A few weeks ago, Tommy and I purchased a dehydrator on a whim. We had been talking about getting one since the summer, and we found a good deal and snagged this bad boy for under $65.
Being a huge fan of jerky and dried fruit, I was excited to try it out. Since we are trying to follow paleo, I also figured that the dehydrator would be lots of help in the snack department, as well. This weekend I became best friends with the dehydrator. I kept it simple for my first experiment and did something that I figured would be impossible to mess up, dried apple slices. Dried apples are one of my favorite dried fruits (Munchkin’s too!). I was pleasantly surprised to see how simple it was to make a batch, for considerably less than I’d pay at the supermarket for a bag, and without added sugars.
I only had five apples in the house, but decided to go for it anyway. I peeled the apples as thinly as possible, cored them and chopped into uniform slices, about an 1/8 of an inch thick. I need to buy a mandolin to make this process easier! I also searched for this kind of corer for a while before finding it at TJ Maxx.
I laid the slices in the dehydrator and set it for 140 degrees. Four hours later…
I had my first batch of yummy dried apple chips! They turned out perfect and I cannot wait to make another batch today since my parents brought me 19 lbs of apples from PA last night.
Also, if you do not have a dehydrator, you can achieve a similar result from your oven. Just set it as low as it will go and place the apple slices on a wire rack so that the hot air can circulate. The only problem with using the oven, is that they usually don’t go low enough (mine only goes to 200), but experiment and see what you can do!
What’s your favorite healthy snack? What kind of dried fruit do you like?
Yum. I have a Top Chips kit. I’ve made apple and sweet potato chips with it 🙂
Kierston recently posted..Little Things Monday #4: Finding Happiness in the Little Things!
Oh! I want to try making Sweet Potato Chips!
Those apple chips look yummy! 🙂 I bet bananas would taste good too.
Hope @ With A Side Of Hope recently posted..A Coupon Filled Weekend!!…
Bananas are going to be my next project along with pineapple!
Your apple chips look great. I had a dehydrator years ago but it was one of those ones with flat rackes and they got very messy and hard to clean – would love to make jerky.
Elle recently posted..Curried Coconut Butternut Squash and Carrot Soup
We made jerky, but overcooked it. 🙁 We are trying again this weekend though!
I got a dehydrator for CHristmas and cannot wait to use it! I’ll need to try this out. They look delicious!
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It is a great toy!
Great idea! I’m trying to find Paleo friendly snacks – May try the oven version – how long do you think to cook ’em? Still 4 hours?
lynne @ lgsmash recently posted..Fitness: Zooma Half Marathon Training…Fail
It depends on how low the oven can go. I checked on the apples constantly in the dehydrator, so I\’d say do the same and when you reach your ideal dryness, pull em out. Good luck!