On Wednesday I was hanging out at Target, looking for clothes for the Healthy Living Summit and presents for my friends’ new baby and generally wasting time because it’s summer, when I stumbled upon these (presumably new) Fruit Roll-Ups Simply Fruit fruit rolls.
At first, I was excited, because Brian and I are big fans of Trader Joe’s Dried Fruit Bars (also known as fruit leather). Since TJ’s is over an hour away, we have to ration them and once we’re out, we’re out for a while. It’s a sad existence we live, being so far from Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods (having so many awesome local farms helps though). Anyway, it would be awesome to have a fruit bar substitute.
But then I thought, there’s no way these can be decent. It’s a marketing scheme preying on the “natural food” movement. However, the ingredient list didn’t disappoint:
And the taste was pretty darn good, too! Don’t get me wrong, these are not Trader Joe’s Dried Fruit Bars. They’re fruit roll-ups, but I’m sure for a lot of people that’s a good thing. They have the same texture and stickiness as the fruit roll-ups I used to take to elementary school for snack. Actually, they’re not as good as the fruit roll-ups of my youth because there aren’t any shapes to peel off the sheet. Am I the only one who actually did that? Apparently Brian just ignored the cut outs and ate the roll-up whole. I say that’s no fun. The fruit bars from Trader Joe’s are thicker and less sticky, but these are rather tasty.
Would I buy them again? Probably. I’m always looking for quick snacks I can grab on my way out the door. I’d still choose Trader Joe’s, but if I had to have something from the “fruit snack department” of the supermarket, this isn’t a bad pick.
In a related matter, has anyone actually made their own fruit leather? I’ve seen a couple blogs with recipes and I want to try it, but a lot of the recipes have you set the oven at 150° and our oven doesn’t go that low, so I’m not sure if it would work.
Disclaimer: Relishments has no connection with General Mills or Fruit Roll-Ups. I paid for the product myself out of personal interest in trying it.
Believe it or not, you can buy fruit leather at Target. Archer farms (a Target brand) sells fruit strips, which are comparable to Trader Joe’s Dried Fruit Bars, and cheaper too. They’re usually around $2.99 for a box of 10, I buy them nearly every time I’m at Target.
Ooo…thanks for the tip! I’ve never looked for fruit strips at Target, I’ll definitely be on the look out.
While they taste great you can’t eat them without getting your hands sticky. Not the sort of snack for kids in the car. Be sure there is some place to wash immediately after (or hand wipes).
Great point! They’re probably a bit stickier than regular fruit roll-ups. And, if this is any indication of how much we liked them, I haven’t actually bought them again.
Hey. I think when it says 150 degrees they are talking about Celsius. Thats about 300 degrees Fahrenheit. I hope this helped clear up that confusion.
That makes sense, but I just looked at my recipes again and they all say Fahrenheit. The goal is to cook fruit leather low and slow, like you would in a dehydrator. A year and a half after writing that post, I still haven’t tried making any for myself, but some day I will!
Hi I’m from kuwait where can I find fruit roll ups simply fruit in kuwait??
I test the fruit roll ups but I want to test this issue of fruit roll ups ,sure it’s nice
I went all of kuwait shops but I didn’t find it :(