Fruit bars

Many parents of fussy eaters buy these for the children.

I love finding home-made versions of commonly eaten foods.

Anything we make at home is generally nutritionally superior to prepackaged food and we can omit all the additives.

These fruit bars are delicious, simple to make and have 7 ingredients as opposed to the 22 listed for a popular brand – eek!

The ones I have made are the training wheels version as they are primarily bar and have little fruit. However, the fruit is less sugary as it’s not the sticky/dried type as it’s made from fresh puree.

Next stop is one with more filling and to do that and make it appealing, it may have to be more ‘jam-like’.

Recipe

For a small, tester quantity:

Ingredients

33 gm softened butter
2 tsp sugar (I used coconut sugar)
½ egg
¾ cup flour (I used wholemeal)
1 tsp baking powder

Method

Beat butter and sugar together until creamy
Add the rest of the ingredients and combine to form a dough
Place in the fridge for 20+ minutes
Roll out to 3-4mm thickness between 2 silicon sheets or baking paper
Cut into rectangles
Place a thin strip of fruit puree along the centre of half of the rectangles
Place the other rectangles on top and seal like a ravioli
Bake at 180˚ in the oven for approx. 12 minutes until browning
Cool on a wire rack

I made apple puree with half a red apple diced, softened in apple juice in a pan and then pureed.

Recipe modified with thanks from ‘Childhood 101″.

Judith is an AOTA accredited picky eating advisor and internationally certified nutritional therapist. She works with 100+ families every year resolving fussy eating and returning pleasure and joy to the meal table.
She is also mum to two boys and the author of Creating Confident Eaters and Winner Winner I Eat Dinner. Her dream is that every child is able to approach food from a place of safety and joy, not fear.
Learn more about Judith here: https://theconfidenteater.com/about/