Winter side effects and fruit leather

My family and me on a trip to the museum this winter. I think we are actually all healthy in this picture! So rare for winter.

During winter, my family gets their fair share of colds and flu bugs and as the mom, I stay home more. Which means I exercise less, get sick more and open up the cupboard looking for treats frequently.

By the end of winter, my pants are more snug and my inner perfectionist is freaking out over weight gain and lack of control.

It would be nice if I had amazing control, but that is not reality. However, I have found that I do better when focusing on favorite flavors and new recipes that are delicious, but don't break my budget. And then giving away my baked goods faster than I can eat them (I'm still not very good at this).

Some new finds from this winter are Turmeric roasted potato wedges,  Roasted Cinnamon Sugar Almonds and any herbal teas with ginger. I've also been eating a lot of ginger chews and cinnamon suckers to help beat my chocolate cravings.

My Kids

Then I worry about my kids food, because they don't like anything. There is so much pressure on moms to save their children from obesity, feed them organic with no preservatives and stay away from the devil, Sugar.

But I think I've finally found something that helps - making homemade fruit leather. I remember my Grandmother making fruit leather with her grapes and plums for me. I loved it! So I thought my kids might like it too.

I bought trays for my dehydrator (although you don't need a dehydrator, it works on a cookie sheet in the oven, too). I started with a basic strawberry and applesauce blend. Once the kids (and my husband) confirmed they loved it by eating two whole trays in a day, I started exploring with more flavors. Including, sneaking it vegetables. (Shhhhh)

Here are a few combos I tried and their reviews:

This is a cute picture from a blog that has great fruit leather ideas. I use a different dehydrator, but its a similar shape. I started cutting my fruit leather how she cuts hers. Check out her post on fruit leather here. 

Fruit Leather Explorations:

Cherry Blackberry
Recipe: I used a couple cans of cherries that had been sitting in my food storage and blackberries in my freezer. Along with a little bit of lemon juice. Blend and taste for flavor.

Review: My kids don't like canned cherries or frozen blackberries, but gobbled them up in the fruit leather. Their only complaint was that there were too many seeds. So next time I used blackberries, I strained the juice and they were find.

Strawberry, Blackberry, Raspberry
Recipe: Blend a larger portion of strawberries with a smaller amount of blackberries and raspberries. Strain for seeds. Stir in a little lemon juice and stevia if it needs it. I've also used applesauce as a sweetener.

Review: It was a success. No complaints about seeds with the straining.

Strawberry Apple (with sneaky veggies and fruits my kids don't like)
Recipe: I thawed a bag of frozen strawberries and blended it with some homemade applesauce that the kids won't eat. I added a little lemon juice and stevia. This is the basic recipe. Since then, I've snuck in a small amount of baked beets that have been cooled, raspberries and spinach - all at different times

Review: They loved the basic recipe  -  eating it all gone in a day. When I've don't four trays, it is gone in 2-3 days. However, I've had mixed review when adding in other items. No one noticed the beets or the raspberries, but Lucas did not like it with spinach.

Apple
Recipe: Stir applesauce with a little bit of apple juice for thinning. You can also just do applesauce - I was just trying to make it stretch farther when I added the juice, since they eat it so quick.

Review: This is their favorite one. Lucas will sneak it every time my back is turned. Now I want to try add-ins. I saw on Pinterest that someone added spinach and called it Green Apple Leather, but since Lucas didn't like the strawberry and spinach, I'm not sure if this will work.

For the Future...

I have a few ideas for future recipes. Like making some with sweet potato, pumpkin and carrots. As long as the veggies have been cooked, they blend in really well. I'd also like to attempt a plum recipe, since that was my favorite as a child. And try peaches, pears, kiwi and watermelon.

I am open to hearing others recipes! Fruit leather is so easy and delicious.