Freeze-Dried Fruit Snack Box
A bag of freeze-dried strawberries, blueberries, and whatever else you found. No cooking, no water, no waiting.
- calories
- 220
- weight
- 1.6 oz
- cal / oz
- 138
- protein
- 3 g
- serves
- 1, scales
- prep
- 5 min
- cook
- 0 min
- total time
- 5 min
- water
- none
- cost
- $$
Calorie and protein figures are my own estimates, good enough for planning a food bag and not meant as precise nutrition data.
- Snack
- No cook
- Backpacking
- Thru-hike
- Day hike
- Car camping
- Bikepacking
- Canoe / raft
- Vegetarian
- Vegan
- Gluten free
- Dairy free
- Nut free
- Eat in the bag
- Pre-mix at home
- Shelf stable
- Dump and stir
Ingredients
| Freeze-dried sliced strawberries | 1/2 cup | |
|---|---|---|
| Freeze-dried blueberries | 1/3 cup | |
| Freeze-dried sweet corn | 1/4 cup | savory, keeps the bag from reading like candy |
| Dried banana chips | 1/4 cup | the only heavy item, adds fat |
| Pumpkin seeds | 2 tbsp | |
| Salt | a pinch | cuts the sweetness |
Method
- At home, combine everything in a quart freezer bag and press the air out.
- On trail, open the bag and eat by the handful.
- If the pieces have crushed to dust by day three, tip the dust into your oatmeal or a mug of hot water. It rehydrates into fruit sauce.
Freeze-dried fruit is the highest calorie-per-ounce sweet snack that does not melt, weep, or need a cooler. Water is removed under vacuum rather than heat, so the pieces stay full size and shatter instead of chewing like a dried apricot. That texture is the whole appeal, and it is also the fragility problem.
The corn and pumpkin seeds are here to keep it edible past hour two. Straight fruit is all sugar and acid, and most people quit on it by the second day. Salt and something savory reset the palate. The banana chips carry the only real fat in the bag, which is why the calorie number is not lower.
Packing
Freeze-dried fruit is fragile and mostly air. Pack it in a rigid container or at the top of the pack where nothing presses on it. Keep the bag sealed between stops; these pieces pull moisture out of humid air fast and go leathery within a day.
Variations
- Swap in freeze-dried peas or green beans for a fully savory version.
- Add crumbled dark chocolate in cold weather. It will melt into the fruit above about 80 degrees.
- Pour a serving into a jar with 200 ml of cold water at night and you have fruit compote in the morning.
https://motherearthproducts.com/collections/spooky-snacks-ready-to-eat-freeze-dried-treats