The World According to Arlene: Some Facts about Dehydrated Veggies and more©

Some Facts about Dehydrated Veggies and more©

By Arlene Wright-Correll

When we think about dehydrated veggies or even fruits we usually think conspiracy or survivalists, camping or way out places where you can’t get fresh. I will admit that fresh is better, but I think dehydrated is better than canned.

I have done lots of canning and it is a tedious, time consuming job to say nothing of hot!

It is easy to do dehydrating and it is not expensive. Once you get started you can walk away from it while it does its thing. In 1973 Carl made me a 12 shelf dehydrator and I was hooked. Nowadays I have a commercial one.

Let me take a minute to tell you about just spinach because spinach is rich source of over twenty vitamins, antioxidants and nutrients that are retained in dehydrating instead of being diluted in canning. Our Home Farm Herbery dried organic spinach flakes are just the thing to use when we make lasagna or just about anything else. We use them in pasta and breads, soups, on pizza, chicken and salads. For those cooks who make their own fresh pasta these flakes is just the thing to use when making spinach pasta. Dried spinach flakes take up less room than cans in our pantry or in our freezer and they have a longer shelf life. We love this about it but we love the flavor better. It is a great way to have spinach all winter long.

When we want just plain spinach without adding it to any recipe just add 1 cup dried spinach flakes to 3/4 cup hot water. Let spinach soak for 1-3 minutes until tender. Drain water. Add 3 minutes soak time when re-hydrating in cold water. Dehydrated food beats canning or canned foods. It tastes better, still has lots of healthy elements in it, takes up less space and lasts 20 years. It is so easy and healthy.

We use dehydrated fruit without thinking about it such as raisins, prunes, apples, apricots, pineapple just to mention a few and never really think about them in our baking, snacks and more yet we rarely think of the vegetables.

Consider Carrots and you will find gently air dried and carefully selected vegetables; no additives or preservatives; Non-GMO in our carrots and dehydrated vegetables maintain their high nutritive value with less nutrients lost, plus you can store for 1-20 years in your cupboard; No more wasted food. Dehydrated foods save time and money; 16 ounces of dried carrots yields 84 ounces when reconstituted. That is amazing! You can easily do both these vegetables and much, much more.

There are no canning jars, lids, hot water and time consumption. By using dehydrated foods we are putting health back into our families, saving valuable time, getting longer shelf life for foods, preparing for emergencies just to mention a few benefits.

If you don’t grow your own food like we do then seriously consider investing in a dehydrator or even stocking up on our Home Farm Herbery dehydrated fruits and vegetables now.