Homemade snacks

Often times snacks are a cheap and unhealthy add-on to the weekly shopping list. But it doesn’t have to be that way. One solution is to make your own at home and an easy way to do that is with a food dehydrator. A few years ago I picked up a food dehydrator and have used it many times over the years to make snacks like beef jerky, turkey jerky and dried fruits.

Making your own healthy snacks with all natural ingredients and no added sugar or chemicals is simple and less expensive then you’d think. All it takes is a little prep time and some patience.

You can buy steak and slice it yourself or just pick up pre-sliced steak for stir fry - it’s the perfect size and thickness for making jerky. Just season it with your choice of bbq sauce or other seasonings.

Fruit is another popular choice for dehydrating. I’ve used bananas, strawberries, pineapples and more with pineapple being the house favorite. Just core and slice the pineapple and add it to the dehydrator. For something a bit different drizzle honey or sprinkle cinnamon on pineapple or apple slices.

Because it does take time I usually run the dehydrator either overnight while I’m sleeping or during the day while at work. Since I have a few smart outlets purchased online I didn’t have to consider more money for a dehydrator with a timer. Plugging it in to a smart outlet lets me control the dehydrator whether I’m home or away, giving me the ability to automatically start and stop the dehydrator based on custom timer settings or manually control it remotely even if I’m not home during the dehydrating process.

It’s easy and affordable. Check out dehydrators online or at your local brick and mortar and you’ll be a pro at making homemade snacks in no time.