Dehydration is a process of slowly heating foods at a low temperature so as not to destroy all the enzymes or nutrients. In his book "Living Foods for Optimum Health" Brian Clement says that dehydration is a good bridge between cooked and raw foods, this explains why dehydrating is used as one of the preparation methods for Living Foods. Dehydration has been used for food preparation by our ancestors for thousands of years. The most basic form of dehydrating is still in use today, it is simply using the sun and air as drying mechanisms to store and preserve our foods.
Most of us are familiar with a dehydrator, a machine used to electrically dry foods for long terms storage and later use. The difference between ordinary dehydration with a dehydrator and dehydrating in Living Foods preparation is that the temperature setting of the dehydrator is always kept below 118 degrees, between 110 - 115 degrees being ideal. As has been explained in this series of articles on living foods, research has shown that anything heated above 115 degrees starts to loose its life force (the enzymes); food items that are heated above 118 degrees are considered dead foods, with no enzymatic value. Some minerals value and some vitamins may still survive but the life force of the food would be lost.
In the "Living Foods Lifestyle" dehydration is used to dehydrate fruits, vegetables, herbs and tubers. As in regular dehydration, it one of the methods used to make crackers, candy, cakes, pies, pizzas and all sorts of different food snacks without the use of chemical preservatives.
Dehydration is easier, faster and less time-consuming than canning or freezing. Less equipment is needed to dehydrate and as with canning and freezing dehydrated foods can be used for storing, camping and for traveling. Dehydration concentrates the enzymes, natural flavors, sweetness and aroma of the food and produces healthy, great tasting snacks all year around for you and your family.
Once the food item has been dehydrated for the required time, one only has to store the item in zip-lock bags or storage containers. Adding a dehydrator to your "Living" Foods Kitchen can add a new dimension and taste experience to your prepared foods. It is so easy even your children can be involved in the preparation.
One way to get the most out of a dehydrator is to buy your foods in bulk from your local Farmer's Market then dehydrate any left over fruits and vegetables before they begin to spoil or cut off the spoiled part and dehydrate the rest for later use. You can purchase a dehydrator from a retailer or on the web. Two sources to look into are: www.drying123.com and www.discountjuicer.com.
When choosing a dehydrator the most important factor to take into consideration is whether it has a thermostat so that the temperature can be controlled by you.
Judith and Carlysle have been personally trained as Living Foods Lifestyle Educators by the re-known Dr. Ann Wigmore whose Living/ Raw Foods and Wheatgrass Therapies are used as healing modalities in such well known healing centers as Optimum in San Diego, CA., Hippocrates in West palm Beach, FL., Ann Wigmore Inst. in Aguada, PR. Through their company “In Harmony,” they facilitate workshops and classes on Living Foods Nutrition at the Napa Valley Adult School in Napa, CA. . They also offer wellness programs including "CLENZ" (Internal Cleansing and Detoxification) and a Back To Health /Weight Release program at the 3 Hearts Healing Institute in Sonoma, CA. and The Creative Wellbeing Salon in Alameda, California. Carlysle is the assistant of Dr. John Neiters L.Ac an Acupuncturist in Alameda, CA. He is looking forward to obtaining his Acupuncturist license in the Fall of 2007. Together they have authored the book Healthy "Living" Kitchens (Subtitled: Transforming Your Kitchen into a Health maintenance Center). For more information or to place an order go to:
www.livinginharmony.net
Email: judicarl@abalancedlifemag.com or phone 510 579-7104