Giveaway! Tribest Sedona Rawfood Dehydrator

Disclosure: I received product at no charge in exchange for my honest review.

Dehydrated food is incredibly good for you. When you dehydrate fruits and vegetables, you remove only the water. Dehydrating raw, fresh foods preserves them, yet keeps the vitamins, minerals, proteins and enzymes intact. If you have a home garden, you can dehydrate your harvest and store it from one season to the next so you can enjoy the foods all year long. Dehydrated food is easily stored in baggies, mason jars, or vacuum-sealed packages, plus it's more lightweight so it's perfectly portable. I was thrilled at the opportunity to do a review of the Tribest Sedona Rawfood Dehydrator!

The Tribest Sedona Rawfood Dehydrator comes with nine drying trays. Each tray is fully removable, so if you're drying "taller" foods like broccoli, you can simply remove the tray above it for extra room. The nine trays allow you to dehydrate a lot of food at one time. This dehydrator also features two drying fans so if you're drying a small amount of food, you can just use the top trays and fan to save energy. When you fill all the trays with food, the dual fans allow food to dehydrate more quickly and completely. The mesh pattern of the drying trays also allows the air to circulate around the food more effectively. The plastic components of this dehydrator are all BPA-free.

The Tribest Sedona Rawfood Dehydrator measures 19.7" W x 14.6" H x 17" D and the trays each measure 15.25" W x 1" H x 13" D. To put that in perspective, I was able to fit the slices of two large bananas on just one tray. Its size allows for counter-top storage that will fit under the top kitchen cabinets. I really like the practical design of the Tribest Sedona Rawfood Dehydrator's door; it opens downward on hinges and features a clear glass window so I can actually see the food as it's dehydrating.

The control panel is located on the front above the door handle. It has a built-in timer for up to 99 hours, although I can't imagine anything taking that long to dehydrate. Most fruits and vegetables take 8-12 hours to dehydrate. Meats for jerky take a bit longer. The control panel is easy to see with its LED digital display and easy to use with just a few buttons to set the temperature (plus a feature for F or C temperature), time, and mode. There is a simple on/off toggle switch and a push button to start the process. The Tribest Sedona Rawfood Dehydrator comes with an easy-to-read user manual that includes guidelines, safety precautions, and even some simple recipes.

I originally thought the dehydrator was simply for fruits, veggies, and meats, but Tribest included a hardback, full-color recipe book. Simply Dehydrated by Jenny Ross opens up a whole world of ways to use the Tribest Sedona Rawfood Dehydrator. This book teaches how to make things in the dehydrator like sweet corn pancakes, bbq coconut jerky, vegetable crackers, honey date bread, cinnamon pecans, strawberry wraps, tortillas, plus soups, garnishes, appetizers, entrees, and even desserts like almond biscotti and chocolate lava cake. Jenny Ross also created two other books, Raw Basics and The Art of Raw Living Food, that I want to add to my kitchen library.

I decided to start learning to dehydrate foods by doing something simple - dehydrated banana slices. I took two perfectly ripened bananas and sliced them. I learned it's best to keep slices between 1/8" and 1/4" for best results. The thicker the food item, the longer the drying time. I also learned it's best to begin the process early in the day, so that I'm not staying up late waiting for them to finish. On the other hand, you could start them late at night before bed, run it overnight since it's a quiet kitchen appliance, and have the foods ready first thing in the morning.

Since bananas tend to brown when they hit the air, it's recommended to dip them in a lemon/water mix before laying them on the tray. I squeezed the juice from a fresh lemon and added about a cup of water. As I sliced the banana pieces, I dropped them into the lemon water. When the bowl began to get full, I moved the slices to the dehydrator tray to make room in the bowl.

I set the dehydrator tray catty-corner over my sink while I loaded it up, so that if any of the lemon-water dripped off, I could just rinse it down the sink. Once I had both bananas sliced, dipped, and spread out over the tray to allow for good air circulation, I set the temperature to 110 and the timer for 8 hours. The Tribest Sedona Rawfood Dehydrator kicked on quietly and I barely noticed it was running. This dehydrator also features an automatic pause and resume function when the door opens and closes, plus a timer bell to alert me at the end of 8 hours. My banana slices actually ended up needing to dry for an extra two hours because I sliced them a bit thick.

My dehydrated banana slices turned out beautifully! I am extremely impressed with the Tribest Sedona Rawfood Dehydrator and I cannot wait to use it more. I definitely want to try some marinated vegetables and beef jerky, and I'll probably take a stab at some of the fancier ideas from the Simply Dehydrated book. I'm very excited to learn more about what this dehydrator can do, since I'm planning on starting my backyard garden this spring, now that we're settled into our new home. I will continue to share with you as I use it more and more.

You can find out more about the Tribest Sedona Rawfood Dehydrator HERE. There are also some videos on YouTube that will show you how to make foods in the dehydrator. I watched a number of them before I even used mine, so that I would feel more confident while learning to use it. I love this dehydrator and highly recommend it!

Ready to buy the Tribest Sedona Rawfood Dehydrator? Buy it HERE.

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Win the Tribest Sedona Rawfood Dehydrator!
One lucky person is going to win a Tribest Sedona Rawfood Dehydrator! To enter, just fill in the contest form below. All entries will be verified. This giveaway is open to US residents, ages 18 and older. The giveaway will end at midnight on 1/31/2015. Good luck!

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