With today’s recession looming ever longer and no real end in sight, family’s food budgets are stretched to the max. We are all looking for cheaper sources for healthy food. The problem is, cheap and healthy are two goals that just do not seem to fit together in the marketplace, until now…enter stage right…the food dehydrator. Food dehydration has been around in one form or another for centuries. Due to the world wide economic meltdown food dehydrators are once again gaining popularity. The reasons vary from economics to a family friendly activity.

Let’s say that for one reason or another you have come across a large amount of fruits or veggies. Maybe you have an overabundance from your backyard garden or a local farmer is offering a great deal for u-pick produce. Either way, you find yourself with way too much of a spoilable commodity. For a small, one time investment in a kitchen food dehydrator you can take all of this produce, dehydrate and store it indefinitely for a fraction of the cost of freezing. According to experts from Brigham Young University’s Department of Nutrition, Dietetics and Food Science, food that is dehydrated and stored properly can last up to 30 years.

A Dehydrator can do all of this while at the same time maintaining virtually all of the nutrient and fiber value. Your kitchen dehydrator will do this by removing 75% of the moisture from the produce. Freezing is an option but as you may know, not all produce freezes efficiently. Freezing these same fruits or veggies may be wrought with problems such as…sure you can freeze it but will it be edible when thawed? With food dehydration, anything is a possible candidate and most dehydrator enthusiasts will agree that once eaten the dehydrated foods literally explode with vibrant flavor in your mouth.

Once again, economic times have forced families to find alternative activities and entertainment. Theme parks and vacations have taken a back seat to family nights and "stay"cations. Parents are actively seeking fun, entertaining and educational activities to stay connected to their kids and hopefully teach them something in between. What better way to keep your kids engaged and interested in the world around them than to teach them how they can use the food dehydrator to make great tasting fruit leather rolls. Or also, how they can make their own dehydrated snack foods for that big family hike on the weekends. Your food dehydrator can become a valuable tool for bringing families together using a fun, safe and educational teaching tool.

Whether you are using it as an economic way to stretch the tightening food budget or as a way to make lasting family memories your food dehydrator may just be the wisest investment you will ever make.

Stay tuned for future articles where we will talk about how to choose just the right food dehydrator for you and your family's needs. From box units to cylindrical column machines we will sort through and make sense of all the choices. In more upcoming articles we will also discuss the benefits, controversies and uses of health and wellness kitchen machines such as juicers, yogurt makers, blenders and even ice cream makers.