I borrowed a relative's dehydrator to give it a shot and we loved it!! Problem was the one we borrowed was like a $300 machine. I did some research and ended up buying a more economical dehydrator off of Amazon.
Here's the "real thing" sitting on my counter.
It had good reviews, and was super nice on the wallet. Shoot, I figured if we ended up using it a lot we could always spring for a nicer one. Because I'm buying this so save money!
I began dehydrating immediately. With Just Tomatoes fruits ranging from $6-$9 per bag, we recouped our initial investment in the first TWO times I used it (maybe even FIRST time).
Best part: McKenna is a fan!! They aren't exact same as the "freeze dried" fruits, so they are a little firmer and stiffer. I'm not sure I would have started with them as snacks from the get go. But so far we have tried out Apples, Pears, Bananas, Pineapples, Kiwis, Blueberries, Peaches... Im sure I have forgotten something!
So far banana is McKenna's absolute favorite!
So much so that whenever she sees the dehydrator machine she says NaNa!
I often forget to overcompensate how much to put in it bc we "test" (read: snack) on half of it before it's all done. I guess I'll need to buy a few more screens so we can do even more at once!
The manual that comes with the machine outlines pretty much everything you need to know, including approx dehydrating times, etc.
The one thing that hasn't really worked for us so far was Spinach. I'm not sure how I anticipated it coming out, but it just kinda disintegrated as McKenna attempted to bite it! Needless to say it was a nightmare and it ended up in the trash.
It has been fun testing out all of the varieties of fruits, and we haven't even scratched the surface. I can't wait to try veggies, and Kevin is excited to try for Beef Jerky!
As far as the machine, it is more than sufficient for our use. I'm not sure what type of features other ones offer to be so expensive! I'm not super versed in dehydrators, but food has to be dehydrated at a certain temperature, so it's not they they could shorten dehydrating time by much! Here's a link to the one we have on Amazon:
Nesco FD-80A Square-Shaped Dehydrator
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0090WOCM6/ref=cm_sw_r_awd_u3FAvb0JS18ZT
We are extremely happy with ours. I don't see us purchasing another one until this one goes caput. I definitely encourage anyone and everyone that wants hassle free snacks on the go to give dehydrated foods a shot!
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