Now that my children are back in school, I keep both the refrigerator and the pantry loaded with healthy after school snacks they can enjoy. Fresh fruit, string cheese, and popcorn are typical snacks along with a great selection of dried fruit and veggies.
Making your own dried fruit and vegetable snacks is easy with a food dehydrator. And unlike store bought varieties, making your own gives parents the ability to control the quality of the food and the amount of sugar added to the snack. Here are three after school snacks that my kids enjoy and yours will too.
Cinnamon apple chips.
Ingredients:
8 Apples, cored, sliced, and treated to prevent darkening.
2 tsp cinnamon
1/3 cup raw sugar
1. Mix Cinnamon and sugar together in small bowl
2. Dip one (flat) end of the apple slice in the sugar mixture, place gently on the dehydrator racks sugar side up.
3. Set temperature to 135 degrees F.
4. Dry between 10-12 hours.
Ginger spiced peach chips.
My daughter didn't care for the flavor of dried peaches by themselves in the dehydrator. To add a little zing, I spiced them up with a bit of ginger.
Ingredients:
8 peaches, peeled, pitted, and sliced into wedges. Treat to prevent darkening.
1 tsp powdered ginger
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1/3 cup raw sugar
1. Mix spices and sugar together in small bowl.
2. Dip part of peach wedge into the sugar mixture. Place on dehydrator racks sugar side up.
3. Set temperature to 135 degrees F.
4. Dry between 8-10 hours until crisp.
Summer squash chips.
For a healthy alternative to chips, our family enjoys squash chips prepared in the dehydrator. For this easy after school snack, all that's required is either zucchini or yellow crookneck squash and some sea salt.
1. Select zucchini or yellow crookneck that is is no larger than 2 1/2 inches in diameter.
2. Carefully wash the skins.
3. Slice into 3/16 -inch rounds. Season one side lightly with sea salt. (For extra zest, try mixing in a bit of chili powder with the salt.)
4. Place carefully on the dehydrator racks.
5. Dry between 6-8 hours until crisp.
More by this contributor:
How to keep vegetables fresh for home-canning.
