Love the Kitchen Gadgets--Food Dehydrator Episode

My school recently started a Biggest Loser type competition. As I'm at my all time fatness, I decided I'm all in. However, I'm through trying the fad diets. I'm going to try the real deal...aka eating healthy and exercise. I can't give up carbs. I'm far too fond of them. I can't follow a strict regiment--I like variety. So, I'm going the slow and steady wins the race method.

To take care of the exercise part of that, we went to Game Stop this weekend and bought a used Jillian Michaels Wii game. A new one is far too big an investment for the fickle exercise gal that I am. So, I'm going to try it. But I'm scared silly. Then, someday, I'm hoping it will get above 40 degrees. We'll exercise outside then.

As far as the diet part of the weight loss program is concerned, I went shopping and decided to go all out with superhealthy (or even moderately healthy) foods that I like and will eat. I bought lots of fresh fruits and veggies. They require more time and effort, but they're so good! The first step of my fruit and veggie prep was to dehydrate some fruit.

I started with canned pineapple rings and chunks with no added sugar (Dole was on sale at HyVee for $.99 per can). I layered them on two levels of my food dehydrator. Pineapple is my favorite dryed fruit--not the kind smothered in sugar. Just straight out of the can and onto the drying rack. I used three cans to cover those two layers.
Red Delicious apples were on sale for $.99 per pound at HyVee, so I bought several. I quartered and sliced four of them, created a cinnamon/sugar concoction, sprinkled a bit on one side of each slice (just enough for a little flavor, not a smothering), and started layering them on the dehydrator. Three levels of this contraption were committed to apples. Yum. Over the next couple of hours, several will disappear. My hubby likes them somewhere between raw and dry. I expect many to sprout legs and disappear right before bed time. :)

This is a shot of the dehydrator full of pineapple and apple when I finished the cutting, coating, and layering. This process took a little less than half an hour. That time includes feeding Eli, my hubby, and the poochie apple and pineapple chunks. We are a family of fruit eaters.

These are the apples that wouldn't fit on any levels when all was full. They turned into the hubster's snack. The leftover cinnamon & sugar helped give it a little appeal.

Finished product, still dehydrating the next morning. Yum!

Then, finally, my snacks for the week were complete! I put them into little baggies and carted them off to work to munch on during the day when I could wait no longer for feeding time (aka lunch).

Lingering thought of the day: Facs teachers should NEVER burn popcorn in the school where they teach. It's just embarassing--not that I'd know...