"Instant" Guacamole

I had a reader ask me about drying avocados and guacamole. She had me stumped - not only had I not tried it, I couldn't find anything on anyone else having done it online. So I figured...at most I would be out $4-5 to see if it could be done. So can it? YES!!!!

To help with the preservation I did cheat a bit and used Concord Food's guacamole mix that I found in the produce department. Due to avocado's fat content a little salt in the dish is helpful. The only issue I had was that I bought 2 Hass avocados that are a bit smaller than the package of mix called for. Oh well! Next time I will know to either buy 3-4 Hass's or 2 large of the other avocados.

"Instant" Guacamole:

1 package guacamole mixspan
2 large avocados

Cut your avocados in half down lengthwise. Take a chefs knife and whack it gently into the pit. Twist your knife and the pit will pop out. Meanwhile take a spoon and go under the lip of the peel all around. The avocado meat will pop out for you. Discard pit and peels.

Put the avocado meat into a glass bowl and mash up with a potato masher or fork with the dry mix.

On parchment lined dehydrator trays take 1/4 cup servings and spread each serving thin with a spatula on its own section of paper.

I dried it 135* for 7 hours. At 4 hours in I flipped the parchment paper over so the other side would get heat. At 5 hours I came back and peeled the paper off. This allowed the back side to get free air movement.

When dry I let it cool to room temperature then ran each section through my mini grinder to powder it. I then packed it into snack size bags and marked it. Each 1/4 cup of fresh became about 2 Tbsp dry mix. To rehydrate add 2 Tbsp cold water, seal bag and kneed gently. Let sit for 15-20 minutes. You may need to add a bit more water to your texture preference.

Dried mix on left, bag being rehydrated on right.

Due to the natural fat you would want to store it in your freezer and use up in 3 months or so. I would not recommend carrying the dried guacamole for extended periods in hot weather due to said fat - it could go off. Otherwise it works great and tastes fabulous when done!

PS: If you use a recipe for homemade, be sure it contains lemon juice to prevent browning. Once you cut the avocado do not stop or wander off until it is all mixed. Avocado browns fast if you do not treat it!

Beans, Legumes and Peas

Canned Beans:

Having nearly instant beans allows you to eat better meals on the trail, get much needed protein and if you eat vegetarian or vegan have more choices. While you can get a good choice of commercially cooked and dried beans from Harmony House Foods there are varieties you won't find there. It also allows you to use the many varieties of organic beans on the market.

The basic directions start either with freshly cooked dried beans or canned beans. In either case, drain well. Spread on either fine mesh lined or parchment paper lined dehydrator trays. Have the beans in a single layer.

Black beans, one 15 ounce can worth.

White Kidney Beans (Cannellini Beans), one 15 ounce can worth.

Dry at 135° till dry. The beans may split open, this is normal though. You can dry them at a lower temperature as well, this seems to help with splitting. When dry the beans will be dry all the way through. You can test them by breaking a bean in half with your fingernails or a knife and making sure it is dry inside. Once dry, let cool then package up in freezer bags for storage.

On average your dried beans will be about half the size of their fresh counterpart. A 15 ounce can of beans dehydrated weighs in at 2 1/2 - 3 ounces on average.

Rehydration ratio is 1:1 of beans to boiling water. 1-2 Tbsp of dried beans works well for adding to a 1 person meal. Beans work well in rice, couscous, Quinoa and pasta dishes. Not only do you get healthier meals but you can do it for little cost and the beans have a great shelf life of at least a year.

A tray of of canned black beans. I used lower sodium beans well drained and rinsed, then spread on a fruit roll lined tray.

A tray of canned black eyed peas, rinsed and drained. They are on parchment paper.

Dehydrated Trail Cake

Drying Fresh Herbs

If you have herb plants growing, now is the time to get some drying done before fall kicks in! You can easily add your dried herbs to many backpacking meals for late summer and fall.

Harvesting is good for your herb plants as well. It promotes growth and allows you to shape your plant as well.

There are a couple ways to dry your herbs. If you have a food dehydrator, herbs are one of the few things where temperature control is important, so if your dehydrator is a one temperature model, use the air drying method instead.

