#but also like. just getting basic nutrition thru meals that are bought for me has been so good cause i feel too guilty to spend my own money

[vzajemnik]

not wanna say that ever since i started dating men again my life got better but. as a person whose biggest stressor in life is money having guys just offer to buy me anything took so much weight off my shoulders its actually crazy

[rainyfestivalsweets]

2/4/24

The MLM hack list

Alright. So there are a bunch of MLM diet companies that make a shitload of money of of us and yet our obesity rates in developed countries are thru the freaking roof.

How many times have you gotten the messages on Facebook, Instagram or whatever and it's like: Hey girl, haven't seen you since high school, let's get coffee... OR... they just post the precopied message & ask about your goals, & proceed to add a flurry of hyperpositive social media messages, like my friend recently did to me.

Did anyone in high school like you? Not me! Do that screams danger from the start. I was horrendously bullied in elementary school. I was gone to a parochial school for a couple years so the only reason that I avoided constant bullying in high school was because... they forgot who I was.

Here are some ideas I stole from various companies, cheaper:

Herbalife: this company's stuff works, for 2 reasons- you replace 2 out of 3 meals with shakes. However, alot of people are not successful if they make their shakes at home and if they add in all the snack bars. People do, however, lose weight if they get their shakes from a "nutrition" shop. Why? Because they blend those shakes super thick with a metric shitton of ice & I think alot of them add sf pudding, which enhances the thickness. Also, you get an iced tea, normally with added fiber. So the answer is- you have 2 drinks that take a long time to finish AND give you added caffeine & fiber. So? Just do it at home: keep your shake calories low, make it extra large & thicker than a snicker, & follow with a caffeinated tea & add fiber to it. I like the herbalife brand but I order it off Amazon so I don't have to get the whole shpeel. Now brand has "prebiotic fiber" that is cheaper. There is also benefiber from Walmart. It is cheap, so why not?

Beachbody: you don't need to spend a billion dollars on protein shakes or meal replacement shakes. I do, however, love some of their workout systems.

Tai Slim: this company's great idea was the chocolate gluccomannon chews, I just didn't know ot at the time. I have tried to order it but have been unable to so maybe they don't make it any more. So my hack would be- the chocolate calcium chews, some gluccomannon tablets, & a large glass of water.

Modere: this company was all over tik tok & reels for awhile, while the reps were trying to schlep people into this scheme. The Golden Child was the liquid CLA chocolate, probably because it tastes like a chocolatey treat while it is actually a CLA supplement. CLA can be purchased at almost any health food store, way cheaper.

Plexus: the pink drink. More research needed on this, but I think it is just a fiber drink. Hack: gluccomannon powder & a Starburst all pink flavor packet.

Most of these companies often sell an associated "fat burner:" often something with caffeine, ecgc from green tea, etc. You can get something similar at a health food store for a fraction of the price. If you want something fancy, there is Ember from the Ambrosia Collective. Use the Google. MFINGCOO is a discount code that I think still works, but it isn't mine.

Buy In for then"tribe:" Weight watchers (not an MLM, just a diet culture sales supergiant but they still somehow acquire affiliates, idk if that qualifies as a True MLM), beachbody, herbalife are pretty cultish in nature-- they rope you into a bunch of meetings, calls, and online groups. If someone calls you to ask why you weren'tat Power Hour, you may have bought into a cult! It works by reprogramming certain thought & behavior patterns..... Basically a bunch of people are sharing ideas regularly and getting involved in their cultish antics.& promoting it on social media. (Example: OMG have you tried the new WW/herbalife/beachbody PROTEIN BAR?? Only $15 for 4!! What a deal! LINK IN MY BIO) You can do this on your own by finding your own people. You can get your own seminars by watching a lot of youtube. Anything that focuses on reprogramming you to cook at home and eat primarily whole foods will probably work. Join free groups. Disregard anything outside of what works for you ( I have to ignore a lot of dessert recipes because they cause bingeing for me).

