Lunchbox – recipes
Ingredients
1Lb (450g) fresh organic berries
honey, coconut sugar dates to taste
(may use dates or fresh figs instead)
1 Tbsp lemon juice
Optional
2 Tbsp Hemp seeds
1 Tbsp bee pollen
1 Tbsp acerola powder
ginger
swiss chard – 2 or 3 leaves

Directions
Blend all the ingredients in blender until smooth.
Line up your pan with silicone baking mat or parchment paper (good quality) and make sure there are no wrinkles.
Pour your mixture over it and use angled spatula to gently spread the mixture in an even layer. The more evenly you spread, the more evenly it cooks. Keep the mixture away from the edges. You will want it about 1/8 thick. Your puree should be thin enough that it pours, but thick enough to stay put where you spread it.
Set your oven temperature to the lowest setting (usually 170F / 70C) You are basically just warming the air, helping the fruit dry faster. You can actually place the trays outside in the sun as well, but it does take much longer than the oven. And if you have a food dehydrator, obviously just follow the instructions for your machine.
It takes about 3-6 hours, sometimes longer, for it to dry. If you are not going to be at home and you do not want to leave your oven on, just keep the oven door shut and turn it off while you are away. Turn it back on when you get back and it will just keep on drying. You can test it by touching the center of the fruit mixture- it should not stick to your finger, and not indent when you touch it. The edges will cook faster than the center; if the edges look like they are getting crispy, you can cut those off later, or brush them with a little water or juice during the baking process to rehydrate. Or if you over bake the entire pan, you can also brush with a little water.
If you have a good pair of scissors, you could roll the whole sheet and then just snip all the way through the roll. Otherwise cut into strips and then roll them up individually. (You can also use pizza cutter) . Usually 1 inch segments are great size for kids snacks.
Benefits
Obviously, the greatest benefit is that YOU actually made this snack using the ingredients you picked. This particular one has acerola cherry (enormously rich in vitamin C, a great health protector in school aged kids exposed to germs on daily basis), fresh organic berries (strawberries, blueberries, and sour cherries – my favorite, and also figs, hemp seeds (adding protein content to your healthy roll up) and bee pollen. I also added (just because I can, and because it will go unnoticed) fresh swiss chard leaves, rich in antioxidants, calcium, magnesium and vitamin B.
Magnesium and vitamin B will help your kiddo concentrate better and relieve any anxiety. Blueberries are great memory enhancing foods, so there you go – we just made a great, yummy tasting snack with multiple benefits not just for a school kid, but really anyone!