Re: tips for home cooked dehydrated meals
Posted: Fri Mar 22, 2013 8:15 pm
I am known as the dehydrator queen by my family and friends. So you know what advise I will give you. Come April or May my dehydrator starts to run almost non-stop. I dehydrate almost everything for my backpack meals with the exception of asparagus which I buy freeze dried. It does not rehydrate very well. I sometimes buy some freeze dried broccoli or cauliflower for salad lunches, but will use dehydrated in suppers.
Except for a few meals ( Indian Dahl and Veggie Moroccan stew) I dehydrate ingredients separately and then mix together when packing the individual meals.
What I dehydrate: green beans (frozen works well), frozen corn, carrots, tomatoes, zucchini, butternut squash, cabbage, onion, peppers(sweet and hot), yams, broccoli for dinners, spinach, canned artichokes hearts, cooked pasta,cooked brown rice, cooked quinoa, canned beans (black beans, chick peas, kidney beans...) cooked ground beef, cooked ground chicken, tuna (ends up a bit crunchy), cooked sausage (fat rinsed off well), olives, feta cheese, cottage cheese, yogurt (freeze then put in blender) tomato paste,and most fruits. I am sure there is more that I can't think of right now. You can try most anything. Oh, I almost forgot to say, I never have had luck rehydrating plain tofu, but the tofu chicken that you can buy rehydrates well. As well, I make some tofu "meatballs" that rehydrate fine.
I store the meats in the freezer and the rest in the basement where it is cool. Food is good for entire summer. If I have veggies left over in the fall, I throw them in the freezer for the next season and use up first. The grains and beans I will use at home. Can't tell the difference.
The most indispensable thing in my pack is my pot cozy from antigravity gear. To cook supper, I boil water in my pot. Add dehydrated meal, and put the whole pot in the pot cozy to sit. 20 minutes later I have a rehydrated steaming hot dinner.
For lunch salads, I pour boiling water in the bag of ingredients in the morning. Double bag, and let it sit in the top of my pack until lunchtime.
Except for a few meals ( Indian Dahl and Veggie Moroccan stew) I dehydrate ingredients separately and then mix together when packing the individual meals.
What I dehydrate: green beans (frozen works well), frozen corn, carrots, tomatoes, zucchini, butternut squash, cabbage, onion, peppers(sweet and hot), yams, broccoli for dinners, spinach, canned artichokes hearts, cooked pasta,cooked brown rice, cooked quinoa, canned beans (black beans, chick peas, kidney beans...) cooked ground beef, cooked ground chicken, tuna (ends up a bit crunchy), cooked sausage (fat rinsed off well), olives, feta cheese, cottage cheese, yogurt (freeze then put in blender) tomato paste,and most fruits. I am sure there is more that I can't think of right now. You can try most anything. Oh, I almost forgot to say, I never have had luck rehydrating plain tofu, but the tofu chicken that you can buy rehydrates well. As well, I make some tofu "meatballs" that rehydrate fine.
I store the meats in the freezer and the rest in the basement where it is cool. Food is good for entire summer. If I have veggies left over in the fall, I throw them in the freezer for the next season and use up first. The grains and beans I will use at home. Can't tell the difference.
The most indispensable thing in my pack is my pot cozy from antigravity gear. To cook supper, I boil water in my pot. Add dehydrated meal, and put the whole pot in the pot cozy to sit. 20 minutes later I have a rehydrated steaming hot dinner.
For lunch salads, I pour boiling water in the bag of ingredients in the morning. Double bag, and let it sit in the top of my pack until lunchtime.