How to make healthy dried snacks !
Does your family like dried fruit as
snacks!
Preserving foods by drying is a great way
to ensure foods don’t go bad for long trips or during warm weather. The high
sugar and acid content of fruits make them safe to dry out of doors when
conditions are favorable for drying. Sun dried raisins are the best known of
all dried foods. Dried fruits such as dried apple slices and apricots make
delicious healthy snacks. The fruit becomes very
light and crispy and retains much of its original flavor. You can make
your own snacks by removing moisture and create stable, nutritious snacks for
your whole family. Food manufacturing plants use dried
fruits in various sauce, soups, marinades, garnishes, puddings and food for
infants and children.
Reasons to dehydrate dried fruits:
1.
Portable
Dried
food is a healthy snack that is easy to bring along wherever you go. Whether
you’re on a family trip or just running errands, include a bag of dried fruit
in your purse or backpack for something healthy to snack on and keep up your
energy. Dried fruit slices can be mixed with nuts to create an awesome snack
for hiking and exploring the outdoors.
2.
Replace Salty Snacks
Many
store-bought snacks such as chips and crackers contain a high amount of salt,
as well as unhealthy preservatives that add toxins to the body. By drying fruits or vegetables, you can create a nutritious snack. It’s
easier than you think to wean your family off potato chips and
cookies if you’re offering delicious banana or apricot chips.
3.
No Chemicals
Homemade
dried snacks don’t contain preservatives, dyes, or other chemicals. The only
thing you need to make homemade snacks is a dehydrator and almost any food.
Simply cut up your favorite fruits into bite-sized slices to create a chewy
dried snack that will retain its natural taste, vitamins, and minerals for
months to come.
4.
Efficient storage
Dried
food can decrease in size to as little as one sixth of the original volume. You
don’t need to make room in the freezer or refrigerator to store your dried
snacks. After dehydrating, a few pounds of apples will easily fit into a sandwich bag or
cloth snack bag. You can seal up your dried snacks and tuck them
away in a corner of the pantry to enjoy long after fresh apples would have
spoiled.
5.
Raw foods
Diets
based on eating a majority of raw foods have become popular, with an increase
of creative recipes and foraging-based food choices. Raw food diets are
much healthier in many cases because boiling, searing, and sauteing food tends
to destroy a good percentage of vitamins. Natural vitamins found in foods can
begin to break down as low as 115 degrees Fahrenheit. Food dehydrators can
preserve your food at even lower temperatures, which means you’re also
preserving all the natural fiber and nutrition in your healthy snacks.
6.
Reduction of waste
Dehydrating
your food allows you to preserve excessive grocery purchases and even leftovers
to save you money and time. Dehydrated meals can be easily warmed up again and re-hydrated with water, broths, or soup stock. If everyone took efforts to
reduce food waste it would result in lower demand, lower commercial production,
and less stress food manufacturers place on the environment. Families can even
go as far as growing favorite herbs or fresh vegetables such as tomatoes, potatoes,
and carrots in backyard gardens. If you have an apple tree, you can preserve
the majority of your apples by easily drying them for the rest of the winter.
7.
Save on costs
Dehydrating
food helps eliminate spoilage and waste of perishable food items so that you
save money over time. You can easily get into the habit of drying extra fresh
foods so they don’t spoil. You can also save money in many ways:
·
Buy fresh foods in bulk and dry the excess for dry storage.
·
Use your own fresh herbs and dehydrate them for flavoring your
homemade recipes.
·
Give your kids dried fruits such as apple and apricots slices
for delicious snacks instead of sugary, salty or processed snacks.
·
Make healthy snack mixes with dried fruit, nuts, and healthy
chocolate bits to give as gifts.
8.
Consistent quality
With your own dehydrator, you have control over which foods
you choose to dry, in which quantities, and how often. You can cut and separate
dried foods into portion sizes or store them in large gallon Zip-Lock bags for easy
dry storage. You can serve your own dried foods and healthy snacks to
guests and family with the confidence that they are perfectly healthy treats
with no hidden ingredients or chemicals.
9.
Buy during peak seasons
You
can save more money and reduce food waste more by stocking up fresh, local
produce at the farmer’s market or by buying apples from your neighbor’s apple
trees. During the harvest season, pick up basics such as tomatoes, blueberries,
and melons at roadside stands. Visit your area’s local markets and pick your fresh
fruits to turn into delicious homemade fruit snacks. Dried fruits and
vegetables are easily turned into healthy snacks, to enjoy all winter seasons.
Dehydrating
food and making your own healthy snacks is something the whole family can
participate in. Your family can easily enjoy the food drying process together
and your kids will learn some practical life skills. Dried snacks will taste
even better when you are finished!
Food
dehydrators are a convenient and simple way of preserving the quality and
nutrients within fresh foods. You can easily re-purpose dried food ingredients
any way you like for snacks, cooking, and seasoning within recipes. Dehydrating
food can easily become part of your family’s healthy lifestyle.
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