here are a few:

Yellow: 1 fresh mango, 200 g dried apricots, 1 orange (the juice)
Purple: Frozen raspberries, frozen blackberries and 1 banana
Green: Kiwi, mango and mint leaves
Blue: Blueberries and grape juice
Red: Strawberries and banana

Directions:

1. Warm the fruit in a pot on the stove and mix it into a puree. If there are seeds in the puree you can pour it into a sieve to get the seeds out (I didn’t).
2. Spread the puree on a oil-sprayed parchment paper (BE SURE to spray! If you don’t it will stick!). 1 1/2 cup of fruit puree is enough for 1 baking sheet, and put in the oven on 140°F (or as low as your oven can go. my stove’s lowest temperature is 170). Leave the oven door open a little bit to let the moisture out.
3. They are done when the puree isn’t sticky anymore, you normally need between 5-8 hours depending on the oven and your fruit choices. (If you live in a warm climate, you can just leave the pan in the sun for the day).
4. Use a sharp knife or pizza cutter to cut them and roll them with wax or parchment paper when they are still warm. Enjoy this healthy alternative.

This last one is not necessarily a snack but it is something that we absolutely love in our house and is a great way to drink water! I wasn’t a water lover for a very long time, but fruit water is a great alternative to juices and sodas and I have learned to love water!

Fruit Water:

So infused water can be done is a variety of ways and it is fun to try different mixtures and recipes! They are super simple too: 6 cups of water, combine ingredients, and place in the fridge for 2-24 hours, then serve!

Blueberry and Orange

Watermelon and Mint

Raspberry Lemon

So eat fruit in new way this summer!! Hope you enjoyed these fun and yummy fruit ideas!