If you’re looking for a nutritious and shelf-stable treat to bridge the gap between grocery runs, RIND dried fruit snacks are an interesting new (to me) option to consider.

They’re available from various online and brick-and-mortar retailers.  You can also purchase them directly  from the company’s website and right now they are donating a portion of all proceeds to support Feeding America‘s Covid-19 response fund.

RIND recently sent me some of their products to sample and I was quite impressed on a few levels (and when it comes to new products and snack foods in general, I’m actually kind of hard to impress…)

There’s power in the peel

First, these are not your typical dried fruit snacks.  RIND believes in drying “the fruit, the whole fruit, and nothing but the fruit.”  That means peels and all! The result is a tangier, tarter, chewier, more grown up type of dried fruit snack.

I found the balance of sweetness, tartness, and bitterness in the dried orange, persimmon, pineapple, and kiwi much more interesting and enjoyable than bland dried apples or overly sweet banana chips.  The chewiness (which occasionally tips over into toughness) also slows you down a bit, which is useful for portion control.

Preserving the peels and rinds reduces food waste, of course, but it also substantially amps up the nutritional value. Much of the fiber of fruit is found in the peels and RIND snacks are quite a bit higher in fiber than most dried fruit– up to a quarter of the day’s requirement in a single serving.

Valuable nutrients are also often concentrated in (or right under) the peel.  When you peel apples, for example, you lose half the fiber and iron. And if you want to get the most nutrition out of your citrus fruit, don’t remove that white pith! It may be a bit bitter (some say pleasantly so).  But it’s rich in quercetin and other antioxidants.   And all of that–plus the nutrients found in the outer rind–is preserved in the RIND snacks.

RIND is a small company. (I had a couple of questions about the nutrition information and the owner called me himself to answer them).  They use all USA-grown fruit and add no sulfites, sugar, or preservatives.

If your quarantine (or post-quarantine) rations could use a little brightening up, check them out! My favorite flavors are the Tropical Blend (kiwis, pineapples, and oranges) and the Orchard Blend (peaches, apples, persimmons).

[This is not a sponsored post, by the way.  Just an honest review.]