↑

Nature Moms

Natural Family Living & Homesteading

  • About This Blog/Blogger
  • Essential Oils
  • Advertise
  • Privacy & Disclosure
You are here: Home / A Green Home / Food Preservation – Dehydration Rocks!

Food Preservation – Dehydration Rocks!

By Tiffany 30 Comments

Peaches and Apples in Food Dehydrator

Like my melon colored kitchen in the photo above? I LOVE it!

I also love dehydrated foods. Drying foods is a great way to preserve local and seasonal foods and make it available for the remainder of the year. In fact I much prefer dehydration to canning because not only are you preserving the food, you are leaving it structurally and nutritionally in tact. When you cook a food you are changing the composition of it AND you are destroying as much as 50-80% of the nutritional value it once held. If you want hard data on exactly why raw and unprocessed is MUCH healthier than cooked read, The Live Food Factor. This book documents nearly 70 scientific studies done on the raw versus cooked debate. Most of them are listed alphabetically in an appendix so you can browse the scientific proof in the raw pudding one tantalizing detail at a time. Most raw food books are short on the science but not this one!

Canning food may preserve it but the food loses something in the translation. Dehydration preserves the food AND the nutritional content with one caveat… it must be dried at low temperatures. Most of the dehydrators you see in stores do not have temperature controls or air flow so I knew I would need one that did. I also selected a brand that many raw foodists have used and endorsed. I chose a 5 tray Excalibur dehydrator to use in my home. For larger families and dehydration requirements there is a nine tray model too.

This is the only dehydrator I have used so I cannot make comparisons but this smaller Nesco one is cheaper and it does have air flow and temperature controls… so if you are on a strict budget you may want to look into it.

Dried fruit

Primarily we use our dehydrator to make dried fruit and veggie snacks, fruit leathers, dried nuts, nut flours, raw cookies, and more. Now that apple season is upon us it is time to get busy making bunches of dried apple slices… just as it was for peaches a few weeks back. Local food goes further to nourish your family with a dehydrator. Healthy snacks and lunches are MUCH easier to pack when you have dehydrated goodies on hand. Camping and hiking trips are easier to plan to.

I like the fact that the temperature controls allow me to get the food super crispy if I want or slightly moist if I want… aka crispy banana chips but slightly moist apricot slices.

Dried white peaches and apples

Even if you don’t eat raw, a dehydrator can still be wonderfully useful. I recently read Backpack Gourmet by Linda Frederick Yaffe and it has tons of great recipes for dehydrated foods. It also has some clever complete meal ideas. They are light weight, fast, full meals that will keep your energy up. Instead of packing in heavy foods that you have to prepare at camp you can make the meal at home and then dehydrate. Then when you are on your trip all you have to do is add water and voila!

camping food

It has recipes for casseroles, pastas, soups, chilis, stews, chowders, cereals, and much more. Imagine making a tasty bean and vegetable stew at home and then just spreading it out on your dehydrator sheet to dry overnight. The reduced water content makes it light weight and it retains the flavor and nutrition it had at home. Because it is pre-cooked you are only heating. This book is genius… lasagna while camping? Very cool. The recipes would be great for taking on vacation too. If you have a teeny hotel kitchen you can make a delicious meal in minutes and a small box of dehydrated dishes could easily equal a week or more of quality meals.

You can also use this nifty machine to dry leaves, fruit, herbs, and spices for homemade potpourri. Maybe now is the time to make some homemade holiday potpourri?

dried leaves and fruit

Do you have a dehydrator? Do you use it?

Filed Under: A Green Home, Healthy Eating Tagged With: Apple Season, Book Documents, Canning Food, Dehydrators, Dried Apple Slices, Drying Foods, Food Dehydration, Food Factor, Food Preservation, Fruit Leathers, Local Food, Nesco, Nut Flours, Nutritional Content, Nutritional Value, Raw Food Books, Raw Foodists, Seasonal Foods, Strict Budget, Temperature Controls

Connect With Me…

BloglovinEmail MeFacebookIstagramPinterestTwitter

Meet Tiffany

My name is Tiffany and I am a flower farmer and urban homesteader in Central Ohio with my husband, three children, and assorted furry friends. When I am not blogging I am usually thrift store shopping, gardening, wildcrafting and food foraging, or otherwise enjoying nature. Enjoy! Read More…

Recent Posts

  • How To Make A Mother’s Day Bouquet To Symbolize The Loving Relationship With Your Mom
  • Everything You Need to Know About Vegetable Gardening
  • Natural living: bringing peace to your home
  • The 3 Common Off-grid Mistakes To Avoid
  • 8 Lifestyle Choices That Contribute to Sustainability




Categories

Stuff I love

Support your pet's wellbeing with herbs, only through The Herbarium

Learn how to wildcraft and identify plants confidently in the Botany & Wildcrafting Course!

Gardening Posts

Everything You Need to Know About Vegetable Gardening

4 Sustainable Gardening Tips For Your Home

Recipes

Quick and Easy Recipes to Get Dinner on the Table in No Time 

My Favorite Avocado Smoothie – Keto Friendly

Instagram

Popular Posts!

  • 10 New Ways to Cook Quinoa
  • 10 New Ways to Cook Quinoa
  • Natural Ways to Get Rid of Spiders
  • 10 Best Essential Oils To Use For Kids
  • 10 Best Essential Oils To Use For Kids

Recent Comments

  • Adriana Lopez on 25+ Ways To Put Your Tax Refund Money To Work
  • Emily on Black Panther is Fueled by Strong Women
  • Reesa Lewandowski on Black Panther is Fueled by Strong Women
  • Erin Paige Wardlow Cretsinger on 10 Best Essential Oils To Use For Kids
  • Dayna on Should Kids Be Paid for Chores?

Copyright © 2023 · Custom Theme by PixelMeDesigns.com On Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in