Dried fruits may be a part of a healthy diet. They are higher in calories than fresh fruits, but are also a rich source of minerals, some vitamins and dietary fiber. Because they are dehydrated, however, dried fruits provide less volume than whole fruits, are less filling and are a more concentrated food source of sugars. Dried fruits, with or without added sugars, are not a low-calorie food, but the caloric values vary depending upon the fruit.
Low
Plain dried fruits can be a healthy snack and, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's MyPyramid recommendations, 1/2 cup counts as 1 cup of fruit for the day; helping you reach your goal of consuming at least 2 cups of fruit daily. Dried Japanese persimmons are fairly low in calories, providing about 90 calories and 5 grams of fiber per fruit. Though dried cranberries are sprayed with a sugar solution prior to drying, this process does not add too many calories. Just over a 1/4 cup of dried cranberries offers 90 calories and 2 grams fiber. Ten dried apricot halves, sulfured, offers 83 calories and 3.2 grams fiber.
Moderate
A caloric count of 110 to 160 is not low, yet not terribly high. Many dried fruits fall into this caloric range. A 1/2 cup serving or about 10 dried, sulfured apple rings is 156 calories. They are high in fiber, offering 4 grams per serving. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture Nutritive Value of Foods, five pitted prunes include 100 calories and 3 grams fiber. The same amount of pitted dates provides roughly 116 calories and 3.2 grams fiber. Dried figs are larger than dates. Two large dried figs, weighing nearly the same as five pitted dates, provides 97 calories and 4.6 grams fiber--making them an excellent source of dietary fiber. Four dried peach halves, sulfured, offers 124 calories and 4 grams fiber.
High
The highest calorie dried fruits are those that are not plain, in other words, those with added sugars or that have been processed in oil, such as banana and apple chips. Some tropical dried fruits, such as guava, are naturally higher in calories and may be sugar-coated. According to Nuts Online, a 1.8 ounce serving of dried guava, just shy of 1/2 cup, provides 180 calories and 2 grams fiber. Only 1 ounce. dried banana chips, or roughly 1/4 cup, unsweetened, provides 170 calories and 2 grams fiber. A 1/2 cup serving of raisins provides about 218 calories and less than 3 grams fiber. Dried currants provide a similar amount of calories per 1/2 cup serving as raisins, about 204, but offer more fiber, 5 grams per 1/2 cup.
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