adventures
Published on February 25, 2018
Comments 20

My dehydrator frenzy: preparing vegetarian/vegan trail meals for a 4-day hike in Tasmania

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Excalibur Dehydrator #thebest #wellbeing
Excalibur Dehydrator #thebest #wellbeing

I’d done a bit of research about pre-packaged dried meals for a camping/hiking trip, and came away disappointed in all the chemicals and crappy ingredients I’d have to put up with. It seemed at odds with the pristine, healthy landscape we’d be walking through in Tasmania, and my usual good eating habits at home.

So I got inspired. And you can too. Within 10 minutes of posting on Facebook to see if anyone local could lend me a dehydrator, I had an offer of the top-of-the-range Excalibur.

And thus it began.

raw broccoli head #organic #selfcare #over50
steamed broccoli head #organic #selfcare #over50
ready broccoli head #organic #selfcare #over50
dehydrated broccoli head #organic #selfcare #over50
A whole broccoli head dehydrated! #organic #dehydratedfood #bushwalking #australia
A whole broccoli head dehydrated and vacuum sealed #organic #dehydratedfood #bushwalking #australia

Who knew a whole head of broccoli could be held in your hand? Hope I don’t get searched at the airport though; does it look a bit suspicious?

#organic #tomatoes #fresh
Half dehydrated fresh tomatoes # #organic #tomatoes #fresh
Fully dehydrated fresh tomatoes # #organic #tomatoes #fresh
Fully dehydrated fresh tomatoes # #organic #tomatoes #fresh

The tomatoes were fresh from the Farmers Markets the day before- so juicy- I couldn’t believe how evenly they dehydrated. The sweet potatoes are an experiment; kinda like chips I’m hoping.

Sweet potato steamed and ready to go #organic #sweetpotato #selfcare
Sweet potato steamed with smoky paprika and savoury yeast flakes as topping #organic #sweetpotato #selfcare #yummytoppings
Dehydrated Sweet potato steamed with smoky paprika and savoury yeast flakes as topping #organic #sweetpotato #selfcare #yummytoppings
Dehydrated Sweet potato steamed with smoky paprika and savoury yeast flakes as topping #organic #sweetpotato #selfcare #yummytoppings

And so, totally inspired, I moved onto preparing my meals. I decided to just make my two faves, and alternate them for lunch and dinner (we need to carry 3 breakfasts, 4 lunches, and 3 dinners). One of my lovely Pilates clients caught my enthusiasm, and offered the loan of her vacuum sealer, and so began ‘GG’s Dehydration Empire’.

I watched a few YouTube videos, and learnt I can’t use any oils, as they don’t dehydrate. I chose to do Vegetarian/Vegan meals, with lots of flavour and veggies. Once I’d made them fresh, I served up a huge bowlful (imagining I’d walked 10-15kms), then dehydrated that amount on a sheet. Here’s my brown rice and stir-fried vegetables:

Rice and veggies #organic #selfcare #over50 #hikingfood
Half-dehydrated Rice and veggies #organic #selfcare #over50 #hikingfood
Fully dehydrated Rice and veggies #organic #selfcare #over50 #hikingfood
Vacuum-sealed and ready to go #organic #selfcare #over50 #hikingfood

I try to be gluten-free as well, so did a quinoa pasta with pumpkin, mushies, kidney beans, and tomato:

Mushrooms, kidney beans and tomato quinoa pasta #vegan #healthy #glutenfree #hikingfood
Spread on the sheet ready to dehydrate Mushrooms, kidney beans and tomato quinoa pasta #vegan #healthy #glutenfree #hikingfood
Dehydrated Mushrooms, kidney beans and tomato quinoa pasta #vegan #healthy #glutenfree #hikingfood

This meal looks the dodgiest, but hopefully it’s all going to taste great!

Dehydrated vegetarian meals ready to package #dehydratedmeal #vegetarian #wellbeing
Dehydrated vegetarian meals ready to package #dehydratedmeal #vegetarian #wellbeing
Dehydrated vegetarian meals packaged #dehydratedmeal #vegetarian #wellbeing

Ta-da! Pretty proud of myself I must admit. It all weighs less than a kilo, so plenty of room for treats like my dehydrated figs, and apple slices with cinnamon.

Eight dehydrated vegetarian/vegan meals ready for hiking in Tasmania

Eight dehydrated vegetarian/vegan meals ready for hiking in Tasmania #dehydratedmeals #hikingfood #vegetarian #Tasmania #ThreeCapesTrack #Australia #over50 @boneAndsilver

Now I’m posting this from our Airbnb house in Hobart; the other three friends and I have spent an hour giggling and packing/repacking our bags, and we set off tomorrow, so I’ll be gone till Thursday- not even a Comment will be answered, sorry.

Not sorry.

I’ll miss you all; please don’t post anything too exciting while I’m away!

In gratitude for best friends turning 50, wild scenery, and no mobile coverage, G xO 

20 Comments

  11. Jad says

    OMG how clever of you and how awesome that someone loaned that to you
    Have an amazing time and don’t worry, we will be here when you get back 🙂

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  15. Diana says

    Tassie gal here waving and imagining you are in your hike now, having your breath taken away by the magic coastal views … and at the same time enjoying the fruits (broccoli flowers) of your dehydrated labours 😊🌸💕

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    • bone&silver says

      Thanks Natalia- it wasn’t actually that hard, although the dehydrator worked long hours! You can find lots of great videos on YouTube, so I hope this helps if ever you are going hiking. Thanks for commenting, G : )

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