NOTE: Lavender dries best by air method.

 

For either method:

Cut your herbs early in the day just after the dew has evaporated but the hot sun has not hit them yet, taking nice sections of stem and leaves. Gently rinse off and shake dry, or pat gently with a paper towel. Take out any dry or bug eaten leaves. Check over the sections, and only use the prime parts.

Dehydrator method:

Dry herbs by themselves. Do not dry with other items, as herbs have lower moisture.

Break into manageable sections and lay on lined trays (either the mesh screens or parchment paper).

Put dryer on at no higher than 100* till dry. You can test by breaking a leaf, and making sure it is fully dry. Stems should be brittle and snap. You can also test by powdering a leaf.

Air Dry Method:

What you will need:
Twine & Paper lunch sacks.

Pick your herbs, making sure you take a good amount of stem. Take a couple bunches, tie with twine as if making a bouquet around the stem. Put the bouquet upside down into a paper sack and tie a bit more twine around the neck of the bag, having long ends on the twine. Use the ends to tie the bags to whatever is handy so the bag can hang. You want the bags to hang somewhere breezy and away from water and humidity. The drying will take 1-2 weeks or so. The paper bag protects from light, insects and dust. In warm areas with low humidity, you can use cheesecloth instead, just keep out of direct light.

Storage:

Take the leaves off the stems carefully. Store whole in jars or ziploc bags out of direct light. Try to use in 6 months or so - perfect for late summer harvest, by the time you run out, spring is here! Mark each item so you know what it is.

Crumble up the leaves as you go to use them. 1 tsp of dried crushed leaves is equal to 1 Tbsp fresh.

What dries well?

My favorites are Thyme, Sage, Rosemary and Chamomile flowers. I have 3 types each of Rosemary, Sage and Thyme growing in my garden this year. Lavender is at 4 types. I love herbs and am always adding to my garden. This year I was able to get a new Curry plant as well, and am hoping to have time to dry some of it as well.

Fruit

Dry at 135° for 3-12 hours on average. Time depends on how thin the fruit is sliced. You are looking for pliable but not damp, wet or overly sticky. On some fruits and berries, you will want to do a dip in lemon juice (mixed with water). This will prevent browning of the fruit. If the fruit browns after being cut, dip it. Rehydration is equal amounts water to product.

Rhubarb Leather:

Rhubarb is a perfect 'lazy' plant. Once it is established you can pretty much do nothing for it and it will come back every year. Spring is its time to shine - once it gets hot it goes to seed. Our cold spring (has winter ended? hah!) has been producing a great crop. I was out weeding and was thinking of ideas for using up the ample harvest. I hadn't tried rhubarb leather so I thought...why not?

For harvesting the rhubarb, all you need to do is snap the stalks at the base or tug lightly - they will pop right off.  For most people they will never see Rhubarb with leaves on - the leaf part is poisonous, so promptly go over to your yard waste bin and snap off the leaf part.

I rinsed the Rhubarb well and let drip dry. Weighing it out I had about 2 lbs of trimmed stalks. I cut it up into small chunks (about 6-7 or so cups in volume). I placed the Rhubarb into a non-reactive large saucepan with 2 cups water and 1 cinnamon stick. Covered I brought it to a boil, then turned down to medium low heat and simmered for 15 minutes. At that point I took the lid off and cooked for another 30 or so minutes. This helps cook the water off so you have a thick applesauce like texture. For my personal taste I added in 1 cup white sugar and let simmer a bit more. Depending on how tart you like it, start with 1/2 cup sugar and add to taste. The Rhubarb will have fallen into thin shreds with no lumps.

I lined the dehydrator trays with parchment paper (I used a rectangle shaped L'EQUIP dryer). Each tray was two servings. I poured 1/3 cup sauce onto each section. They were dried at 135° for about 9 hours. In the last couple hours once they were tacky (not wet) I flipped them over to get better exposure to the heat.

Once dry (no wet spots, still soft in texture but dry) I let cool at room temperature. A couple hours later I came back and peeled the parchment paper off.

To make fruit rolls cut a piece of plastic wrap a bit bigger, lay the leather on it then lay the extra plastic over the edge then start rolling up like a cigar. This way the leather is touching plastic wrap and won't stick.

