All Natural Candy Necklace
Today we are using freeze dried fruit! At Super Healthy Kids our main message is to introduce kids to a variety of fruits and vegetables in a variety of ways. One of those ways, that we have never talked about here is freeze dried. Something great about freeze dried fruit, is that it almost never comes with added sugar, at least the brands I’ve checked. Freeze drying begins when fruit is ripened. The fruit goes into a freezer, and then into a vacuum, where are the moisture is removed. The ice that formed in the freezer evaporates, leaving your fruit “Dry”.
Our favorite freeze dried foods are raspberries and strawberries. You can add these berries to salads, smoothies, yogurt, dressings, or just snack on them. They have sort of a tangy flavor that my kids love.
So, today we decided to make “candy” necklaces with our freeze dried fruit. And, with Valentine’s day right around the corner, I thought it fit perfectly.
First, we had to use cereal to tie one end from the food falling off. We used a yarn needle (because it’s bigger and easier to thread), and threaded an “O” shaped cereal through, then tied the end of the ribbon around it.
Then, it was easy for the kids to thread the rest of their Valentines Candy! We used:
- Freeze Dried Raspberries
- Freeze Dried Strawberries
- Juice sweetened dried cranberries
- Toasted “O” cereal
Not only did the kids have fun making it, they ate all of it! Super fun way to jazz up snack time!
Natalie Monson
I'm a registered dietitian, mom of 4, avid lover of food and strong promoter of healthy habits. Here you will find lots of delicious recipes full of fruits and veggies, tips for getting your kids to eat better and become intuitive eaters and lots of resources for feeding your family.
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I love this! Do you make your own or recommend a brand of freeze dried fruits to buy?
I actually did come across some sites saying you could do it on your own. Seemed daunting. I got ours at my local health food store (Utah county) called Good Earth, but the brand is http://www.justtomatoes.com/jtstore/pc/home.asp
Freeze dried fruits, veggies and yogurt have completely changed my families diets! LOVE this idea and can’t believe I haven’t thought of it! I’ll prob blog something similar, but will def link back to this as my inspiration. I am an consultant for ThriveLife freeze dried foods, cheaper than any other I’ve found and the nutrition is jaw dropping! I’d love it if you’d check out my blog/store: http://www.thrivinglife.co
Of course Julie! I should have known better- I LIVE in Utah County, so of course I know about Thrive. It was one of those projects that I thought of while I was staring at the freeze dried fruit at good earth, so just got some. I can’t wait to see your post!
Oh my, that is hilarious! You might (no pressure! I feel like I sound like I’m pressuring…eels) want to look into a starter kit so that you can get food for your family really inexpensivelh/ earn commission off your own purchases and any purchases from your readers. I so wish I had started with thrive 3 years ago when blogging was my primary occupation! Now I work as a school counselor and I really enjoy that, but…. Home with the kids, blogging, and educating others on thrive would be ideal! More info on my “about” page
Thanks Julie! I’ll check it out 🙂
Hi – thank you for the post! Where have you found juice sweetened cranberries? Thanks!
LOVE this great idea for adding fruit and whole grains into the Valentine’s mix. Sharing this on Facebook!
Jennifer Gardner, MD, FAAP
http://www.healthykidscompany.com
I want to do this for my sons 2nd grade class instead of candy. Did you make the necklace ‘re-tieable’ or just knotted it to slip over the head?
I’m thinking I might do bracelets instead since there’s 27 kids in the class!
Haha, great idea! Portable snack bar!
how do you make holes in the dried fruit?
@Melinda- We found them in the bulk section of our health food store.
@jennifer- thanks for sharing!
@Lanelle- We tied it and slipped it over their head. It was pretty long.
@revi- We used a large yarn needle with the ribbon through it.
I believe there is a brand called funky monkey that is sold at natural health food stores and target. It is freeze dried. Great idea going to do this with my two year old.
thanks
Such a cute idea! I will give to my son’s preschools lunch lady as an idea for next year. She is always looking for allergy free snack crafts that the kids can do together.
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This is such a cute idea! I too LOVE freeze dried fruit (and veggies)! My sister in-law did something very similar with our THRIVE freeze dried pineapple (which is one of my favorites)
I know if I tried this with my kiddos….I KNOW they wouldn’t finish their necklace, because they would have eaten all the fruit!
I would love for you to check out my blog on some other great snack ideas! http://www.everydayfoodmadesimple.com/2013/04/healthy-and-yummy-snacks.html
Cute idea! I have heard alot about freeze dried food lately, seems good but when I look at the nutrition info it seems to have alot of sugar. What are your thoughts on freeze dried foods and sugar?