Dried Fruit For Easter
Easter is a joyous holiday celebrated with family and friends, often by gifting and indulging in sugary Easter bunnies and chocolate eggs. But chocolate isn’t your only option! You can swap out the classic sweets for healthier treats like dried fruit.
Why Choose Our Dried Fruit?
The traditional Easter gift is chocolate. But many grocery store Easter treats are high in added sugars, artificial flavours, colours and preservatives and provide little to no nutritional value.
Opting for dried fruit as a healthier alternative shows your loved ones you care. Dried fruit provides natural sugars and is free of any nasty additives, with the added benefit that it is gluten and dairy-free. Gifting more mindful options for Easter not only brings delight but also promotes conversations about better health and wellness for children and adults alike.
The Health Benefits
High Nutrient Concentration: When fruit is dried, most of the water content is removed. This makes the fruit denser, and nutrients are concentrated. One small serving can provide a large percentage of the daily recommended intakes for fibre, folate, and potassium.
Digestive Health: Dried fruits are high in fibre, which aids digestion and promotes good gut health.
Gluten or Dairy Allergies: Dried fruit is the perfect gift for those who like to avoid chocolate or have allergies.
Antioxidant Boost: They are rich in phenolic antioxidants. These protect cells from oxidative damage, potentially lowering the risk of chronic diseases. They also contain essential nutrients such as iron, potassium, and calcium.
Convenience and Energy: Dried fruit provides a quick snack that has a long shelf life, making it the ultimate portable and non-perishable snack. Perfect for school lunchboxes, camping, hiking or for that pre-workout energy boost.
Disease Prevention: Eating dried fruit helps to lower the risk of obesity, heart disease and certain cancers. But remember, dried fruit should be eaten in moderation. Since they are dense, it is easy to over consume calories, so as tasty as they are, stick to the recommended serving sizes.
How To Gift Dried Fruit
Our 100% Australian Dried Fruit products come in a variety of package sizes perfect for gifting. They can be wrapped individually or bought in bulk and portioned into gift jars. There are also many ways you can gift or use our dried fruit products in meaningful ways.
Easter Hampers: Luxurious gourmet Easter hamper or present on an Easter lunch platter.
Decorations: Use dried citrus as decorations for your Easter table settings.
Beverages: Use dried fruit in cocktails, mocktails, or infused water when entertaining at your Easter lunch. Or make your own gifts of homemade Fruit Tea, check out our recipe here. We also have a new Easter Mocktail recipe below for you to try.
Variety: When gifting dried fruit think about what your loved ones like to enjoy. Our 100% Australian Dried Fruit range has an abundance of variety to suit all tastes.
Healthy Pairings: Pair your dried fruit gifts with gourmet nuts or dark chocolate. These are healthier alternatives to other savory or sweet snacks.
Baking: Homemade baking is always a welcome gift. Think homemade hot cross buns or granola.
“Not” Chocolate Eggs: Create homemade Easter eggs using blended nuts and dried fruit, such as macadamia and dried mango. Blend together with coconut oil, portion and shape into eggs, roll in coconut, seeds or nuts to finish. See our recipe below.
Choosing healthier options means you’re giving loved ones treats that are good for their bodies while still being fun for Easter. It also helps build good eating habits by encouraging people to make balanced choices that make them feel happy and healthy.
Of course, if you do enjoy a bit of chocolate, you can appease your conscience by enjoying some of our Sweeter Fix range of products, including dark chocolate dried banana, dark chocolate coated pineapple, or dark chocolate coated mango.
“Not” Chocolate Easter Eggs
Ingredients
- 1 cup of Gin Gin & Dry 100% Australian Dried Shredded Mango
- 1 ½ cup of macadamia meal (can replace with almond meal)
- ½ cup coconut oil, not melted
- 1 tbsp of lime juice
- 30g of protein powder (optional)
- Desiccated coconut or crushed nuts for coating
Method
1. Combine all ingredients into a bowl, mix well until becomes a stiff paste. Add more meal or juice until forms the correct constancy for shaping.
2. Portion and shape the mixture into small eggs. It is helpful to use Easter Egg chocolate molds to assist in creating the egg shape. Refrigerate for 5 mins in the molds.
3. Remove from the fridge, unmold, and roll the individual eggs in your desired coating. Desiccated coconut, crushed hazelnuts, crushed pistachios, or seeds are all good options for coating your “Not” Chocolate Eggs. The variety of coatings make for different contrasting colours. Store in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
Cotton-tail Mocktail
Ingredients
- 60ml carrot juice
- 60ml orange or mandarin juice
- 60ml coconut milk
- Honey, desiccated coconut, lime zest to coat the rim
- Gin Gin & Dry 100% Australian Dried Citrus Mix to garnish
Method
1. In a cocktail shaker combine all the liquid ingredients, add ice and shake.
2. Prepare your glass tumbler by coating rim with honey, then dip the rim into plate of desiccated coconut and lime zest.
3. Add ice to your tumbler, strain and pour in the contents of the shaker. Top and serve with slices of 100% Australian Dried Citrus.
Reference:
https://www.goodrx.com/well-being/diet-nutrition/dried-fruit-good-or-bad-for-you