To preserve the shelf life store them in the refrigerator. Not that they will last long! They are delicious!

Hamburger and Canned Meat

For tips on drying meat safely, see this article on the USDA website.

Ground Hamburger:

Dry at 155°

This is a very easy one to do. Buy the leanest hamburger you can get. Cook it 100% done, breaking it up as much as you can , you want it tiny. When done, pour off as much grease as you can. Then rinse the meat in a strainer with hot water. Drain well, blotting with paper towels. At this point put it on your dehydrator and dry till rock hard. Figure 3-6 hours. Stir every 30 minutes or so.

You want to make sure there is no moisture left. Store in freezer bags.  Store this in your freezer till you go backpacking. In camp add equal amounts of boiling water (or cover) and let sit 10 minutes or so, then add to your meals. You can also add the meat directly to your meal-adding the water for the meat at that time. How much will you need? Figure 8 ounces of hamburger per meal before you dehydrate is a good start. This will be around 1/2 cup dried. That will work well for two people, for one person, 1/4 cup is a good amount of dried hamburger.

A Pictorial How-To:

This is about 3 1/2 lbs of hamburger being cooked in a large skillet.

Fully cooked, drained and rinsed, on a lined tray.

3 1/2 lbs of hamburger fully dried, and ready to be stored in the freezer till needed for trips.

Canned Meats:

A lot of people don't realize that you can dehydrate canned chicken easily-and it comes back to life simply. While pop-top cans and the newer pouched versions of canned chicken are convenient, and easy to get (and affordable if bought at Target or Walmart), it can be heavy to carry, and you also have to hump out empty cans/bags. Which tend to have a strong smell. And not everyone wants to use the broth in the cans, draining it in the backcountry is not a good choice in bear country.

And you can also use the same way to dry canned turkey, tuna, or ham...which usually do not have pop top lids. You can also find lower sodium versions sometimes, and this is a great way to watch salt if you need to.

I use one dehydrator tray per can. Since there is usally two of us per meal, I use the 10 ounce size cans (or use a 7 ounce pouch). If doing for one person, you could use 5 ounce cans, or just split the 10 ounce can up after drying. I prefer to line my trays with parchment paper (or use fine mesh screens if you have them).
Open the cans, and drain well. Put on prepared trays. Using clean hands, smush up the meat, till it has no big chunks. This will will help with the drying and with rehydrating.
Spread each can evenly over one tray. Dry at 155° till dry. Expect 4-8 hours, this will vary by the temp/humidity in your house.

When dry, store in freezer bags, in your freezer till trip time. This helps the meat stay fresh. Since canned meat has some fat left in it(though if you buy chicken breast versions it is usually 99% fat free), you do have some chance of it going rancid if stored in less than optimal conditions (ie. in a hot kitchen, in summer).

As a note, canned meats work in drying as they are essentially pressure cooked. Boiling chicken at home and drying it will sadly give you chicken jerky. Though if you pressure cook chicken, it will work usually. Canned meats though tend to be safer overall.

"Burger" crumbles:

No cooking involved and in a couple short hours you have a bag of ready to use "hamburger" that is vegetarian friendly and great for carrying in a food sack on longer trips due to their low fat content. The crumbles are a great source of protein as well.

Go to the frozen foods section of a well stocked grocery store and look for the section of veggie burgers. Here you will find "burger" crumbles in 12 ounce bags. The bag is equivalent to one pound of uncooked hamburger.

A well known brand:

Spread on lined trays. A bag takes two trays up. Set on 135° and check back in 2 hours to stir and break up any big pieces. The crumbles will dry fast so keep an eye on them - they take only a couple hours.

The crumbles are dry when you rub a piece between your fingers and it is dry all the way through. Like actual hamburger, the crumbles will darken considerably as they dry. Don't worry about that! Once dry, let cool down and then package into a tightly sealed bag or canister. For best long term storage, store in your freezer till trip time.

Serving size: to add a bit of protein and make meals more filling add in 1-2 Tbsp per person. Rehydration ratio is 1:1 product to water.

