Dried fruits and vegetables are high in fiber and carbohydrates and low in fat, which is good since part of the food pyramid says that we need to eat fruit on a daily basis. The only down side to dried frufits is that they are calorie dense compared to fresh fruit, so the recommended serving size is half that of fresh fruit.
Since a piece of fruit is mostly water, the drying process concentrates the natural sugars and can feed our sweet tooth better than candy and other sweet foods. Unlike candy, dried fruits contain vitamins and nutrients present in the fresh fruit. Depending on the fruit, it can contain folate, antioxidants, vitamin C, and vitamin A.
There are a couple of different ways to dry fruit. I’m sure you’ve heard of sun dried tomatoes? You can dry fruit outside in the sun but this requires low humidity and 3-5 consecutive days of 95 degrees or above. You can also dry fruit in the oven but this can get expensive as the over has to be on for a long time and the fruit often comes out darker and more brittle. Also, vitamin C is destroyed by heat.
Although you don’t need a food dehydrator to dry fruit, there are benefits to owning one — you can use it to dry more than fruit. Dehydrators can be used to dry meat for jerky as well as fruit. Even if you don’t eat jerky, you can use it to make dog treats.
Dried fruit takes up less space than regular fruit. A cup of pineapple slices may contain four slices while a cup of dried pineapple slices may have twice as many. Since there is no water, it takes up less space. A handful of raisins give the same daily benefit as two cups of grapes.
Because dried fruits contain concentrated amounts of sugar, they are popular in cereals, breads, and trail mixes. Probably the most popular is raisins which are used in cookies, cakes, and sweet breads. It only takes a couple of handfuls of raisins to get most of the daily allowance for vitamin C and A. Because they’re naturally preserved, dried foods make great lunchbox and after school snacks.
Sea Bass with Dried Fruit Salsa
Makes 4 servings
Each serving equals 1/2 cup of fruit or vegetables
Ingredients
4 (5 to 6 ounce) sea bass fillets, about 1-inch thick)
2 tsp olive oil
2 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cumin
¼ tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp cayenne pepper
¾ tsp salt
¼ cup of each dried fruit, mango, papaya, cherry, and pineapple
1/3 cup apple juice or cider
2 Tbsp cider vinegar
2 Tbsp apricot jam
2 Tbsp chopped cilantro
Rub fish with olive oil. Combine coriander, cumin, cinnamon and cayenne pepper; mix well. Set aside ½ teaspoon of the mixture for the fruit salsa. Add salt to remaining mixture. Rub seasonings over both sides of fish. Heat a large nonstick skillet over high heat until hot. Add fish. Reduce heat to medium, cook 3–5 minutes or until fish is browned and seared. Turn fish over; cook about 5 minutes or until fish is slightly firm and flaky. Combine dried fruit, juice, vinegar and ½ teaspoon reserved seasoning mixture in a small saucepan or microwave-safe dish. Bring to a boil. Stir in jam. Let stand 5 minutes. Transfer fish to serving plates. Top with fruit salsa and sprinkle with cilantro.
Nutritional Analysis: Calories 337, Fat 6g, Calories from Fat 16%, Protein 28g, Carbohydrates 43g, Fiber 3g, Cholesterol 58mg, Sodium 241mg.
Resource: Healthy Meal Planning
