by Amy Hiller – Healing Diet Coach graduate

Working with a dehydrator is a fun and effective way to create delicious and nutritious foods that have complex flavours and textures, without the need to cook. By keeping temperatures below 46°C, living foods and their nutrients are not damaged by heat and remain rich in digestive enzymes. Unlike an oven, the dehydrator is very forgiving and timings are generally approximate. You are invited to use these recipes as starting points, so feel very free to make substitutions as you like. Use the processes as inspiration to come up with your own recipes. 

Zesty Granola

This Granola recipe is full of flavour. You can play around with the ingredients and add your favourite nuts and seeds or try different spices. It’s great as a snack, a crumble topping or, of course, a yummy breakfast.

Ingredients

Method

1. Prepare 4 dehydrator trays, two with non-stick sheets and two without.
2. Make the flax egg by combining the ground flax seeds and 5 tablespoons of water. Let it sit for 5 minutes until the mixture becomes gloopy.
3. Combine all of the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl and stir.
4. Add the flax egg and all wet ingredients, except the coconut oil to a blender and blend until smooth.
5. Add the coconut oil to the mixture and blend for a few seconds to combine.
6. Pour the mixture from the blender into the mixing bowl and stir well with a spoon until all dry ingredients are coated with the wet mixture.
7. Divide the mixture across two dehydrator trays with non-stick sheets. Spread the mixture out and use a spoon to gently create small clumps
8. Dehydrate at 115°F/46°C for around 24 hours. Around halfway through, carefully remove the dehydrator sheet and  turn all of the pieces over.
9. To prepare the dried apples to mix in, remove the apple cores and thinly slice. Try to get all the slices roughly the same thickness. If you like, you can squeeze a little lemon juice over the apple before dehydrating for added flavour and to preserve their colour.
10. Lay the apple slices out across two dehydrator trays and dehydrate. This should take around 12 hours. Flip all the slices over halfway through dehydrating. 
11. To test if the granola is ready, take a piece out and let it cool for 5 minutes, then taste. It’s done when it’s nice and crunchy. The same goes for the apple slices. When ready, they should snap in half.
12. When ready, add the apple slices to the granola mixture and store in an airtight container at room temperature.

Enjoy this granola with homemade plant milk, as a snack or sprinkled over fruit for a lovely dessert.

Spiced Beetroot and Carrot Crackers

Crackers are one of the easiest and most versatile things you can make in a dehydrator. If the basic mixture tastes good, the chances are the cracker will taste great. Making raw crackers is a great way to use up juice and plant milk pulps. They can be sweet, savoury or somewhere in between. Start with some fruits and/or vegetables, combine with nuts and/or seeds and add a little seasoning. Spread on a dehydrator sheet and dry until crunchy!

Method

1. Prepare two dehydrator trays with non-stick sheets.
2. Combine the flax seeds and 2.5 tablespoons of water. Mix and set aside until the mixture becomes gloopy.
3. Add all ingredients except water, flax seeds and sesame seeds to a blender and blend until you have a hummus-like consistency.
4. Add a little water to help things blend. The amount you need will depend on your blender. You shouldn’t need more than 1/4 cup.
5. Transfer the mixture to a bowl and stir in the flax seeds, black and white sesame seeds.
6. Let the mixture sit for about 10 minutes.
7. Now it’s time to spread the mixture onto the non-stick sheets. You’ll need either a palette knife, a spatula or a regular knife and a jar of water deep enough so that the water coats your knife or spatula when you dip it into it.
8. Divide the cracker mixture across the two trays and begin to spread it out using your knife or spatula. You’ll need to keep wetting this. It can take several minutes to get the mixture spread out evenly. You want it only a few mm thick and even all over. If holes appear in the mixture, just fill them in. It’s a bit like plastering a wall. Keep dipping in the water and spreading the mixture. 
9. Straighten the edges and when you have nice even smooth layers on both trays, sprinkle some extra sesame and flax seeds on top. Gently press them down into the mixture with your hand.
10. Put the trays in the dehydrator at 115°F/46°C. The crackers may take up to 24 hrs to become completely crunchy, but after around 2 hours, remove the trays and score vertical and horizontal lines into the mixture to create square cracker shapes. They can be however big you want them to be.
11. Once the crackers have been in for at least 4 hours or longer, they’ll need to be flipped over The easiest way to do this is to take a tray of crackers, place another tray face

Cheesy Courgette Chips

This is great way to use up courgettes. If you grow your own, you’ll know that when they’re in season, they are often in abundance. This recipe gives you all the satisfaction of a cheesy crisp without any baking, frying or oil.

Method

1. Prepare 4 dehydrator trays (might need 5) with non-stick sheets
2. Slice the courgettes as thinly as possibly. Try to get all the slices the same thickness. Put them in a bowl.
3. Drain and rinse the cashews.
4. Add all ingredients except the courgette and water to a blender. Blend until you have a smooth and creamy mixture. You’ll need to add a little water to achieve this. Add a few spoonfuls at a time.
5. Pour the mixture over the courgettes and very gently, using your hands, cover every slice with he mixture on both sides. 
6. Lay the slices out across the non-stick sheets so that none are overlapping. 
7. Dehydrate for up to 24hrs at 115°F/46°C. You’ll need to flip over every slice of courgette once the top layer is dry to the touch. You should be able to do this after about 4 hours. Around halfway through the total dehydrating time, or once everything feels dry on both sides, remove the non-stick sheets so more air can flow and the courgette can dry properly.
8. To test for readiness, remove a chip, let it cool completely and then snap and taste. The cashew coating should be completely dry and a little crunchy. Very thin slices should snap in half, but you may have some chips that will remain a little chewy in the middle. Courgettes are high in a type of fibre called pectin which makes things gummy or chewy.
9. Once ready, let the chips dry completely and store in an airtight container.

Enjoy your chips as a delicious snack, crumbled over raw “courgetti spaghetti” or sprinkled over salads.