Pasta & Grains

Pasta:

Dry at 135* for 8-12 hours till brittle hard. Smaller types of pasta dry fastest and recook in bags at a faster rate. Rehydration is equal amounts of water to pasta. As a tip, under cook your pasta by one to two minutes, as it will finish cooking while being rehydrated. In camp use boiling water, and let sit in a cozy for 5-15 minutes.

Drying 1 serving of pasta (4 ounces before cooking):	1 6 oz box of Mac & Cheese pasta:

Rice:

Commercial instant rice is easy to use, cheap and can be found almost everywhere. So what does it lack though?

Simply a deep taste and as well the texture that good quality rice has. Sadly with commercial instant rice you do have a major trade off. In burritos or used in soups on the trail it isn't so noticeable. But if your rice is the focal point it can come up very lacking.

Drying your own rice can open up a vast array of choice from Jasmine, sticky rices, brown, black, red and even wild rice. If you can buy the rice at the store you can dry it up! Considering you can find only white and a not-so-great brown rice in the majority of grocery stores, this allows you to have many more gourmet meals - and it only takes an hour or so total of your time to do it.

In most cases you will want to double whatever is the "serving size" on the rice package. That is often 1/4 cup dry rice. Figure 1/2 cup per serving of uncooked rice for trail appetites.

Cook your rice how you prefer making sure you don't add in oil or fat. For white rices I often bring 3 cups water to a boil and add in 1 1/2 cups rinsed rice, bring it back to a boil, stir well and put the lid on. Turn it down to low and let it simmer gently for 20 minutes. When done fluff the rice up well.

A great way to make brown rice was featured on Alton Brown's Good Eats show. Just leave out the fat (and it doesn't need all that salt either!)

Spread the cooked rice on prepared dehydrator trays - if you have fine mesh screen use them, if not line your trays with parchment paper. 1 1/2 cups uncooked rice takes up about 2 trays when cooked. Dry at 135-145*.

If you are drying using your kitchen oven spread the rice on cookie trays and set the oven to it's lowest setting. Put the trays in the oven and prop the door open a tiny bit with a wooden spoon.

Either way, check on your rice every hour and stir it breaking up any clumps. As the rice gets dry it will become very easy to get single grains.

The time depends on the humidity and if your dehydrator has a fan to help move off the moisture. Expect to take 4-12 hours (this isn't an exact science!)

Jasmine rice:

Once the rice is brittle dry (no flexibility) turn off the dehydrator and let the rice cool to room temperature. Pack in freezer bags in serving sizes.  While you can leave your rice in bulk storage, by splitting it up you will have ready to go bags. I ended with 3 bags of 3/4 cup cooked and dehydrated rice each. (This was based on 1/2 cup uncooked rice per serving)

For rehydrating use a ratio of 1:1. For 1 serving from above add 3/4 cup boiling water to the 3/4 cup dried rice. Stir well and put in a cozy for 15 minutes. Serve as usual!

The texture of the rice tastes almost the same as when it came out of the pan. Try drying your own and you most likely will never go back to using commercial instant rice.

 

Bamboo Rice:

Bamboo rice is an incredibly pretty rice. It is a sticky (glutinous) rice that is infused with bamboo juice leaving it vivid green. When cooked it has an herbal smell and flavor. In sushi it is awesome. It supposedly has quite the boost of B vitamins as well.

I prepared a double batch of rice - 3 cups water brought to a boil, adding in 1 1/2 cups rice. Bring back to a boil, stirring, cover and drop heat to low. Let cook for 15 minutes. Take the lid off and scoop out the rice, fluffing it up. the 2 cups raw rice will produce about 6 cups cooked.

I spread about 2 cups cooked rice on each mesh lined dehydrator tray. The rice was dryed at 135* for about 5 hours. Humidity may affect that - so start checking at 3 hours. Break up clumps as well.

When dry it produced 3 cups rice. To rehydrate use a 1:1 ratio of water to rice. A 1/2 cup serving would work well with other items.

 

Quinoa:

Slowly gaining a following here in the US is Quinoa, a seed that is native to South America. Some of its highlights? It is a complete protein, high in fiber and calories. It is gluten free and cooks up relatively fast.

