I can make applesauce and fruit leather.
You can choose to make raw or cooked applesauce, and raw or cooked fruit leather. Since my daughter doesn’t tolerate uncooked fruits and vegetables as well as cooked, I cook hers.
Here’s my most recent recipe for cooked applesauce.
Recipe:
8 medium organic apples (3 Granny Smith, 5 Fuji)
2-3 Tbs. honey
½ cup filtered water
Juice of 1 key lime (the tiny ones)
Cinnamon, SCD legal and just a dash
I peeled and cored the apples. Then I added the other ingredients and cooked the contents in a saucepan on the stovetop until the apples were very soft. While the apples were still hot, I dumped the entire contents of the pot into the Vita-Mix and pureéd it on high until very smooth, since this is how my daughter likes it best.
Then I poured 1/7 of the mix into 7 of the aluminum containers that I use for her SCD freezer meals.
You can also use this or your own recipe to make fruit leather. The less liquid you start with the better, as it will take less time to dry/dehydrate. The addition of the honey makes the leather more pliable, but also stickier.
Recipe:
After making fruit sauce, such as apple sauce, above, pour the contents onto the solid, plastic trays of your dehydrator, or alternately, onto cookie trays that have a lip (like jelly roll pans). Dehydrate approximately 12 hours in your dehydrator, depending on the quality of your dehydrator (mine is a very inexpensive one), the setting you use, and how dry you want the leather to be. I have not made fruit leather on the cookie trays in the oven before, but know that you would have to dry it at approximately 200-250 degrees Fahrenheit for many hours until it is at the texture you prefer.
One last note, if you tolerate raw fruit and fruit peels alright, the Vita-Mix makes it really easy to make fruit sauces/purées and leathers since you don’t need to peel the fruit. Just quarter the fruit, place it into the Vita-Mix, use the tamper while processing it on high, then pour it directly onto the dehydrator trays or in a bowl to eat.
Why I Love My Vita-Mix Part VI
Why I Love My Vita-Mix Part IV
I can make nut butter.
It’s hard to find raw nut butter as a finished product. So, if you don’t want to consume roasted nut butters, the Vita-Mix is an easy way to fix that.
Recipe:
Your choice of raw nuts, such as almonds or cashews, blanched if your diet requires it.
Approximately 3 cups of nuts
Extra virgin olive oil, approx. 1 Tbs., optional
Add the nuts to the Vita-Mix. Make sure you have the tamper ready. Turn the machine on low, then turn the dial up. Next, flip the switch to high. Immediately start pushing the nuts down toward the blades with the tamper. It is important to listen carefully to the machine. If you hear the pitch change, you may need to stop it. I have over heated my Vita-Mix before while making almond butter. I find that adding a small amount of olive oil makes the process easier, and the nut butter a little smoother.
With the recent peanut butter recalls, I feel like I need to point out that you can make safe peanut butter at home. Most ASD kids who are on the SCD are not eating peanut butter, but for those of you who are, here's a link.
