In my recent quest to use more baby food out of the cabinet, I have come up with a few fun ways to either eliminate what you have left or utilize it in new ways that are not just spoon filled.
If you have not see past posts, you can see some inspiration in these two posts, which are applesauce bites
Now both of these methods make the food cold so I was brainstorming a way to make something more solidified with baby food that wasn’t freezer based and this is what I have come up with. Now please note that this is at its infancy in a recipe and there ARE ways to improve upon this idea. As I discover them I will repost.
For now, please enjoy this inspirational baby food post on
How to make Toddler Fruit Rolls
Some people call fruit in the oven “fruit leather”, some call them “fruit rolls” or “fruit rollups”, we also call them fruit “bark”. I am always looking for ways to let Phoenxy eat baby food (because its so good for him). Here is one option that skips all the food and fruit prep in traditional recipes and goes right to the oven! Perfect for a busy mom like me!
Ingredients
- Baby food pouches, 2-4 depending on size of pan
- Parchment paper or Silpat
Instructions
1) Set oven at 170. Some people that bake fruit use the oven at 140, but my oven only goes to 170, so that is where I set it. The basic premise behind this is you are dehydrating the food. It’s a slow process. If you have an oven that does 140, you may want to start there.
2) Get your fruit pouches. I did not add a THING to the recipe but tested out the food just on its own. You could probably use jar food as well, but the pouches made it easy to add to the pan in lines. Spread an even layer about 1/4inch thick on the parchment paper or Silpat . I have only done this once, but I imagine the type of fruit you use will also affect its taste and consistency.
Put in oven for 6-8 hours. This is the tricky part. Once it’s cooked it should peel up with no issues. I checked every 3 hours. Eventually it will be slightly tacky but wont make a dent with your finger. Mine was probably done around the 6 hour mark but I went out to Toys R Us and left it about an hour too long. Therefore when I took it out the sides were a little crunchier than I would have liked, BUT it rolled off the paper perfectly.
Once it was out of the oven for about an hour it become a lot softer like a fruit roll-up. The kids ate most of it well before that though. Some people make fruit leather and this didn’t come out thick like fruit leather it was much more like a fruit rollup in thickness. Because you are using baby food it’s super fine as far as puree is concerned so that may have been the difference.
The kids were both happy with this fun treat and I could feel good that it was made with ingredients that were good for them!
Final thoughts:
This a great way to use the pouches in their purest form without adding anything to them. Of course you have to plan a head of time because 6-8 hours can be a long time to wait for a fruit snack. If you overcook them initially, you get what my husband referred to as “fruit bark” which was great for Charlotte (she is 8) and slightly crunchy but harder on Phoenyx (he is 16 months). Again, this recipe was a pure experiment so if you test it and find ways to perfect it, please feel free to give tips in comments and I will update after I do this again.
~Trisha
