Dried Fruit: healthier and tastier homemade

 I am a decided fruit lover, so that means when it is hiking and camping season, I'm all about dried fruit or fruit leather (rollups). 

But anyone that has eaten store-bought dried pineapple knows that it is the equivalent to chewing a round, yellow-colored sugar cube. As a dietitian, I think that fruit snacks are pretty much in the same category.  My solution is simple: stock up on cans of sliced pineapple during case-lot sales then dry it in a food dehydrator.  

If you don't have a dehydrator, simply place a rack on top of a baking sheet, lay your pineapple slices on top, and dry in your oven set to the lowest temperature setting for a few hours or until pliable, but no longer moist.

As for homemade fruit rollups (or fruit leather at my house), it is just as simple: toss almost any combination of fresh or canned fruit in the blender and dry. 

 My favorite combinations are canned peaches and a little OJ concentrate, or applesauce with a little cranberry juice concentrate. Blended up canned pineapple with fresh strawberries is also good. Again, if you don't have a dehydrator, no worries – just lightly grease a baking sheet, pour enough of your pureed fruit mixture on the pan to spread out in a rather thin layer. Place this either in your warm oven for a few hours, or a warm place for a few days. My Mom would always put the baking sheet on top of the fridge. Once dried, peel off the baking sheet, roll up and cut into serving pieces. 

I even keep a couple of these in my purse for those extra long shopping trips to keep the hunger at bay just long enough to keep us out of the tempting drive-thrus!