Freeze dryers are more affordable today than ever before. They make it possible for us to preserve fruits with all the flavor you’d expect from fruit. Kids love eating snacks and it’s pretty obvious that we’re being overwhelmed with snacks that come from the store which are fattening and filled with preservatives. Yet there’s still hope since we’ve found some alternatives to kid’s snacks that they’ll find delicious and full of nutrients. But that’s not the only thing you’ll want to learn about when it comes to switching your kids to freeze-dried snacks that are also equally attractive to their personal tastes.
What Kinds Of Snacks Will Kids Like?
Kids all have different tastes and that can be a problem if they’re used to eating chocolate or candies. So many kids these days are also growing accustomed to chips and flavored puffs which provide absolutely no nutritional content. It’s like giving them empty calories that just contribute to them becoming overweight. Giving them freeze-dried fruits and vegetables is not only a great source of vitamins and jam-packed with surprisingly incredible taste.
Fruit Mix
Unlike dehydrated fruits, the biggest difference is the actual taste and texture. Fruits that have been freeze dried are light and crunchy, making them an instant hit with little kids. The lack of excess built-up sugars that result from dehydrated food also keeps fruit snacks from being sugar-coated snacks. Freeze-dried fruits simply remove the water but taste every-much like the fruit did when it was completely fresh.
You can mix fruits together or keep them separate, although it’s a sure-fire hit when you have multiple colors and varieties of fruit that allow the best mix of real fruits.
Granola Trail Mix
You might not remember back in the day when granola bars were the big snack revival in the early 80s, but every parent who’s hitting their mid-40s and 50s most likely does for sure. Granola trail mix isn’t some hippy trend and is easy to make into a great nugget form using a simple recipe mix. Just take any mixture of fruits sliced into little bits and put this into a mixing bowl with a small amount of yogurt and oats.
Add whatever you want to the mix but make sure you can scoop this mix out of the bowl onto your freeze dry tray. These will freeze into dry little blobs that are mouth-watering snacks your kid can enjoy anywhere.
Apple & Oatmeal Snacks
This is another version of the Granola mix that only uses small bits of apple and oatmeal and is intended for smaller kids. If you’re careful enough, these can be formed into little bars that are easily held in a small child’s hand and make a good afternoon snack. Small teaspoon scoops are also the perfect size to have plenty of little bite-size pieces for preschoolers and younger.
Yogurt Fruit Drops
If you have very small children that like little snacks such as M&M’s, you’ll want to try yogurt fruit drops. This is made from whipping Aquafaba (the liquid you find in chickpeas) with a little sugar or natural sweet fruit juices. This is further mixed with a bit of non-flavored yogurt so it becomes a thick paste and can be squeezed through a baggie onto your freeze dry tray to make dozen of bite-size drops.
These drops are light and tasty and make a great teething snack for toddlers, but more importantly, these look great to little kids when you have a rainbow of flavors to offer.
Veggie Crisps
You might never imagine that kids like dried veggie slices that become a cool version of interesting veggie chips. Cucumbers and zucchini all make great chip snacks but don’t forget that carrots and even beets are loads of fun too. It is sliced nice in thin on a mandolin slicer, you can make all kinds of veggie chips that are seasoned with any kind of seasoning flavor you have in your kitchen.
Not only are these nutritional for your children, but they also provide all of the minerals and essential nutrients they will never suspect they’re eating. Go figure that veggie chips will appeal to small kids from the bright colors that veggies such as carrots and sweet potato, and beet will provide.
Beef Jerky Bites
If you’ve ever tried eating pork rinds before, you know that this signature texture is part of the appeal of this decadent Super Bowl Sunday snack. Beef jerky can indeed be turned into freeze-dried snacks and will have the same texture as fried pork rinds. It’ll also be another item that should be consumed in large amounts since these suck up a lot of water, so be careful if you give your kids a pack of jerky bits.
Small pieces work best so they’ll get a little piece with loads of beef jerky flavor, but won’t be a chewy nugget. Once again, the seasoning you add to your beef jerky and then cook it to make sure it’s free from excess fats. After that, it’ll be ready to freeze dry. Using this version, the cooked texture of the meat will still retain a bit of chewiness if your kids happen to like chewing a lot.
How To Serve Freeze-Dried Snacks To Kids?
Little kids won’t be too concerned with how their snacks are served to them and a bowl full of freeze-dried goodies will be enough to get their attention. However, older kids do seem to have a preference for snacks that are packaged. One small trick that will always get their attention is to print labels of attractive characters onto your mock label. It won’t be enough to fool a teenager, but for most preschool kids up through the 3rd grade, it’ll work wonders.
You might need some minor photoshop skills and a home printer that prints in color to do this job. You can also find images that are found readily on Google search called ‘vector images’ that can be adjusted to any size no matter how big or small you make them. These can be added to your mock label and works perfectly to show you what’s inside. For kids who have individually sealed snack bags, it’s pure magic that they’ll love tearing into.