We get asked a lot on how to make the grain Quinoa more trail friendly. While it is a very fast cooking grain (10-20 minutes) it usually requires rinsing and draining it well before you cook it on trail, as the seeds have a bitter natural coating that must be rinsed away.

If you haven't seen it look near the rice section in grocery stores. It can be used in place of rice or couscous in many dishes.

A standard serving is 1/4 cup dry uncooked. For trail use I would recommend 1/2 cup uncooked. This provides roughly 240 calories, 6 g fat, 10 g protein and 6 g fiber.

To make the quinoa:
Take a fine mesh colander and pour 1 cup uncooked quinoa in it. Rinse it well with cold water and drain. Add it to 2 cups water in a medium saucepan. Bring it to a boil, stir, put on the lid and lower the heat to Low. Let simmer gently for 10-20 minutes. It may need up to 20 to absorb all the water.

Once done fluff up and spread on a lined dehydrator tray. Quinoa is very small and will fall through most mesh liners. I would recommend that you line your tray(s) with parchment paper. Dry at 135* till dry. As with rice be sure to check every hour and break up any clumps with clean fingers.

Serving sizes, weights and volume:
1/2 cup raw = 3 ounces
Cooked = 1 1/2 cups
Dehydrated = 3/4 cup and 3 1/2 ounces

You might think "well, now it is more volume and weighs a tiny bit more, how am I saving anything?". The beauty of it is you don't need to cook it (saving fuel and time) and all you need to do is add a 1:1 ratio of boiling water and let it sit in your cozy for 10 minutes. No cleanup or burnt on messes. Ready to go when you are!

Use it in any of your favorite recipes, it is nice added to vegetable soups in winter.

Salsa, Sauces and More

Salsa/Picante sauce:

Spread evenly on a parchment lined tray. 16 ounces will fit one tray nicely. Dry at 135* till dry. Half way through, when tacky (but not gooey wet), pop off paper and flip over. You want pliable dry with no sticky, wet or tacky spots. It will be similar to fruit leather. Run through a blender to make small pieces. Rehydration ratio is 1:1, then if needed, add more water slowly. You can use cold or warm water. Store in your freezer in freezer bags till trail time. Do not vacuum seal, as it will turn it into a hard lump.
You can easily dry homemade salsa also, be sure to run it through a blender or food processor first to make it even.

 

Spaghetti/Pasta Sauce:

For jarred or can sauces (24 to 32 ounces), spread evenly on two parchment lined trays. Dry at 135*.  Half way thru, when tacky (but not gooey wet), pop off paper and flip over. You want pliable dry with no sticky, wet or tacky spots. It will be similar to fruit leather. Run thru a blender to make small pieces or to powder. Store in your freezer in quart freezer bags till trip time. Do not vac seal the powder, as it will become a hard lump.
1-4 servings (based on the average 3 cup size of most jars).

To rehydrate:
For each serving (1/4 of the powder), add 1/2 cup boiling water, stir well and put in a cozy for 5 minutes. Add up to another 1/4 cup water to reach the right mix. Toss with pasta!

Notes:
Homemade sauce is also nice to do. If it is a chunky sauce, process it a bit to make smoother. Excellent with lean hamburger, mushrooms, onions, etc. added.

"Vodka" sauces are not a good choice for drying due to the higher fat content from added cream.

To make a really good creamy sauce, pack in a small packet of cream cheese (1 ounce or less) and add it to your sauce. It gives a creamy sauce! You can use the foil one serving packets for overnighters, and you can also find shelf stable cream cheese by Rondele Cheese, sold in some grocery stores near the fresh bagels.

Storage Tips

Storing dried foods and how long of a shelf life for the food?

After you dry your items be sure to store the food properly to get the longest shelf life!  Once the food is dry, turn off the dehydrator and let the food cool down. Take the time to split up casseroles and items like hummus into serving size portions and pack them into the appropriate sized bag for trail use. Bag up your dried pasta into weighed portions into quart freezer bags. Store dried vegetables, fruits and beans and similar items in tightly sealed freezer bags or air tight containers.

