One of the perks of working at a food co-op is that I'm able to take home healthy expired food (I mean milk and yogurt are good for a few days after the exp date, right? & all you have to do is cut off that moldy spot on the cheese or bruise on an apple...!). Anyways, I scored a couple bags of apples and decided the best thing to do with old apples is dehydrate them! They're from the west coast right now but when they're in season here I need to dehydrate A LOT more to last the year... they're just so good, it's hard not to eat 'em up quickly! Dehydrating is easy and a great way to preserve seasonal fruits, herbs, and vegetables. Here's the process:
I saved some apple chips for snacks and used some as an addition for my homemade local granola. I just guessed on the quantities but this is approximately how I made it:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees
In a baking sheet mix together approx:
-4-5 cups of rolled oats
-1/2 cup sunflower seeds
-1/2 cup flax seeds
In a small saucepan mix together approx:
-1/2 cup maple syrup
-1/4 cup honey
-1/4 cup sunflower oil
-pinch of salt
Bring the liquid mix to a boil in the saucepan on a burner. Then mix the liquid thouroughly into the dry ingredients. Put baking sheet in oven and cook ~1 hr, stirring every 15 minutes. At about 45 minutes stir ~1 cup chopped dehyrdated apples into the pan. Remove and cool. Then enjoy! You can make a lot and store some in an airtight container in your fridge or cupboard and freeze the excess (it freezes very well).
Preheat oven to 325 degrees
In a baking sheet mix together approx:
-4-5 cups of rolled oats
-1/2 cup sunflower seeds
-1/2 cup flax seeds
In a small saucepan mix together approx:
-1/2 cup maple syrup
-1/4 cup honey
-1/4 cup sunflower oil
-pinch of salt
Bring the liquid mix to a boil in the saucepan on a burner. Then mix the liquid thouroughly into the dry ingredients. Put baking sheet in oven and cook ~1 hr, stirring every 15 minutes. At about 45 minutes stir ~1 cup chopped dehyrdated apples into the pan. Remove and cool. Then enjoy! You can make a lot and store some in an airtight container in your fridge or cupboard and freeze the excess (it freezes very well).