Why dehydrate?

Why dehydrate?  Cooking food above 110 degrees kills the enzymes and nutrients. Dehydrating at temperatures below 110 degrees maintains both the nutritional aspects and living enzymes of the food.  Of course, it is not as good as eating it straight off the farm but it is a great way to have tasty treats and still maintain the integrity of the food that you are consuming.

First batch of flax crackers were a huge success.  So much better than the raw flax crackers that I purchased at Whole Foods for $7.99.  I have enough to fill 2 huge jars and some overflow so I suspect I will not be needing to make more for awhile.  It would have cost about $50.00 to purchase this quantity and I think the ingredients for the entire batch were under $10.00.  They are a beautiful deep red color and very light and crunchy ... I even pressed a cilantro leaf into a few of them for decoration and they look really beautiful.  This adventure led to something much bigger today ... more dehydrating fun.  

I soaked my nuts (do not make strange assumptions, please!) pecans, walnuts, sunflower seeds, and almonds overnight, then rinsed them really well.  I put aside 1 cup of each for a great granola bar recipe which I will share.  

I made a batch of Sugar-Free cinnamon pecans: 

Mix1.5 tablespoons of stevia powder with a 1/4 cup of water into a large mixing bowl.  

Add 4 cups of pecans into the mixture and tossed them well.  

In a small mixing bowl, add 1.5 tablespoons of cinnamon and 2 tablespoons of ground flax seeds.  

Add to the pecans and mix by hand.  

Let sit for 20 minutes and mix again.  

Place on a Paraflex sheet in dehydrator for 8 hours, then remove from sheet and put on tray to continue dehydrating until very dry and crunchy. 

Then I made granola bars for my daughter, Allie.  I cannot eat them as they have fruit in them, which for anyone overcoming health challenges is contraband.

I cup of each pecans, walnuts, almonds, sunflower seeds (soaked and rinsed)

1 cup flax seeds soaked in 1 cup water (will become very thick and gooey)

1 cup soaked dates (soak for 3 hours)

1 peeled and cored apple

3/4 cup of goji berries (soaked 3 hours)

2 tablespoon cinnamon

2 tablespoons stevia powder

Raw Goji Berry Granola Bars

In a food processor, chop one cup of each pecans, walnuts, almonds and sunflower seeds. 

Place into large mixing bowl.

In the food processor chop dates and apple until smooth paste forms - add to nut mixture

Add the soaked flaxseed mix to nuts

Add the cinnamon and stevia and mix mixture thoroughly.

Smooth onto Paraflex sheet about 1/4" thick and then score with a ruler. Dehydrate 8 hours, flip off of Paraflex sheet and onto dehydrator sheet for another 8 hours or until dry.  If they are soft, they will not last as long as they will if they are really dry and crunchy.

I also took the Better Than Tuna leftovers and spread them onto a Paraflex sheet to make crackers before it started going bad in the fridge.  

Then the soaked nuts ... I placed each variety on on a sheet (no Paraflex sheet is needed for plain nuts) and they are coming along nicely. Dehydrated nuts blow roasted nut out of the water for both crunch and flavor!

For those who are unsure why I am soaking my nuts in the first place?  Soaking nuts for 8-12 hours (just soak them overnight to make it easy) removes the enzyme inhibitors and makes them easier to digest.  They will last 7-10 days soaked, in the fridge or you can dehydrate them and store them in an airtight container for a couple of months. Not that they will last that long in this house.  

So needless to say, I have had a great deal of fun playing with the household toys.  After this batch, I think I will give it a rest for a few days.  Phewwww.