Re: food dehydrator question

[Guest guest]

I have no idea what the answer to your question happens to be but I'm

interested in hearing how it goes with the dehydrator!

Cheryl

On Jun 24, 2007, at 7:26 PM, jordanshona wrote:

> Hi all! I have been working diligently, along with Dr. G and staff,

> and all of Skyler's therapists, to help resolve some diet issues that

> he has been dealing with. I just wondered if anyone out there had any

> experience with using a food dehydrator. He was eating a lot of boxed

> raisins and REALLY loved them. I removed them yesterday and made some

> using my new dehydrator today. He ate a handful, looked at me really

> confused like, and ran down the hall. He came back, took another

> handufl, and gave me the same look. He usually DEVOURS these things.

> He then just occasionally came back for more one at a time. It makes

> me wonder just what kind of preservatives, etc are in there that don't

> have to be listed on the box.... After I bought this thing, I started

> thinking about making beef jerky, etc.... It could be a great way to

> make snacks for him that look similar to what other kids are eating.

> I'm making a fruit roll up and a fruit leather tonight. If anyone has

> tried this, please let me know.

>

> Thanks.

>

> Shona

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Hey Shona -

I haven't gotten any practice using the dehydrator

yet, but there's a group GFCFNN (sort of based on

Nourishing Traditions) that has some jerky

instructions in their files or could possibly be found

in other messages. You may be able to find good ideas

there for making it without the packaged nitrates etc.

HTH-

--- jordanshona <jordanshona@...> wrote:

> Hi all! I have been working diligently, along with

> Dr. G and staff,

> and all of Skyler's therapists, to help resolve some

> diet issues that

> he has been dealing with. I just wondered if anyone

> out there had any

> experience with using a food dehydrator. He was

> eating a lot of boxed

> raisins and REALLY loved them. I removed them

> yesterday and made some

> using my new dehydrator today. He ate a handful,

> looked at me really

> confused like, and ran down the hall. He came back,

> took another

> handufl, and gave me the same look. He usually

> DEVOURS these things.

> He then just occasionally came back for more one at

> a time. It makes

> me wonder just what kind of preservatives, etc are

> in there that don't

> have to be listed on the box.... After I bought

> this thing, I started

> thinking about making beef jerky, etc.... It could

> be a great way to

> make snacks for him that look similar to what other

> kids are eating.

> I'm making a fruit roll up and a fruit leather

> tonight. If anyone has

> tried this, please let me know.

>

> Thanks.

>

> Shona

>

>

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[Guest guest]

We had a dehydrator at our last home and I made beef jerky and also dried

pears from pears I bought at the Farmer's Market during their peak. My son

DEVOURED the pears. I added nothing to them. Mango was another favorite

(still is), and apples, too.

Kristy

Re: food dehydrator question

I have no idea what the answer to your question happens to be but I'm

interested in hearing how it goes with the dehydrator!

Cheryl

On Jun 24, 2007, at 7:26 PM, jordanshona wrote:

> Hi all! I have been working diligently, along with Dr. G and staff,

> and all of Skyler's therapists, to help resolve some diet issues that

> he has been dealing with. I just wondered if anyone out there had any

> experience with using a food dehydrator. He was eating a lot of boxed

> raisins and REALLY loved them. I removed them yesterday and made some

> using my new dehydrator today. He ate a handful, looked at me really

> confused like, and ran down the hall. He came back, took another

> handufl, and gave me the same look. He usually DEVOURS these things.

> He then just occasionally came back for more one at a time. It makes

> me wonder just what kind of preservatives, etc are in there that don't

> have to be listed on the box.... After I bought this thing, I started

> thinking about making beef jerky, etc.... It could be a great way to

> make snacks for him that look similar to what other kids are eating.

> I'm making a fruit roll up and a fruit leather tonight. If anyone has

> tried this, please let me know.

>

> Thanks.

>

> Shona

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Shona,

I haven't used a food dehydrator myself, but I have a friend who has and

somehow she made beef jerky out of ground beef... it was quite good (I don't

really care for the regular kind). Since it was made from ground beef, it

was much easier to chew (less leathery).

I know that making jerky from meat is tricky because you have to first heat

the meat to a certain temperature and then keep it at a certain temp during

drying to prevent bacteria growth (E. Coli comes to mind), etc.

A great resource for advice would be your local ative Extension

Service. If you're not familiar with the ative Extension Service,

here's a link...

http://www.csrees.usda.gov/qlinks/extension.html

If you know anyone in 4-H, they can tell you where the nearest local

extension office is.

The ative Extension Service will provide free information (or at very

low cost), but usually I just ask them for advice and they happily give it

to me (free!).

Here are some things they have helped me (free) with in the past...

* Recipes for making a mix that could be used for many different things

(i.e. cakes, pancakes, etc.) once when I was asked to teach a class and had

no clue where to start. They gave me a huge packet of recipes and

information.

* I called them recently to ask if there was someone who could absolutely

identify poison ivy (there has been a disagreement at our house!). They

said " definitely " ... bring us a picture.

* My husband uses their " turf tips " e-mails (free) to know what to do to

make our lawn nice.

* I called them to ask if there was any way to sanitize laundry (colors)

other than regular bleach when my kids had the flu (they replied that

color-safe bleach would also sterilize it).

Anyway, I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the extension service. They are in general some

of the nicest, most down to earth people you will meet, and they love to

help. That's their job!

Good luck with your jerky.

Caroline