Fresh Fruit Vs. Dried Fruit

What's the big deal with dried fruit? I've had a request from a friend to post about dried fruit!

My friend posed the question,
" I really love fruit but sometimes it's hard to keep it fresh for so long and I absolutely HATE grocery shopping!  So what's the deal with dried fruit?  I hear good and bad things. I love dried mangos but I know most of them are loaded with sugar. My friend bought some dried bananas and strawberries called "Crunchies" freeze dried fruit. It's delicious!  But I don't know how to tell if they're really considered a "healthy" snack or not. I was thinking maybe you could help me!"

First of all, what is dried fruit? 
Fruit is dehydrated of the majority of the original water content. This is done on a specialized dryer, dehydrator, or dried from the sun. 

Why is it so popular?
Dried fruit has a really long shelf life! Most dried fruits can last MONTHS in the pantry and even YEARS in the fridge/freezer! This can be really attractive as most non-dried fruit lasts about a week usually if it's not frozen. It's also extremely convenient to throw a baggie of dried fruit into your bag to munch on for the day. It isn't going to smash in your bag or bruise as the day goes on. 

Is it really healthy?
As of today there are no known food-borne illnesses related to dried-fruit. Dried fruit can have almost the exact same nutritional value as it's non-dried counterpart. There are sugar-infused dried fruits which do contain added sugar content, but most fruit is dried without added sugar. My cousin actually has a fruit dryer and she dries her own fruit. This would be the ideal way to prepare your dried fruit if you're worried about nutrition content. Fruit dryers aren't as expensive as you would imagine. Just like regular fruit, dried fruit has a low sodium content, a good amount of fiber, potassium, essential nutrients/vitamins, and minimal amounts of sucrose. I looked up the "Crunchies" brand that my friend mentioned. These are prepared in a vacuum chamber to dehydrate and freeze dry. According to Crunchie's website there are no added sugars, no GMO's, gluten free (which I can go totally off about because gluten free is so dumb but I'll save that for another post), no additive preservatives, low sodium, and low/no fat. So overall, it sounds like a great product to me! Be aware that the serving content is different for fresh and dried fruit. 1/4 cup of dried fruit is equivalent to one serving. If you are trying to lose weight, fresh fruit might be the way to go. It will make you feel more full because one serving is considerably larger than one serving of dried fruit.

Is it worth it?
Honestly, if you hate grocery shopping every week for fruit that goes bad before you can finish it, I would highly suggest dried fruit! It's so convenient and it has basically the same nutritional value as fresh fruit. If you are not a fan of fruit, try dried! You may find that you actually like dried fruit better than fresh fruit. For example, I'm not a huge fan of fresh, sour grapes but I LOVE all types of raisins. While dried fruit can be pricey, if it's worth it to you, it's great.