DIY Dehydrating

Ok, so it's taken me a while to get into the mindset of yummy, whole food eating again. I don't think I was doing too bad, but I just couldn't cut the bread and there were a few events where cupcakes were a must, me, mainly making them, and having to taste test at every possible moment....I was just loving all that sugar, meanwhile my ass wasn't!

So my husband does a big food shop and brought home some goodies. The two things I had my eye on was the HUUUUGE watermelon and the Super Raw Carrot Cake Cookies.

OOOOO!!

I was pretty impressed with my husbands efforts, especially as the price had me almost chocking on my cup of green tea!! Anyway, I opened them up and devoured a serving!! Well Done Husband!!

It took me a few days to get through the bag, it wasn't like the normal bag of crisps or cookies, which would leave me wanting more. A few from the bag was enough and satisfied me! YAY

But I couldn't get past the price, and reckoned I could recreate this, especially as the ingredients were 5 simple things, all of which were stocked in my cupboard/fridge! So off I went into the kitchen to mix something up! 

Here is what I did-

1 Cup Shredded coconut

1 Cup Sesame seeds (I did not sprout these)

1 Medium Carrot- peeled and grated

20 Dates (I used Khalas, these are smaller then Medjool)

Nutmeg

Cover the dates at room temperature water for 5 minutes ( I find them easier to pit and blend if soaked) meanwhile, peel and grate the carrot then measure out the coconut and sesame seeds into a bowl and mix together.

Pit the dates and add to a food processor and blend until the dates loosen up a bit and are chopped (they will probably clump together and roll into a bowl- thats fine) add the carrot until mixed well. I used real nutmeg so cracked open the shell and grated the seed part into my mix, I used about half the seed (but I looove Nutmeg) I then poured in bit by bit the mixed coconut and sesame seed, and used until I thought I had reached the correct consistency.* 

It looked like this!
 I was very impressed at how alike they tasted to the shop bought one!! :) Go me...

I rolled the mix into balls,  flattened and placed on a baking tray.

Ready for the Dehydrating process to start!

I used half the mix to dehydrate and the rest I rolled into balls and put them in the fridge (they weren't there long..) 

I've never dehydrated before, I have read in the past that you can use your oven for this purpose although most serious dehydratists (is that even a word?) buy a Dehydrator. 

So why Dehydrate? And What is it? Well its a process that involves 'dehydrating' a food instead of 'cooking," in order to retain all of its beautiful enzymes that cooking kills.  So after doing a bit of research, it seems the temperature for dehydrating is about 105 Degrees Fahrenheit.

I'm currently using my oven, on the lowest setting and using a thermometer in the oven to help keep on track. I seem to be fluctuating between 100 and 120 degrees fahrenheit, and it seems the more air flow you have the better. I dont have a fan assisted oven, so have left the door open a few times to see if that helps...it's a bit of an experiment as it is the first time I've ever done this, they are still in the oven after being in there for 10 hours already!! YES thats right, I forgot to mention that Dehydrating is a lengthy process!! I'll let you know how it goes!!

xx

*Note -I measured what I had left of the coconut and sesame mix and had just under a cup, so the measurement above is a little wrong (remember approximation girl here!!)  I think I would try half a cup of each plus a little extra next time!