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It’s no secret that I love dehydrating foods and consider it my favorite method of food preservation. Whether it’s putting up an abundance of fresh food, planning food for storage, packing food for travel, backpacking or camping, dehydrating can be done off-grid as well as with dehydrators. Dehydrated foods take up less space for travel or storage, preserve nutrients better (with low and slow dehydrating), keep flavors intact, needs no electricity to store or carry and have a much longer shelf life than other food preservation methods.
There are several options for obtaining dried foods (dehydrated or freeze dried), but I focus my efforts on growing or purchasing organic whole foods and dehydrating and vacuum sealing them at home. This method gives me the best choice for organic food for our long-term food storage on our limited budget. Dehydrating what I have cooked is also an easy way to increase our food storage and provide almost “instant” meals when needed.
One major rule of any food storage plan is to USE that food. Yes, that’s what I said, use it. You may be thinking “I went to all that trouble to grow it or cook it, then dehydrate and seal the food so I can have it in an emergency, and if I use it, I won’t have it in an emergency!” but to ensure the best, freshest, safest food always, the rule is… rotate the food in storage. Use it and replace it. First in, first out.
Tonight we used several items from food storage for our supper and I wanted to share with you how easy (and delicious) it is to go from dehydrated to dinner.
On the menu: Organic Vegetarian Bean Burritos, corn, cheese, pasta, fresh salad and whole grain or gluten free tortillas.
First step, choose the dehydrated food you want to use.
I chose black beans, homemade chili, homemade refried beans, cheddar cheese, corn and pasta.
Next, place the food in receptacles and pour water over top to cover. Boiling for most foods, room temperature for cheese (ask me what happens when you pour boiling water over dehydrated cheese. Hint: the word is glob.) Let sit for 15-30 minutes. I usually cover the food to keep the warmth and moisture in to make sure the food rehydrates evenly.
After the food is rehydrated (drain off extra liquid as necessary), it’s time to mix, heat and serve alongside a fresh salad and whole grain or gluten free tortillas.
Dehydrated to dinner!
Disclaimer: There are NO affiliate links in this post. Vickilynn Haycraft is an independent Product Reviewer. She does not sell products or accept payment for reviews. The products reviewed are either purchased by Vickilynn Haycraft or provided for review and all reviews are unbiased regardless of how the item was obtained.
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