Dehydrating foods provides us with a connection between the worlds of cooked and raw foods. It is a method of preservation that helps retain food enzymes and nutrients. You can cook your food and keep it below 118degrees in a dehydrator. Personally, we use the Excalibur dehydrator. I love it! It is quiet and takes less time to dehydrate. The fan is in the back of the unit rather then the bottom, like conventional dehydrators, so there is no need to rotate the food. Easier is always welcome!
We have dehydrated many different foods. We've made kale chips, tortillas, cookies, almond flour, pizza crust, and breads. There are sooo many more recipes for RAW foods you can dehydrate.
If you look at the side of this blog, I have listed some of my favorite, go-to websites for recipes.
I also use recipes from the following books:
*Raw Food/Real World: 100 Recipes to Get the Glow by Kenney and Melngailis
*Raw Food: A Complete Guide for Every Meal of the Day by Irmela Lilja
*Kristen Suzanne's EASY Raw Vegan Dehydrating
*Kristen's Raw: The Easy Way to Get Started & Succeed at the Raw Food Vegan Diet & Lifestyle - this book was more of a jump starter for me then a "cookbook"
Here are two of the recipes I use most:
Corn Tortillas
3 Cups Fresh Corn Kernels
1 1/2 Cups Chopped Yellow Bell Pepper
3/4 Cup Golden Flaxseed, Finely Ground
1 Tablespoon Lime Juice
1 Tablespoon taco seasoning
1 1/2 teaspoons Sea Salt
1 In a food processor, chop the corn and bell pepper. Add the remaining ingredients and process until almost smooth.
2 Divide the dough onto two Teflex-lined dehydrator trays and spread to the edges using an offset spatula. Dehydrate at 115 F for 3 to 4 hours. Flip the Teflex sheets over onto the tray and carefully peel away the Teflex. Place back in the dehydrator for about 2 hours.
3 When the tortilla is completely dry on both sides but still pliable, remove it from the dehydrator and place on a flat surface. Use a round cutter or small plate about 4 inches in diameter and trace around it with a knife to cut round tortillas. Keep the scraps to add to a salad or just eat them plain as a snack.
Apple Raisin Cookies
2 C hazelnuts, soaked 6 - 8 hours and rinsed
2 Fuji apples
2 large bananas
1/2 C honey dates
1 t honey
1 t cinnamon
1 C raisins
Process hazelnuts, apples, bananas, and dates through a Champion Juicer using the solid plate. (If you don't have a juicer you can use your VitaMix, but make sure to have the apples mixed throughout the container so that the hazelnuts don't overwork the engine)
In a large bowl, mix dough with honey, cinnamon, and raisins
Spoon dough on a dehydrator tray with a teflex sheet, and form into small, round cookies.
Dehydrate at 105° for 4 - 6 hours, turn cookies over and remove teflex sheet.
Continue dehydrating for 4 - 6 hours, or until desired moisture is obtained.
- The bonus to this cookie recipe: the kids can eat as many as they want. They are actually good for them! What a treat!!!
