Fruit Candy

Here is a picture of my latest brainstorm for healthy eating--my "fruit candy" tray! I absolutely LOVE this tray, and it has really helped both me and my kids to eat healthier. I mentioned earlier how I was going to be participating in this research project for high fiber diets. Well, in thinking about it and trying to gear up for it by having healthy foods in my house, I realized that one question my daughter ALWAYS asks me after meals is "what can I have for dessert?" You would think by her question that she always GETS dessert after a meal, but this is just not true. We do not eat sugary desserts more than once a week. But she definately has a sweet tooth, and I have to admit that she inherits that from ME!

Anyway, so I have been mulling over in my mind how I can eat healthier, and how I can make something "healthy" seem more attractive to my daughter. First, I had the idea of dried fruit. We have a good health food type store nearby, so I went there and bought every dried fruit they had that was dried without sugar added. I came home with dates, apples, mangos, and papaya. I already had raisins and apricots at home, so then I had this pile of little containers on my kitchen counter. But how could I keep them out and available, but at the same time not have them get in my way when I'm using the counter for food prep? So I went shopping at Walmart--I didn't even know what it was I was going to buy. I just knew I was looking for SOMETHING that would hold lots of separate "somethings". I wandered the store isles, and when I saw it, I knew it was IT!

This tray was originally designed for holding probably carrot sticks, celery sticks, etc. at a picnic. There is a nice round spot in the middle for a bowl of dip. But I thought it would be perfect for holding our dried fruit, which I immediately renamed "Fruit Candy" to my children! Not only does this tray hold a good variety, but what I like best about it is that it is just one item for me to move if I need to clear the counter for making bread, etc.

The lid has a nice handle, so it is easy to just pick it up and move it when needed. I keep a pair of tongers inside the container, so kids aren't touching everything with their hands when they are serving themselves. The tongers, by the way, have been part of the fun for my five year old. She LOVES serving herself from this tray! I know fresh fruit is still healthier, so I have told my kids that this "Fruit Candy" is dessert, not something to fill up entirely on. They must eat their regular meal first, and then they can help themselves to "Fruit Candy" for dessert if they wish. And I have to admit, it has really helped ME as well, to have something readily available for a little something sweet. In the photos we currently have it stocked with dried apple, dates, dried plums (sounds MUCH nicer than "prunes"!), papaya, and apricots. One of these days I'm going to go and buy a second tray just like this one, and actually use it for what it was intended for--I can put carrot and celery sticks, and whatever else I dream up and keep it in the fridge to help encourage my kids to eat more raw veggies......

Hope this has helped give people some ideas for making healthy eating easier!