Are you tired of paying for overpriced kids’ crackers, fruit snacks and cookies with excessive and wasteful packaging? If you answered yes and you can find a little extra time on your hands this summer, consider purchasing a food dehydrator. With the widespread use of refrigeration and freezing appliances, dehydrators have become less common in most U.S. households. However, they are still extremely useful and simple to operate.

The financial savings of a food dehydrator are numerous. Unlike frozen food, dried foods simply require room temperature storage, so you won’t be using electricity from your fridge or freezer. They will also cost you pennies on the dollar compared with storebought dried foods, making the investment in a food dehydrator something that will pay off quickly if you already enjoy eating dried fruit or other foods from the grocery store.

And dehydrated foods couldn’t be more convenient. Simply remove what you need, seal the container and store again. Dried foods take up much less space than frozen or canned foods (and can easily be rehydrated with water to bring back to the original form). Going on a hike or camping trip this summer? Pack up some dried fruits, nuts and granola, and it will keep for days in your backpack. Summer is a great time to start dehydrating, because you can extend the life of your favorite fruits and vegetables throughout the winter months.

What does it mean to dehydrate foods?
Food dehydration uses 1) heat to draw out the moisture in foods and 2) air circulation to carry off the moisture to eventually evaporate. The purpose is to draw out the food’s moisture to avoid spoilage. If done properly, dehydrated foods can last for many months.

What kinds of foods can be dehydrated?
Almost any food can be dehydrated - Fruits, vegetables, meats, cheeses and even yogurt! And if dehydrated properly, you can retain almost all of the nutrients. (Some fruits and vegetables may lose a bit of vitamins A and C, but this can be minimized if properly pretreated). And the recipes are endless to make crackers, breads, cookies, vegetarian burgers, potpourri, granola, snack bars, candy, you name it! For example, my daughter and I made blueberry nut bars on Friday night (just walnuts, almonds, blueberries and raisins), and it delivered a fabulous PB&J for lunch today! We also make low-calorie sweet potato treats for our overweight yellow lab and a variety of trail mixes for park outings.

I can personally recommend Excalibur food dehydrators. I had thoroughly researched different dehydrators before purchasing my first one, and Excalibur, whose dehydrators run from around $100-$200, appeared to me to have the most durable equipment, the best prices, and the strongest customer service record.

In my house, there are two adults and one toddler, so the 4-tray dehydrator, currently on sale on Amazon for around $105, was plenty big for us. I recently made zucchini walnut hemp crackers using all 4 trays, and the final product was enough to fill up a half-gallon Mason jar.

If you are new to dehydrating, I would suggest purchasing a thorough guidance book about food dehydrating, too. We have enjoyed Excalibur’s Preserve It Naturally, The Complete Guide to Food Dehydration.

Does this sound like a kitchen idea that interests you? Or have you already purchased a food dehydrator? Share your experiences and recipes with us! And if you have more questions about dehydrating, let me know!

The always-useful Parent Hacks blog posted this simple, elegant way to keep children safe in the kitchen today. It was too useful not to pass on:

Mark the stove's "hot zone" with painter's tape

Kristin's simple visual cue keeps her kids safe in the kitchen while letting them stay involved:

I have a three year old, two year old, and 12 week old. They all like to play in the kitchen when I am cooking, and with all the baking I am doing this time of year, we talk a lot about staying back when I have the oven open or hot pots/pans on the stove.

I put a blue "box" on the floor with painter's tape and they know that if the light is on, they need to stay behind the line. It allows them to still watch what's going on -- they are very interested in cooking -- and works better for us than just repeating "stay back" a thousand times! I also know that when I have the oven door open, the line is far enough back that they can't reach over and get burned.

If you aren't yet a regular Parent Hacks reader, take one peek and you'll be hooked!