According to the University of Missouri Extension:
"Store containers of dried foods in a cool, dark, dry area such as a basement or cellar. Exposure to humidity, light or air decreases the shelf life of foods. The lower the temperature, the better: Foods stored at temperatures under 60 degrees Fahrenheit will keep approximately one year, at 80 degrees Fahrenheit to 90 degrees Fahrenheit the food begins to deteriorate within several months. For every 18 degrees Fahrenheit drop in temperature, the shelf life of fruits increases three to four times."

For items such as meat, dairy or casserole dishes it is a good idea to store the dried items in your freezer, tightly sealed in freezer bags till trip time. This extends the shelf life and keeps it fresher. It doesn't hurt to store all dried items there if you have the room, particularly for those who live in humid regions.

Try to cycle through your dried meats, casseroles and dairy items within 6 months, vegetables, fruits, grains and legumes within a year.

Concerning meat and items with fat, why do I store them in the freezer?

Even with careful prep, meat is going to have residual fat in it. And frankly, in hamburger, fat is much of the flavor! The fat can go rancid if stored in a warm environment over time. You can normally smell when items have gone rancid, it is a flat smell that isn't good. This is also the same with items such as wheat germ, brown rice and other grains that have natural oil in them.

Vegetables

Basic Vegetables:

Dry at 135°.
Time will depend on how small cut and type of vegetable. Expect 3-12 hours. Using frozen vegetables will take less time than fresh. You are looking for hard when done. Moisture can cause mold, so let sit in a freezer bag for a couple hours after drying to see if moisture shows, if so, dry for longer.
Frozen vegetables are excellent to use, as they are blanched for you, and give you a "precooked" vegetable. This will mean that they come back to life faster when rehydrating, and don't need any extra cooking in camp. You do not need to defrost either. If large pieces, do cut in small pieces.

Drying a 16 ounce bag of frozen chopped broccoli:

 

Root Vegetables:

Dry at 135°
How would you like to have "instant" mashed sweet potatoes and yams on the trail? With a little prep you can!
Peel, cut up and steam your favorite variety (2 lbs will give you enough for 4 servings). When done, drain and mash. Flavor how you like, but leave the butter or oil out. Maple syrup is very good to add, along with black pepper. Spread on lined trays in 1/2 cup servings. When dry, powder up, and package in quart freezer bags. Each bag will have one serving. Rehydrate by slowly adding hot water till you reach the perfect state.

 

Mushrooms:

Dry at 135°
Pop the cap off the stem, toss the stems. If you have a egg slicer, use it to slice, then cross cut the caps. This gives you a smaller, and uniform drying surface. Dry for 4-10 hours, depending on humidity. 8 ounces of prepped mushrooms will give a shy 1 ounce when dry ( about 2/3 of a cup). The heat while drying does cook them just enough that you can use them in freezer bag cooking with no extra cooking needed.

Instant Hash Browns:

Instant hash browns are handy to have in your hiking food cupboard. They are great added to chowders, thick soups, mashed potatoes and sprinkled into many meals, used like any other vegetable. Not only do they taste good, potatoes are a great source of potassium.

While you can buy "instant" hash browns at many grocery stores, they can be hard to find or full of fillers that many of us would rather not pay for. To make up a batch will only take a few minutes time. Go to the grocery store and buy a large bag of frozen shredded hash browns. Look for ones without added fats. They will also be very low in sodium. In this case I bought a 30 ounce bag.

Spread the frozen hash browns on two mesh lined trays - the shreds will get small when dry and fall through, so be sure to use liners. If you don't have any you can also line your trays with parchment paper.

Dry at 135° till dry and crispy. Expect 4-8 hours on average, depending on humidity. Once dry, turn off the dehydrator and let cool then pack up into a tightly sealed bag or container.

When dry the large bag of 30 ounces now weighed in at 6 ounces. Not bad for a couple minutes work!

Your "instant" hash browns are smaller and thinner than commercial versions and perfect for FBC meals. Try adding 1-2 Tablespoons in your next chowder to test them out!

Celery:

We love using dried celery and celery leaves in recipes - for both trail and home cooking. While one can buy it commercially it is very easy to do at home. It is what we would consider perfect for dehydrator newbies looking for a project. :)

We across a great pictorial on it - and was nice to see that an average stalk is usually about 1 Tbsp dried. Just remember to keep your dices small for faster hydration.

