I'm going to hazard a guess and bet that there's a few busy parents out there looking for some healthy lunchbox ideas, yes? I imagine too that there's lots of great intentions with respect to being better organised with weekly meal plans and lunchbox preparation, ensuring the kids are fed the nourishment they require to get through their days happy and energised.
Well I'm going to help you all out and share a rather tasty and very easy recipe. This recipe is ideal for lunchboxes and after school treats and better still, it's ridiculously easy to prepare. Once you've blended your ingredients you can pop it into either an oven or dehydrator and walk away for 8 hours. (I do my dehydrating at night when I go to bed - so I "walk away" to my bedroom to sleep, only to wake to my ready to go treats!).
You may like to double this recipe if you've the oven or dehydrator space.
Makes 8 long roll ups.
1 cup fruit puree (I used 1/2 cup each of fresh or frozen berries and apple puree)
1 cup coconut or natural yoghurt
2 tablespoons rice malt syrup
Oven: 50°C Or Dehydrator: 50-60°C
Place 1/2 cup yoghurt in a small food processor. Add 1/2 cup of berries and 1 tablespoon rice malt syrup. Combine until smooth. Add more sweetener if necessary. Pour onto prepared silicon mat or on baking paper on oven tray and spread out evenly across the sheet.
Repeat with the remaining ingredients and the apple puree.
Dehydrate for approximately 8 hours (possibly longer if in oven) or until the fruit is dry, tacky and pliable. Remove and place a sheet of baking paper over the fruit leather and using scissors, cut both the paper and leather into lengths. Roll the fruit with baking paper into cylinders and store in an airtight container in the fridge or freezer. I'd say think they'll last several months in the freezer and a couple in the fridge.
If you're not ready to whip these up quite yet why not pin them to your healthy food board. Perhaps you know some friends or family members who'll appreciate your healthy lunchbox ideas - why not shoot the recipe to them too. Oh and here's another recipe we've featured on the site which is ideal for lunchboxes too, Savoury Breakfast Muffins!
