Banana Chips and Valentine’s Day Snack and Craft

Banana Chips and Valentine’s Day Snack and Craft

I haven’t met a kid yet that doesn’t like banana chips and you might be surprised at how easy they are to make yourself.

I make them in my dehydrator, but if you don’t have one – no worries! You can make them in your oven!

BANANA CHIPS IN THE OVEN

Ingredients:

Bananas, as ripe as possible without being brown

Coconut oil, for greasing your pan

fresh lemon juice, for brushing on the bananas so they won’t turn brown

Optional Spices: A little pinch of cinnamon is really good on banana chips!

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat your oven to 200.

Peel the bananas and slice them thin. Place them in a single layer on a greased cookie sheet. Brush the tops of them with a little lemon juice. If you are using any spices, sprinkle them on now. Bake for 2 -3 hours or until dry. They will still be a little flexible when they come out of the oven, but will harden as they cool. Store in an airtight container. Enjoy!

FOR THE VALENTINE CARD/CRAFT:

What you need:

plastic or paper bags (either craft bags or snack bags)

ribbon

red paper so you can make heart shapes

monkey stickers or monkeys that you can cut out or trace

marker

hole punch

banana chips

DIRECTIONS:

Depending on the ages of your children, they can help cut out the monkeys and heart shapes. If they can’t use scisssors yet, they can help by filling up the baggies with banana chips.

Cut out a heart shape with red paper. I used a heart shape cookie cutter to trace the heart shape. Stick your monkey stickers (or if you’re feeling brave, you can draw your own monkeys) on the heart. Write: I’m BANANAS for YOU on the heart. Fill your snack bag or craft bag with some banana chips. Punch a hole through the heart tag and a plastic bag. String the ribbon through the punched hole and tie in a bow. Done!