Artichokes:

Take one can of water packed artichokes and drain well. We used our mini food chopper to quickly dice them up. Then spread one can on each tray. You will have from a 14-ounce can about 1 1/4 cups drained and diced artichokes.
Dry at 135° for about 4 to 6 hours, or until fully dry. This will leave you with about 3/4 cup of dried artichokes to use as you like.

Capers:

While capers carry well on shorter trips due to their being brined in a salty solution for long term and more light weight packing dehydrate them. Make sure you only buy brined and not oil packed. Drain, rinse and drain and then spread out on mesh lined trays.

Dry at 135° for 4 to 8 hours, the average being about 6 hours. 1/4 cup will reduce to about 1 Tablespoon. Preweight of 1 1/2 ounces reduced to 0.3 ounce dried. For best rehydration results use a 2:1 ratio of water to dry capers.

DIY Meal Vs. Commercial Freeze Dried Meal

Often I get asked if one can actually save money by making meals at home versus running down to the local outdoor store for meals. The answer is always "Yes," but I hadn't really ever run how much one could save.  I decided to see if it was more than just money that one could save. Could you also eat healthier and save money?

The test:

1 brand name freeze dried meal of Spaghetti with Meat Sauce versus Made at home and dehydrated spaghetti with meat sauce, featuring organic/whole foods.

Ingredient Show Down:

 

Brand name bag:

Serves 2, but as well known, this is 1 serving. Makes roughly 20 ounces of food after rehydrating. Cost $5.99 plus sales tax for 1 serving. (And there is a irritation....it is food which should be tax free in our state!)

Spaghetti with Meat and Sauce
INGREDIENTS: Enriched Spaghetti (durum semolina, niacin, iron [ferrous sulfate], thiamin mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), Tomato Paste, Beef, and contains 1.5% or less of the following: Textured Soy Flour, Salt, Sugar, Dehydrated Cheese (cheddar cheese [milk, cheese culture, salt, enzymes], cream, salt, sodium phosphate, lactic acid), Hydrolyzed Corn Torula and Brewers Yeast Wheat Gluten Soy Protein, Spices, Onion Powder, Flavoring, Garlic Powder, Soybean Oil, and Caramel Color.

Made at home meal:
Serves 4 full portions of 16 ounces rehydrated. Cost is roughly $2.25 for 1 serving. None of the items used were on sale.

Whole wheat organic pasta:
Organic whole durum wheat flour
Mushrooms
Lean all natural hamburger (1/2 lb) (low fat is important for dehydrating)
Organic Mushroom Pasta Sauce:
Diced tomatoes, water, tomato paste, mushrooms, extra virgin olive oil, cane juice sugar, sea salt, onions, vinegar, garlic powder, spices.

I prepared the pasta at home, breaking the spaghetti into thirds. I cooked up the beef with the mushrooms (chopping them up). When cooked, I added the sauce. I cooked the pasta till barely al dente. I drained the pasta and tossed with the sauce.

The weight was 4 lbs of tasty pasta!

I split it into 4 servings of 1 lb each, on 4 parchment lined trays, at 135° till dry:

The name brand spaghetti with meat sauce after being prepared (2 cups boiling water and 9 minutes sit time):

Final Results?

Here are the nutritional run downs:

Brand Name Spaghetti (20 ounce serving):

560 Calories
1,440 mg Sodium
4 G Fiber
32 G Protein

Made at home Spaghetti (16 ounce serving):

600 calories
700 mg Sodium
13 g Fiber
29 g Protein

As you can easily see, you can save a lot in cost, sodium and you will get a LOT more fiber if you make your own. You will also know exactly what is in your meal.  At a savings of about $4 per serving and half the sodium, that alone makes it worthwhile to make your own. You are also avoiding potential hidden MSG, and fillers.

As for the home dried spaghetti? It is quite simple to prepare! A simple 1:1 ratio of dried food to water works well normally. Add boiling water and let sit in a cozy for 10 minutes or so, and top liberally with Parmesan cheese!