Dried fruit has a number of benefits – one being it is delicious and each variety packs the intense flavor of its fresh counterpart while also having a longer shelf life. Traina® Home Grown, perhaps slightly biased towards dried fruit, offers its top five reasons one should always have dried fruit in the pantry.

Longer Shelf Life — As mentioned above, dried fruit can easily outlast its fresh counterpart when it comes to longevity. In times when pantry staples are important, dried fruit can easily become part of a very basic meal to add nutrients and flavor to salads such as Traina Home Grown’s Vindaloo Chicken and Dried Fruit Salad, pasta and rice dishes, main meals like Traina’s Sun Dried Tomato Overnight Souffle and more. 

Toppings, Adds-ins and More — Speaking of “more,” there is no shortage of ways that dried fruits can be tossed in to any type of meal to give it a little boost. Think morning meals from oatmeal to cereal; topping classic snacks like “ants on a log” in place of raisins, added into granola bars or in trail mixes, tossed into batters from pancake mix to bread dough (and yes, cookie dough too!), added to charcuterie boards, and… well, you guessed it — more!

It’s a Sweet Substitute — Out of jam for peanut butter and jelly sandwiches? No problem! Forgot to pick up maple syrup at the store? Dried fruit can help! So versatile, it can easily be made into paste, jam, “butter” and syrup to serve a multitude of sweet needs… and when made into a sweet glaze it can also dress up staples such as pork chops or Traina Home Grown’s Roast Chicken with Sun Dried Apricot Sauce.

And a Savory Short Cut — From a snazzy snack or appetizer, such as Traina Home Grown’s California Sun Dried Ruby Royal Apricots and Goat Cheese Appetizer or Sun Dried Cherry Balsamic served over a wedge of soft cheese and served with crackers, to Sriracha Sloppy Joes or Lasagna Grilled Cheese Sandwiches, Traina Home Grown’s wide variety of dried fruit and sun dried products including ketchup and barbecue sauces, there’s no reason not include a helping of dried fruit into savory dishes too!

It Counts as Real Fruit — …Because it is! Dried fruit is an easy, sweet and delicious way to get kids (or others in the family!) get their fruit intake and all the benefits that come with enjoying the daily amount of fruit suggested. 

Traina Home Grown invites readers to visit The Porch Life section of the blog to review all the different ideas and recipes for incorporating dried fruit into any (and every!) meal! It doesn’t take a professional chef to have fun with versatile dried fruit. Get creative and get cooking!