I just scored on a [used] dehydrator! I am picking it up after work tonight. Yay!
I was able to score a Berron food dehydrator - the set up is similar to the Excalibur, with multiple slide in trays and fan at the back.
I love snacking on dried fruits and nuts but have been concerned about the presence of preservatives and other chemicals in the food. Since I will be planting a large garden this year, the dehydrator will come in very handy for preserving some of the garden wealth.
My next target is canning supplies.
This past year or so I've started to really look at what I was eating. I couldn't figure out why I was having such a problem with my weight. 10 years ago I was able to modify my diet and successfully lost over a 100 pounds. [Over 300 if you add in my ex.] I was in a miserable relationship and did stupid things to my body. I found that eating 6 or so smaller meals all day worked wonders for me. Start with a yogurt, have a piece of fruit, something for lunch, some nuts or fruit, something for dinner and something sweet. I never went hungry and felt awesome. Took me over a year to do it, but then it stayed off, until... they irradiated my thyroid. :(
That killed me. I kept eating the same way, but starting putting the weight back on. Gained 10 pounds in two weeks - even though I was eating and doing the same things as before. Oh well.
Now, I've had enough! I am getting older and the joints are hurting more. I don't want to end up with diabetes or high cholesterol or any one of the hundreds of other problems out there. I'm heading back to basics, starting with what I eat and drink.
I scored a Ninja blender and started drinking smoothies in the morning. True story: I was wandering my local box store with a new Ninja in the cart, and as I'm perusing veggies a couple walked up to me and said they'd sell me their Ninja for $25. How can you say no to that?! I've got my juicer at home for finishing the night with green juice. (Fiber in the am, juice in the pm.) I saw a pin about dehydrating greens and making them into a powder, which can then be added to anything. Can't hurt, right? Won't be the same as salad roughage, but I can't always finish my greens before they get spoiled. Rather try this than just feed my compost all the time.
Additionally, this will work wonderfully with our prepping plans. I hate purchasing unknown products, especially ones that I'm going to be eating. Online reviews only get you so far. And the companies can say that they are organic, but there still is no substitute to growing your own. I will now be able to make my own meals in jars/mylar bags. I scored a good Foodsaver from craigslist a couple weeks ago, so I'm all set there.
And there are a LOT of recipes out there for meals in a jar. I've got some great ideas pinned that you can check out here: My Food Prep Pins and here: My Dehydrating Pins
Check them out and let me know what you think! And wish me well.
Yay! I'm off to do my happy dance!
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