When I was accustomed to eating sugary baked goods and candies regularly, dried fruit didn’t taste sweet to me at all. After switching to a plant-based diet, my taste buds changed a lot! Foods that didn’t taste sweet or have much flavour in the past, taste completely different to me now! It’s weird, because I have a big sweet tooth and used to be a total chocoholic. Now I love to eat fruit for snacks, and dried fruit is an extra special treat that I thoroughly enjoy from time to time.
My 5 year old especially loves to snack on dried fruit. He likes to help us choose dried fruit when shopping, and likes to experiment with mixing different dried fruit together with other foods to create his own sweet treat mixes. My husband has always enjoyed dried fruit, but now he finds that it tastes much sweeter. I never would have thought it possible, but we all agree that dried fruit tastes like candy!
FIGS
I used to eat Fig Newtons as a kid, but never ate dried figs. We love the flavour and texture of dried figs. They have a thick almost jelly texture in the middle. We like to keep them in the fridge and eat them as a snack! I’m looking forward to experimenting with them to make homemade fig bars.
One of Ryerden’s top 3 favourites
MANGO
Whether they are fresh, frozen, or dried, we thoroughly enjoy the deliciousness of mangos. Dried mango is an especially sweet and yummy snack. We also like to cut the strips of mango and put them on top of our oats or cereal. If I had to choose just one dried fruit to snack on, it would be dried mango!
Meg’s favourite
DATES
We love dates! Medjool dates are particularly tasty, but we often purchase the less expensive Deglet Nour dates. We eat dates for snacks, but also like to use them to make:
- date syrup
- chocolate date syrup
- berry chia jam
- chocolate zucchini cupcakes and sweet potato carrot cookies
We keep our dates in the fridge, and they also taste yummy frozen (and defrosted slightly). An easy sweet treat is a date filled with your favourite nut butter and a nut.
Our most utilized dried fruit
One of Ryerden’s top 3 favourites
RAISINS
Raisins are underrated. These tiny dried grapes are a fun and versatile snack. They are packed with flavour and are often more cost-effective than other dried fruit. Raisins can be used in so many different ways! We like to use raisins:
- in oatmeal
- in or on top of baked oats
- with cereal
- in our sweet potato carrot cookies and other baked goods
- mixed with nuts, seeds, or popcorn for snacks
- for “ants on a log” (celery sticks with nut butter and raisins)
Our 2nd most utilized dried fruit
APRICOTS
Apricots have a really nice, fresh flavour. I enjoyed them as a kid, but for some reason, didn’t eat them much until after transitioning to a plant-based diet. Ryerden has been eating a lot of apricots lately and gets really excited when he spots them in the shops! Chris (my husband) says they taste like autumn, and they are his favourite of the bunch.
Chris’ favourite
APPLES
These apple chips are a new find for us. They are light ruffled chips with a nice crunch. They have a sweet apple flavour with a hint of cinnamon. These particular apple chips come in a chip tube and contain two individually wrapped portions inside which are easy to grab on the go.
One of Ryerden’s top 3 favourites
Honourable Mention – BANANAS
They are not featured in the video, but we also enjoy banana chips from time to time.
What are your favourite dried fruits? Let us know if you have favourites that you think we should try.
Plant Fit Meg 