Best of Expo West: Bare Fruit Snacks
This post is part of a series, Best of Expo West 2009: My Favorite Things.
I took home some samples of Bare Fruit Snacks, dried organic fruit snacks, from Expo West and I have to say, they are really delicious.
What’s in them? Just organic fruit, dried in an oven. Nothing else.
The problem with a lot of dried fruit out there is it’s not organic and/or it’s got added sugar, oils, and other additives. Much of the dried fruit you’ll find in stores also has added sulfites. What are sulfites and what’s wrong with them?
Of all the food additives for which FDA has received adverse reaction reports, the ones that most closely resemble true allergens are sulfur-based preservatives. Sulfites are used primarily as antioxidants to prevent or reduce discoloration of light-colored fruits and vegetables, such as dried apples and potatoes, and to inhibit the growth of microorganisms in fermented foods such as wine.
Though most people don’t have a problem with sulfites, they are a hazard of unpredictable severity to people, particularly asthmatics, who are sensitive to these substances. FDA uses the term “allergic-type responses” to describe the range of symptoms suffered by these individuals after eating sulfite-treated foods. Responses range from mild to life-threatening. Source
Bare Fruit Snacks do not contain added sulfites, not do they contain any other additives. And they are 100% organic.
Oh, sure, you can dry your own fruit. But not everybody has a dehydrator — or the time to dry fruit. Not everybody has access to fresh organic fruit — especially in the wintertime.
Now, I don’t know what temperature they dry them at — it says on their website that it’s at “a very low temperature”. I tried calling them but the phone just rang. If anyone knows the answer to this question, please comment. I’d love to know what the temperature is. Enzymes are deactivated at 118 degrees.
However, enzymes or no enzymes, these Bare Fruit snacks are a wonderful alternative to chips or cookies or other not-so-healthy snack foods. My daughter loves them with pine nuts or cheese cubes — or added to her yogurt. Her very favorites so far are the Bananas & Cherries and the Apple Cinnamon Chips — but she seems to love them all.
I think it’s a great idea to order these in bulk. They say the shelf life is one year. I am going to buy a bunch myself. This way I’ll always have healthy snacks on hand and we won’t be tempted to munch on something bad.
I like that these come in pre-packaged bags, too — so you can just throw them into a lunchbox. They’d also be great for travel or to throw in a diaper bag — you never know when you need a distraction!
They’d go great in salads, too. I love dried cherries or mango added to a salad. Really livens it up — especially on a winter night when most people in the country can’t get local fruit.
You can buy Bare Fruit Snacks on Amazon for only $66.46 for a case of 96 0.64-ounce bags (a total of 61.4 ounces — $1.08 per ounce):
Bare Fruit 100% Organic Dried Bananas & Cherries, 0.64-Ounce Pouches (Pack of 96)
Bare Fruit Organic Dried Pineapple & Mangos, 0.64-Ounce Pouches (Pack of 96)
Bare Fruit Organic Dried Cinnamon Apple Chips, 0.64-Ounce Pouches (Pack of 96)
Bare Fruit Organic Dried Pears, 0.64-Ounce Pouches (Pack of 96)
If you want to save money, you can order the 16-ounce two-pack on Amazon for anywhere from $17.78 to $24.55 (depending on the fruit). Only .55-.77 per ounce.
Bare Fruit Organic Dried Bananas, 16-Ounce unit (Pack of 2)
Bare Fruit Organic Dried Pineapple, 16-Ounce Unit (Pack of 2)
Bare Fruit Organic Dried Mangos, 16-Ounce Unit (Pack of 2)
Bare Fruit Organic Dried Cherries, 16-Ounce Bags (Pack of 2)
Bare Fruit Organic Dried Apples, Fuji, 16-Ounce Unit (Pack of 2)
NEVER MISS A POST! Sign Up for FREE Email Updates:
You can also Subscribe in a Reader
12/03/2009 at 11:06 am Permalink
I agree – we sold these at our store and they were very popular and are great for kid’s snacks. My only quibble was that, at least when we carried them, the bags were really too big for a kid’s lunchbox, but they could eat some and save the rest for a snack later in the day. I’m enjoying reading your expo experience. In the 5 years we had our organic store, I never was able to attend any of these so it’s fun to live vicariously through you.
Annie – Hip Organic Mama’s last blog post..Wowee, my first Award
12/03/2009 at 11:22 am Permalink
these look really neat. i am actually looking for a dehydrator but until we get one I might check these out.
another way to save on amazon is sign up for the subscribe and save. if you dont like them or eat them enough you can cancel the program at anytime but still have the 15% off saving.
Courtney’s last blog post..Remember a Basic to be Thrifty Green on Thursday!
12/03/2009 at 2:21 pm Permalink
If you need to divide the portions, these cute sandwich bags would work well. That way you can avoid packing plastic in your diaper bag or lunch box. I’m so glad you had a good time at Expo West. I’m enjoying reading about the foods you tried there.
Fighting Windmills’s last blog post..Roadside Fire
12/03/2009 at 5:11 pm Permalink
We love dried fruit! Thanks for the info.
Vehement Flame’s last blog post..Real Food Wednesdays: Healthy Food Kids LOVE
12/03/2009 at 5:15 pm Permalink
Hmm, I look at these and all I see is the packaging. More stuff to dispose of… Although I support the idea of organic sulfite free dried fruit, somehow this is the kind of thing that seems too easy to make not to. When I was a kid, my dad rigged up a dehydrator from scrap wood and a lightbulb. He dried all manner of fruits and veggies for our family, for snacks and for camping trips. My brother and I never stopped getting excited about peeking in “dad’s box” to see what was cookin’, helping smear the fruit leather onto the trays, etc. I know we all lead very busy lives, but I want to encourage folks to build a simple dehydrator or buy an inexpensive one and have fun drying your own fruits and veggies (and getting your kids involved!), making crackers and healthy cookies, and storing the yummy end results in reusable glass jars!
12/03/2009 at 6:10 pm Permalink
Thanks Carrie. I like the idea of making a dehydrator!
I’ve personally been working 16-18 hour days starting a new business. It’s all I can do just to get dinner on the table (when I manage to do that).
So I love the idea of a dried fruit snack that I can just buy.
12/03/2009 at 6:13 pm Permalink
FW, those sandwich bags are totally cute!