Re: (dehydrating veggies) was gluten-free vs. grain-free

February 22, 2004

s post made me want to ask about food dehydrators.

All you wonderful people who know so much about gluten free/grain free how are

dehydrated veggies. Are they still nutritious. Do they loose the enzymes that

make them easier to digest?

Do you have a dehydrator and if you do what brand and why do you like it?

Sheryl

Sheryl Illustrations

http://dovedesignsrus.com

February 22, 2004

>s post made me want to ask about food dehydrators.

>

>All you wonderful people who know so much about gluten free/grain free how are

dehydrated veggies. Are they still nutritious. Do they loose the enzymes that

make them easier to digest?

I have a dehydrator -- I use it mostly to make jerky (which I love!). I don't

find the

jerky hard to digest. I've also made fruit leathers and dehydrated vegies for

soups.

I don't have a problem digesting the dehydrated vegies, though I haven't tried

making them into crackers (it IS an interesting idea). I've made crackers in

the dehydrator using grains ... it is really difficult to get crispy crackers

without

burning them in the oven, but if you partly bake them, then dehydrate them,

they work well. Probably if you made a puree of vegies and put it in the

" fruit leather " tray, crackers could be made. They'd be tasty, I think. Esp.

if you use a lot of onion and garlic.

Mine is a cheap American Harvest, but it does have a temp control. I think

that is important. It is very noisy, and it smells up the place (esp. with all

the spices I use) so we use it in the garage.

I do tend to think the digestability issues on commercial crackers comes

from the very high temps they use. You wouldn't have that problem

with a dehydrator. The enzymes may or may not survive, I don't know,

but when I use the vegies in soups they have a lot of flavor, so they weren't

overheated.

I wonder what would happen if you added some fermented vegies or kefir?

-- Heidi Jean

February 22, 2004

Heidi wrote>>

I have a dehydrator -- I use it mostly to make jerky (which I love!). I don't

find the

jerky hard to digest. I've also made fruit leathers and dehydrated veggies for

soups.

Sheryl wrote> I have always wondered why the meat doesn't go bad sitting at the

low temp for so long. Exactly how low is the temp you use to make the jerky.

Heidi>>I don't have a problem digesting the dehydrated veggies, though I haven't

tried making them into crackers (it IS an interesting idea). I've made crackers

in

the dehydrator using grains ... it is really difficult to get crispy crackers

without

burning them in the oven, but if you partly bake them, then dehydrate them,

they work well. Probably if you made a puree of veggies and put it in the

" fruit leather " tray, crackers could be made. They'd be tasty, I think. Esp.

if you use a lot of onion and garlic.

Sheryl> I like the fruit leather idea a lot. Did your dehydrator come with the

fruit leather trays?

Heidi>>Mine is a cheap American Harvest, but it does have a temp control. I

think that is important.

Sheryl> How much is cheap and what do the more expensive ones have over the

cheaper ones?

Heidi>>It is very noisy, and it smells up the place (esp. with all

the spices I use) so we use it in the garage.

Sheryl> That made me chuckle.

Heidi>>I do tend to think the didigestibilityssues on commercial crackers comes

from the very high temps they use. You wouldn't have that problem

with a dehydrator. The enzymes may or may not survive, I don't know,

but when I use the veggies in soups they have a lot of flavor, so they weren't

overheated.

I wonder what would happen if you added some fermented veggies or kefir?

Sheryl> I bet the fermented veggies would be good!

Sheryl Illustrations

http://dovedesignsrus.com

February 22, 2004

i bought an excalibur for xmas and use it frequently to make jerky, ferment

doughs, make yogurt, make crispy nuts. i was worried i wouldn't use it much

but it has become the most used electrical appliance in my kitchen. i would

like to experiment with some dehydrated crackers.

elaine

>

> s post made me want to ask about food dehydrators.

February 22, 2004

--- In , Sheryl <dovedesignsrus@y...>

wrote:

> Wanita,

>

> I know I keep saying this but, you guys really are an inspiration.

>

> You have been dehydrating food for 12 years! I always thought I

was pretty good with cooking and healthy things. . .But you guys!

Whew!

@@@@@@@@@@@

I don't know what's so good or healthy about dehydrating food. As

far as I can tell it's a compromise for the sake of convenient snack

foods, probably a great way to deal with kid-feeding issues. When I

want portability and convenience I put my fresh or fermented food in

a small pyrex lidded bowl or a half-pint wide-mouth mason jar with a

white plastic lid. At less than $10 for a dozen of the latter, it

sure beats a dehydrator + extras! Not to mention I get more nutrients

in my food. And I control my auditory environment very carefully, as

it's a major, yet overlooked determinant of health, so I avoid any

sources of noise pollution as much as possible. [i do like to pollute

my mind with noisy music though.] I have been following the

developments in the field of acoustic ecology for many years as an

adjunct to interests in sound art; it's a pretty big deal. I

wouldn't feel comfortable subjecting a baby to unnecessary mechanical

noise without knowing the effects on their nervous system development.

I know, I know, " bah hum bug " ... You all know it's my style to play

party-pooper

IMO the most important equipment for healthy eating:

1. Knife

2. Stockpot

3. Half-Pint Wide-Mouth Mason Jars with plastic lids

Mike

SE Pennsylvania

February 22, 2004

Mike,

You can't spoil the fun. . .

I would say the thing that makes dehydrating foods healthy for me imparticular,

is the foods I would be eating instead of the dehydrated foods. Chips bought at

the store. Also the fruit leathers would be a better snack than candy which I

am sure a lot of people including myself fall prey to.

It's just another source of food.

All that aside, I would be buying it for myself and my snacks not for my kids.

One of my children has moved out and the other well. . .she would eat maybe a

few of the things I would prepare.

I am the one with the stomach trouble and I am just looking for alternative

things to fill me up. I have a hard time digesting wheat, dairy and sugar.

Hope that Helps your understandi why I started this topic.

Where do you live that you can avoid noise pollution?

Sheryl

Anton <michaelantonparker@...> wrote:

--- In , Sheryl