Dehydrating for Your Backpack and Other Ideas

**Rick** · 08-20-2013, 07:43 PM

Dehydrated foods can take a lot of weight off you hips in more weighs (ways, get it?) than one. Here are some things you might enjoy. Just remember there are a lot of dehydrated foods in the supermarket so even if you don't have a dehydrator you can still enjoy packing lighter fare. You can look for:

most spices
dried tortellini
soup packets
dehydrated chili mix
ramen noodles
sun-dried tomatoes
wasabi peas
dehydrated onions (spice aisle)
dried fruit
oatmeal
cous cous
minute rice

Butternut Squash Chips

Ingredients:
2 large butternut squash necks
2 tablespoons olive oil
¼ teaspoon sea salt
Directions:
Peel butternut squash neck (reserve the bulb for another use)
Slice as thinly as possible into rounds
Toss with olive oil in a bowl
Lay in a single layer on dehydrator tray, sprinkle with salt. I like sea salt.
Dehydrate 12 hours, or until crisp, on high if your dehydrator has temperature settings.

Dried Mangos

4 – 5 ripe mangos
1 Tbs raw honey
1/4 cup lemon juice

Mix honey and lemon juice in a small bowl. Stir until the honey is dissolved.
Peel and slice mangoes into small even strips.
Dip each strip into the lemon/honey mixture, shake off any excess. Place on dehydrator sheets.
Dehydrate for 10 – 12 hours at 135 degrees. (Start checking around 8 or 9 hours. Times will vary based on humidity levels.)

I'm even going to suggest you contact your_comforting_company and buy some from him. His honey really is the bee's knees. It's great stuff.

Fruit Leathers

This one is one of my favorites. There really is no recipe and no limit to what you can do. I like to take something like strawberries, raspberries and maybe a mango or blueberries. Toss them in the blender and give them a whirl until they are the consistency of a smoothie. If you like whey you can add some it won't hurt it and that's some additional protein.

If you have fruit leather trays for your dehydrator then follow the directions for them. Don't forget to lightly oil them. I generally spray mine with some PAM just so the dried fruit won't stick. If you don't have fruit leather trays then place some Press-N-Seal on your trays, sticky side down and make a lip all around so the liquid won't run off. Then spray it with Pam.

Pour your fruit puree onto the trays. Set you dehydrator at about 115F and let it dry for probably 24 hours. Again, humidity will make a big difference but it takes a long time for fruit leathers. It will be the consistency of leather, hence the name, when it's done. You don't want to get your temperature too high for this because there are a lot of good bugs in fruit, bacteria and enzymes, that you'll kill if you heat the fruit too high. So keep the heat down and your patience in check.

Peel your fruit leathers off and tear them into strips. You can store it in ziplock bags or any other air tight container.

If you are calorie conscious and don't want to use the oil (Pam) you'll be okay it just takes longer to peel the leathers off the trays. It still comes out the same.

Experiment with this one. You can't go wrong. Use whatever you like.

Cheese Crackers

1 cup Sunflower Seeds
1 cup Brazil Nuts
1 cup Almonds
1 Tomato
1 cup Diced Red Peppers
1/4 cup Ground Flax Seed
1 pinch Cumin
2 teaspoons Salt

Soak sunflower seeds, brazil nuts, and almonds for 4 hours.
Add all ingredients to a blender and process until as smooth as desired.
Spread out on fruit leather sheet and dehydrate for about 18 hours.
After approximately 6-10 hours, cut the crackers to whatever size you want.

Beef Jerky

2 lbs. of flank steak
2/3 cup of soy sauce
2/3 cup Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
2 teaspoons of seasoning salt (recommend Lawry's)
Slice flank steak diagonally with the grain of the meat into very thin slices (If slightly frozen it slices more easily). Combine ingredients and marinate meat overnight or 12 hours. Be sure all pieces are covered (coated) with marinade. Drain excess marinade. Place meat on paper towels to soak up marinade. Meat should be squeezed as dry as possible in paper towels. Place individual pieces of meat on rack in dehydrator at 140 to 160 degrees for seven to 12 hours, or until meat is dry throughout.

I promise you'll love this one!

**Ken** · 08-20-2013, 08:45 PM

Weight? I don't care 'bout no stinkin weight!

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**Rick** · 08-21-2013, 08:11 AM

I just wanted to point out that even if you don't own a dehydrator that shouldn't stop you from dehydrating. You can still use your oven to do the same thing. It's just a lot more convenient if you have a dehydrator.

Set your oven on its lowest setting and leave the door ajar. The key to dehydrating is air movement and leaving the door ajar will create the air flow you need. I've made a lot of jerky in my oven using this method.

**Ken** · 08-21-2013, 08:32 AM

Okay, I really do care about weight. Almost every piece of gear I carry is ultra-light.

Every food item in my pack, other than Mainstay bars, MRE crackers, pouch packaged items such as salmon and tuna, and the tiny packets of items such as oils, honey, hot sauce, and the like, is dehydrated.

I only use my DARPA buddy to carry the heavy stuff like my generator, TV, fuel, refrigerator, and bed.

**Rick** · 08-21-2013, 08:58 AM

...and imported beer.

**Ken** · 08-21-2013, 09:03 AM

That goes without saying....

**finallyME** · 08-21-2013, 10:47 AM

Yep, taking water out of food will make your pack lighter. You can also buy freeze dried food that is either ready made, or ingredient specific (like a can of peas).

A lot of backpackers will make their favorite meals, and then dehydrate them. Not every meal lends itself to this, but many do.