The Importance of a Food Dehydrator When You Have Kids at Home

The food dehydrator is a home appliance not a lot of people take advantage of. Some people think it’s really not important as stoves and microwave ovens, while some just don’t see the advantages of having one at all.

I’ve had my food dehydrator for three years now, and let me tell you that it’s one of the best investments I’ve ever made. It’s the kind of thing that you can’t really appreciate before you actually get to use it, which is why I encourage people to try having one – if you want to make your life easier, that is.

The best thing about having a food dehydrator is that it serves different purposes depending on your needs. If you want to live a healthier lifestyle for instance or if you are into crafts; a food dehydrator would serve the needs of both even though they don’t have any connection to each other.

Being a mother is not easy, I remember a quote that said “If evolution really works, why do mothers only have two hands?”

If there’s a super power every mom needs, it’s to be able to split herself in two or three. I mean, we have so much to do that deciding on which one to do first can be overwhelming.

In comes the food dehydrator. This simple machine will definitely make the lives of moms easier especially when it comes to their kids’ diet.

With all the junk foods that are being manufactured today, it’s difficult to feed your child healthy choices. This, however, is very easy when you have a food dehydrator.

We all know how much kids love sweet treats. Sometimes, it’s all they ever eat and it can be very dangerous to their health. With a dehydrator, you can easily make healthy sweet treats. That’s right, there’s such a thing called “healthy sweets”.

One of the easiest to ways to make sweet treats is to make fruit chips. Thinly sliced whatever fruits you fancy, though apples, bananas, pineapple and pear works best for my kids. I suggest spraying non-citrus fruits with a lemon-water solution (which is one part pure lemon juice and three parts water mixed together in a spray bottle) so their color don’t get dark.

Just place the fruit slices into the dehydrator tray (make sure that they don’t overlap) and then set the machine according to the manual’s direction.

Remember that fruits get sweeter when they’re dried of their water content through dehydration, so there’s no need to add any kind of sweetener.

You can also make yummy fruit leathers. These are obviously, made from fruits. If your kids don’t like eating fruits, making fruit leathers is an excellent way of making them eat without letting them know.

Fruit leathers are pureed fruits cooked in a food dehydrator. There are a lot of recipes online and I suggest you check them out.
One of the most fun and healthiest activities you can do with your child is hiking. This activity allows your child to work out (without the Kinect, for a change) and appreciate nature. Hiking is actually more than a stroll in the woods; it also has tremendous benefits for one’s heart, weight and blood circulation.

Of course, there are two things you need while hiking: water and food. Since you’ll be walking for hours, bringing loads of heavy foods is out of the question. Remember that a dehydrator takes the water out of foods, thereby preserving them and making them lighter. This is why beef jerky, which is just one of the many foods you can make with a dehydrator, is a favorite among campers and hikers. And remember the fruits chips and fruit leathers mentioned above? The glucose found within these foods is an excellent source of energy for that long walk.

Also, have you noticed that there are just too much left-over when your child eats? I mean, they can’t really eat a full serving yet, and throwing half an apple is a big waste. This is how a food dehydrator will help you save money when you have kids. Cut half of say, an apple, and give one to your child. Keep the other half in the fridge. If he asks for it, go give it to him. If not, just keep until you have enough (or until before they go bad) and then dehydrate them. If you have too much of these treats, pack them in attractive bags and them give them as gifts or better yet, sell them. You haven’t really spent a lot in “investments” so selling them cheaply shouldn’t be a problem.

The foods you can create with a dehydrator are also great for taking with you when you go out on trips. I don’t know about you but food (aside from toys) is the only thing that can keep my kids from being bored on a trip. So what I do is I prepare a lot of different kinds of food using my trusty dehydrator and then I keep them in Ziplocks. I take out one kind of food at a time so I still have more when they ask again.

These are just some of the advantages of having a food dehydrator at home. There’s a lot more and I’m sure a lot of parents would agree with me when I say that buying a food dehydrator is one of the best investments one could ever make.

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