Continuing Week 2 - Good for You-Naturally!

Greetings from Me and My House,

As you are enjoying fresh raw fruits, especially in the mornings, you may also want to include other Good for You-Naturally! fruits to your Lifestyle of Eating.

Although raw fruits are best, they aren't always convenient at every time and place. For those times, you may want to include natural dried fruits. You may need to go to a health food store to find these. You want fruits that have not been sulfered (in the drying process) nor had sugar or other additives added to them. Just plain fruit, preferable organic.

Apples, apricots, dates, and raisins are among the most popular. Pineapple is also very good, but many times is "sweetened" (sugar added). "Dried" bananas usually aren't. They are usually fried, not dried. True dried bananas are delicious though, and one of our family favorites.

You can also find blended dried fruit in strips, called fruit leather. This is not the same as "fruit" strips/"roll-ups" you find in the grocery store. Those are not whole fruit nothing added products at all, but rather fruit flavored, mostly sugar products.

Natural/pure dried fruit and fruit leathers are nothing but 100% fruit that has had some of its water content evaporated out. Many are chewy, some are crisp. Dehydrating fruits concentrates both their flavors and sweetness. The price may seem somewhat high compared to fresh fruit, but remember, you are buying a concentrated food.

Fruits (and other foods) can also be dried very easily, and less inexpensively, at home. And then you fully know the quality of your dried fruit - and can get it just the texture you prefer. You choose the fresh fruit to begin with, and you control the additives that don't go into it, and how chewy or crunchy you want it.

One fruit that generally isn't as economical to make as to buy is organic raisins. Other organic dried fruit may be the same -cheaper to buy than dry. But with a dehydrator you can make truly dried bananas. And pineapple without sugar added - delicious! A good dehydrator is a great Modern Maidservant in a Good for You-Naturally! kitchen. (See info on choosing a dehydrator.)

Our children (and we) enjoy many types of dried fruits and fruit leathers. Raisins, apples, bananas and fruit leathers are the younger children's favorites. The more intensely flavored fruits, apriocots and pineapples, even dates and figs are better enjoyed by the older children and adults in our family. Fruit leathers are especially convenient to take along with you. I always have a few in my purse and diaper bag.

"O taste a see that the Lord is good." Psalm 34:8
For Me & My House,
At Jesus' feet,
Lisa