Fruit Salad with Vanilla-Apple Syrup
Vanilla-Apple Syrup
- 2 cups apple juice
- 2 2-inch strips lemon zest
- ÂĽ vanilla bean
- 2 medium mangoes, peeled and diced
- 1 pint strawberries, quartered (about 2 cups)
- 1 pint blueberries (about 2 cups)
Homemade Fruit Roll-Ups
Nix the store-bought fruit leathers and make your own. Once you master the easy-to-learn technique, you can keep a homemade supply of fruit roll-ups on hand for your kids whenever they want a naturally sweet vegan snack. With spring on the horizon, you can stock up on fresh fruits at the farmers market and make a variety of fruit roll-ups depending on the fruits in season.
Makes 12
Ingredients:
- 2 cups fresh, ripe berries
- 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 140 degrees F. and line a baking sheet with plastic wrap.
- In a food processor or blender, puree berries. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve, if desired.
- Stir lemon juice into fruit puree.
- Spread puree onto baking sheet, forming it into a 12×15-inch rectangle.
- Dry in the oven for about 18 hours. If you have a food dehydrator, follow manufacturer directions; average drying time in a dehydrator is about 7 hours.
- Fruit is ready when you can touch it and your finger doesn’t leave an indentation.
- While fruit is still warm, peel from plastic wrap and let cool on a wire rack sprayed with cooking spray.
- Once cooled, cut fruit leather in half lengthwise then cut each half crosswise into 6 strips, for a total of 12 fruit roll-ups.
- Roll each roll-up in plastic wrap and store in a cool place for up to 1 week, or you can freeze them for up to 3 months.
Note: If your fruit isn’t at its peak sweetness, add a couple tablespoons of agave, maple syrup, or granulated sugar.
Sunday Jun 17 @ 11:53am
To make Vanilla-Apple Syrup:
1. Place apple juice and lemon zest in pot. Slice vanilla bean in half and scrape seeds into juice. Add bean to pot as well. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce to medium-low, and simmer 30 minutes, or until mixture is syrup-like and reduced to 1/3 cup. Remove lemon zest and vanilla bean, and cool to room temperature.
To make Fruit Salad:
2. Toss mangoes, strawberries and blueberries with Vanilla-Apple Syrup, and serve.
Green Goddess Smoothie
Get your daily dose of greens in a delicious smoothie.
 This green smoothie, created by plant-based dietician and cooking instructor Katherine Lawrence, combines dark, leafy kale with vitamin-rich fruits for a powerful way to start your day.
