Healthy Fat Free Snacks usin my Stokli dehydrator

Fat Free and Tasty, Dehydrated Nibbles, The Ultimate Healthy Snacks

Dehydrating Food and Healthy Snacks using a Stokli Food Dehydrator

I have had my Stokli Food Dehydrator for a year now and after some tasty experiments I wouldn't be without it. The Stokli Dehydrator uses warm air to gently preserve food without losing much of the nutrients associated with cooking or other preserving techniques. Ideal for making nutritious health snacks for all the family but also preserving gluts, from home growing from the garden or allotment, drying herbs and flowers and much much more.

How Do Food Dehydrators Work?

 Dehydrating food is a very gentle way of preserving food. A Food dehydrator works by exposing food to low temperatures of heat for a long period of time in order to remove the moisture from the food. Without

moisture, bacteria, moulds and yeasts are unable to grow. Food dehydrating also slows down enzyme action, although it does not stop it entirely. This means that when water is added back to some foods after drying, they return to its original size and weight.

Vegetable Crisps

The ultimate health snack

 Vegetable crisps or chips are a low fat snack that can be munched guilt free. It's a great way to get children to eat more vegetables and they probably won't notice the difference between these super healthy ones and regular crisps.

Many articles written about making vegetable crisps suggest blanching or part cooking the veggies before

drying. This helps preserve the flavours for much longer. However my crisps never hang around that long and are always munched as soon as they are ready so don't have a chance to lose any flavour. Dehydrating from raw will preserve many more of the important nutrients from the vegetables. Always start with vegetables at the peak of freshness. Good veggies for crisps include sweet potato, carrots, parsnips and beetroot.

If possible, pick and dry them the same day. If you cannot dry them the same day they were picked, then store them in your refrigerator- not at room temperature to preserve their freshness.

Wash the vegetables in cold water and trim away any bruised, mouldy or decayed spots; peeling is optional. However, the vegetable's skin will toughen as it dries but somehow that does add to the crunch! For speed I use a food processor which also makes sure the slices are all the same thickness.

I like to season my crisps, maybe not as healthy as plain vegetable crisps but does enhance the flavours. A quick seasoning is to use a ready-made seasoning like "all-purpose seasoning" this can be sprinkled on when the vegetables have been prepared but still moist so the seasoning sticks to the slices. Experiment with different flavours, try adding chilli for a fiery kick, or a drizzle of sweet chilli dipping sauce for something softer. Garlic powder used in moderation will give a mellow flavour but perhaps my favourite is a dusting of Italian herb seasoning.

Always arrange vegetables on the mesh dehydrator sheets in a single layer.

The temperature for how to dehydrate vegetables is lower than of that for fruits. Set you dehydrator at about

115º F until your vegetables are at the desired dryness.

Drying times differ on the vegetables, the way they are cut, the humidity in the air, the types of vegetables, etc. You want your dried vegetables to have the texture that is somewhat leathery or brittle.

Cool the vegetables in the dehydrator for at least 30 minutes, but not more than an hour before removing and storing. Leaving the dried product in the dehydrator for too long will have the vegetables absorbing moisture from the air.

Store in zip lock bags in handy snack sized portions.

Enjoy!

Drying herbs for the kitchen and the hearth

 An alternative way to prepare your herbs drying herbs using a dehydrator

OK it’s not the most natural way of doing things but the dehydrator is a convenient method of drying herbs. If you intend to use some of your herbs for culinary use the dehydrator will dry and preserve your herbs quickly but extremely gently. The quick

drying preserves more of the natural oils of the plants, so flavour is often more intense and it also gives less time for moulds etc. to grow, giving you longer lasting safer herbs.

Herbs make great gifts