Your First Dehydrating Day

A. Choose either SWEET or SAVORY for your first dehydrator day

In my experience, although I LOVE SWEETS, I tend to make more savory items than sweet items in my dehydrator because I tend to satisfy my sweet tooth in non-dehydrated ways (for example, I make a lot of refrigerator/freezer cakes or puddings in my blender, for example, neither of which require dehydrating).

However, I feel that nothing satisfies my savory tooth like dehydrated recipes. I suggest making your first dehydrator day a savory one.

B. First, choose three savory recipes

For your first dehydrator day I might suggest making two cracker recipes and a veggie burger recipe.

For example, you could make veggie burgers, hearty flax bread and the thin onion wrap bread on your first dehydrator day.

C. Buy all ingredients the day before (or even a couple of days in advance).

Buying ingredients in advance makes it easier so that your dehydrator day doesn’t get sucked up with being at the grocery store for eons.

Of course, if this is your very first time dehydrating, make sure that you have all the necessary ingredients and equipment. Consult the ingredients sheet and the equipment sheet if necessary.

D. Prepare all three recipes in the morning on your dehydrator day.

Make all three recipes in the same sitting (but make each recipe one-at-a-time in quick succession or else you will get confused!) For example, using our example above you could start by preparing the hearty flax bread and getting it completely loaded into your dehydrator.

Then move on to the second recipe right away and get it completely prepared and loaded into your dehydrator. And likewise with the third recipe.

Since you are making all savory or all sweet quite frequently you don’t really have to wash many dishes and you can reuse measuring cups and sometimes even reuse the food processor without thoroughly washing. Sometimes a quick wipe with a paper towel is all that’s needed if the flavors are complimentary and if you are making everything within an hour or two without stopping. This really helps speed things along!

Of course, you can make any recipes you like and you can make more or less than three, BUT DON’T MIX SWEET AND SAVORY IN THE DEHYDRATOR AT THE SAME TIME!

E. Dehydrate:

Once everything is loaded into your dehydrator and your trays are filled with ALL savory or ALL sweet recipes, go ahead and turn your dehydrator on high for an hour or two.

I usually don’t clean up the mess that I’ve created in my kitchen until I’ve get everything in the dehydrator and I’ve turned it on.

Lower the temperature to 105 degrees and continue dehydrating as per the directions in each recipe.

Ideally, you will be able to stay home for the majority of the day and check on your dehydrated food as the day progresses. Sundays are great days for dehydrating if your schedule allows you to stay home or close to home or in and out on Sundays.

You will find your own rhythm depending on your schedule and your dehydrating needs. But remember that it is far easier to make three recipes at once and then have them all dehydrating together than to make them one at a time on different days.