raw cultured chia apple fruit leather

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By: Angela privin

yummy raw snacks that heal your belly

When you are out and about and hungry, it’s hard to make good decisions about what to eat. Most snack choices sold in stores are processed, high in sugar or contain inflammatory oils.

As a digestive health coach, I understand the power of food to heal the belly. I know how important it is to carry healthy snacks at all times. Fermented foods are essential for healing the gut. That’s why I’m always experimenting with fermented snacks in my kitchen and when I came up with this one, I just had to share.

My apple chia fruit leather was born.

It’s easy to ferment fruits and veggies at home using a combination of yogurt whey and salt. You can get yogurt whey by putting plain yogurt in a cheese cloth and hanging it up over a bowl to catch the drippings. These drippings are called whey.

I pureed 7 chopped apples in a food processor. I added 2 tablespoon of whey and 1 teaspoon of salt to the mixture and put it in a sealed glass container on my counter top for 3 days. Make sure there is at least one inch of space between the top of the sealed container and the apple sauce.

The result was fermented apple sauce. But I wanted a snack I could take with me.

So I mixed a cup of apple sauce with 1/4 cup of chia seeds and let it sit for half an hour to gel. Then I mixed in 1 tablespoon of olive oil. I put the mixture in my dehydrator on the fruit leather tray.

If you don’t have a dehydrator you can spread the mixture on heat-resistant parchment paper and bake it in the oven on the lowest setting. About 155 degrees is perfect.

Bake or dehydrate for 3 hours until the fruit leather sets. Check it by lifting it off the paper or tray. The fruit leather should come up easily in one piece. If not, leave it in for another hour.

The result is a delicious, fermented, high fiber, high protein snack that will satisfy your sweet and savory cravings.

This snack helps to give you fuel throughout the day while healing your tummy with every bite.

Some folks with digestives issues can’t tolerate apples, but this recipe can be made with any fruit puree from blueberries to bananas.

Enjoy this unusual treat on the go. Keep in the fridge for maximum freshness.

 

Angela Privin blogs about healing digestive issues at diyhealthblog.com. She’s a wife, stepmom, Chi gong practitioner, dog lover and San Francisco resident.

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