#2- The Dehydrator

       The next gadget that has quickly become a staple for us is the dehydrator.  Let me tell you all something I love, love, love this thing.  I have one by Nesco, nothing big, nothing special, just a plain model to get started. Here's the website http://www.nesco.com. Some features that I like about mine is that I can add some trays, so I can dry more if I need to, right now the four it came with are good enough. I love the silicone mats that help keep the sticky stuff from getting everywhere, and also help keep the fragile things from breaking up and falling all throughout the trays.
     Since we got ours we have dried quite a bit. Kale, spinach, grapes( homemade raisins),tomatoes, okra, mango, apples, roasted onions, and fruit leather. I know, I know it seems like a lot and it seems daunting and I have barely scratched the surface with what this thing can do.

Dehydrated kale chips and apples

      I personally love dehydrated kale chips better then the ones from the oven, and they have become a staple in our house, in fact in an earlier post I mentioned that Grace takes them to school. If they are in the house they go in her lunch box, and she has yet to get tired of them and ask from something else. Aiden eats practically anything that comes off of it. If it's crunchy he eats it, he wouldn't touch the mango because it was too juicy raw, but off the dehydrator he can't get enough of it. He also thoroughly enjoys the okra. The other great thing is that you can flavor them anyway you want them, grace likes ranch, and a little olive oil and salt.
      What kinds of things can you do with dehydrated stuff, well earlier this week when Grace was sick, we had spinach spaetzle in our chicken noodle soup. Then I added some spinach powder to the spaghetti sauce. I added a little water and a little peach fruit leather to make a puree to add to barbecue sauce. Anything dehydrated usually gets eaten as is in our house, and honestly it really doesn't keep long enough for me to do anything else with it. By the time I think of something it's usually gone.

     Again it is an expense, but with what I have been able to save just with not throwing away  leftover vegetables, like mushrooms, it ends up paying for itself. It doesn't use that much electricity, in fact we haven't noticed any difference in our bill and it run all night a few times every week or two. Not only that but it makes it a little easier to give the kids extra fruits and or vegetables. throw some spinach powder in with a smoothie, noodle, soup, eggs, whatever you want. They end up eating the fruit instead of potato chips. I end up having it on hand and so we can give them a healthier choice. I don't go too crazy, but when produce goes on sale buy a few more here and there and it starts adding up. Oh and did I mention it keeps for a while. Make sure you follow the instructions that come with it, and there are many blogs out there on the internet with really good advice if you need more.

P.S. I am trying to be better about posting pictures with these thing so bear with me, but I will figure this out.