Since we don’t cook our food, raw food diets are characterised by the use of dehydrators.
Through dehydration, we add crispy textures, such as veggie chips and seed crackers.
You can also use these machines make your own raw bread, wraps, and other recipes, which resemble a ‘cooked’ texture, such as crunchy kale chips, flax crackers, and other savoury treats, as well as pancakes and cookies.
Do I really need a dehydrator?
Well, if you have the money to buy one, and you have the necessary space in the kitchen to place it – because these appliances are big, and the TIME needed to make these recipes, then why not?
My experience is that most people don’t have time to use dehydrators because it can take hours to prepare even the simplest recipes.
You can easily eat a fully raw diet without needing one.
I bought my dehydrator a few years after I started my raw food diet.
I tell you what I found a dehydrator useful for.
There are times when you buy fruit that isn’t sweet, such as the case with strawberries and other produce.
And when something like this happens –as we all know too well, there is not much we can do with unsweet fruit, other than throw it away; even blending can’t save it.
This is the time when owing a dehydrator comes in handy because by dehydrating strawberries and other fruit, you convert them into crackers, which is something you wouldn’t get to eat otherwise. Kids love these meals too.
I know some people use ovens to dehydrate food but I’ve never used them, so I can’t really comment on the process.
If you ever feel like owning one of these machines, I’d recommend getting the Excalibur 9-tray model. The Excalibur isn’t that much more expensive than lesser brands, and it’s good quality. Make sure you get the one with adjustable thermostat AND the timer.
Most of the raw cuisine I promote feature recipes that don’t require dehydrators, this is because I don’t like to spend that too much time in the kitchen, and most people would agree with me.
Some folks even suggested to me why don’t some of my books, such as Recipes For Life, features ONLY recipes that don’t require dehydrator.
I could easily do so, but I find that from time to time, maybe a few times a year, it’s rather fun making a few recipes using a dehydrator, if you happen to own one.
My favourite dehydrator recipes have to be Corn Tortillas and Mediterranean Flax Seed Wraps, both of which are included in my eBook “Recipes For Life”.
The new updated version of Recipes For Life features 90+ recipes, only 6 of which require a dehydrator, for those special occasions.
