Beet Fruit Leather Recipe
Do you wish your kids would eat beets or other strong-tasting vegetables?
Back in mid-January, our whole family went on a Whole30 diet.
It was tough at first, especially on Sunday afternoon at our church’s potluck dinner, which is always loaded with desserts.
I hated making the kids miss out on dessert. It’s so hard for them to watch, eating nothing, while their friends are wolfing down the cookies and ice cream!
So, even though it wasn’t completely in the spirit of the Whole30, I ordered some healthy goodies for them. – freeze-dried strawberries, blueberries, and a funny one that I couldn’t help trying, just out of curiosity – Beet Fruit Snackies.
The “snackies” are freeze-dried squares of puréed beets, peaches, strawberries, and other fruit – and they were amazing! I couldn’t believe how they tasted – and how much the kids loved them!
What a breakthrough! I’m all for requiring kids to eat their veggies, but I also think it’s unrealistic to make them eat large quantities of vegetables they don’t like.
Which is why I’m a huge fan of hiding veggies in food they like! (which is the inspiration behind these kale power balls)
Beets are one of the things my kids don’t happen to like, but they loved those snackies – which meant I could recreate them!
Maybe they wouldn’t be freeze-dried, but that doesn’t matter, because who doesn’t love fruit leather?!
Try this fruit leather recipe for your family
PrintBeet Fruit Leather Recipe
If your family loves fruit snacks, this homemade beet fruit leather is perfect for you. Your kids will love it, and won’t even know they’re also eating delicious beets!
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: Varies by method
- Total Time: Varies
Ingredients
- 2 bananas
- 2 cups mixed fruit such as strawberries, blueberries, and peaches
- 1 can beets, drained
Instructions
- Purée all ingredients together
In your food dehydrator:
- Spread about 1/8 of an inch thick on the fruit leather trays in your dehydrator – I like to line my trays with parchment paper to make them super easy to peel off.
- Set the dehydrator temperature to the “fruit” setting, and dehydrate overnight or until the fruit leather is no longer wet underneath – slightly sticky is okay, but you don’t want it wet!
If you want to dry your fruit leather in the oven:
- Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper, and spread purée about 1/8” thick.
- Set the oven to the lowest heat setting (usually 140- 170 °)
- Dry for 4-6 hours
Be aware that your finished fruit leather may be somewhat crispy rather than leathery.
Enjoy!