Lipozene: pretty sure this is just gluccomannon. You can find gluccomannon tablets way cheaper at a health food store. Walmart also was carrying a generic version.

Hydroxycut: pretty sure the active ingredient here is HCA? I don't have a bottle currently to look. But isn't HCA just garcinia? So much cheaper at a health food store. I personally cannot take hydroxycut, it makes me RAGE. I like, get upset and freak out at work, so I don't even think I am willing to try it again.

It works: I think the skinny coffee would be comparable to the "slim coffee," which was cheaper but seemed to be chromium. You can just pick up a chromium supplement... & seriously, you can just drink coffee. Don't add calories to it.

Apple cider vinegar gummies: Just take shots of apple cider vinegar. You can buy a gallon at walmart, it will last a long time. Play with shot recipes, you can do good girl moonshine (ala Trim Healthy Mamma), & use it liberally for dressing recipes.

L-Glutamine: don't remember the company, but this is available at more health food stores, not for $100 a container.

Maybe I have bought so much shit so you don't have it. Is there an MLM company I missed? 🤔 let me know and I will check it out for future posts.

Remember- whatever you do, stay safe. Research your shit. Focus on your daily habits and remember that what you are eating outweighs almost any supplement you could buy. Eat whole food, walk, have an exercise routine & stop expecting a 30 day result for a body that took you 40 years (or whatever) to create.

I definitely don't think the ozempic trend is worth the cost, but if there is no other way for you & you have the money, it is worth a shot. Just don't expect your insurance to pay for it. Many insurance companies are currently not covering it, and I don't really know if they should consider it.

Surgery? If there is no other way and you want to, go for it.

The way that these things work though, is by changing what you are eating. Period. These are all systems to change what you ingest and you can change what you eat for free.

I am still on Nomorbidity & Alkemi from the Ambrosia Collective. I have not found suitable replacements for them but I am also not looking hard, they have a reasonable price point to me.

Edited: To reword, as WW is a diet culture vulture, not quite an MLM. Just a big money making company.

[vincentpennington]

January Whole30 Prep

Okay, paleo people—who’s planning to kick off the New Year by committing to a January Whole30®?This post is packed with tips and tricks on how to prepare for a successful Whole30!

To some degree, we’re all suffering the aftereffects of falling into a monthlong series of deliciously dangerous food traps. After all that eggnog-guzzling and cookie-chomping, it’s no wonder we’re waking up with some bloating, achiness, splotchy skin, and just a teeeeeny bit of extra padding. I think it’s about time to gear up again and get mindful about the foods we’re putting in our bodies. Wanna join me?

Preparing for #JanuaryWhole30

Once again, starting January 1, I’ll be posting new Whole30-friendly paleo recipes and tips right here on Nom Nom Paleo!  Yes, I’ve done versions of this in years past, so if you’re too impatient to wait for this year’s edition, go check out my previous collections of Whole30 support and recipes.

Stick with me this January, and I’ll stuff your brain with all sorts of hacks for surviving a Whole30, and keep you on track as you figure out how different foods affect your health and well-being. In January, you won’t ever be left wondering what to cook or eat next.

Here’s the twist: this year, I’m going to make sure all the January recipes I share with you are CHEAP, FAST, and/or EASY. (I mean, they won’t be as cheap, fast, or easy as, say, picking up a greasy bag of fast food from the local drive-thru, but that would defeat the whole point of a healthy January reset, right?)

And as always, before jumping into a January Whole30, we’re going to do a little prep. Only this time, in keeping with our theme, I’m going to keep our prep as simple as possible. Ready?

What’s a Whole30?

Let’s start with the basics. The Whole30 is a tried-and-true 30-day dietary reset that eliminates all the foods that may keep you from your true superhero potential. Specifically, for a whole month, you commit to cutting out the bad-for-you stuff: the foods that are most commonly problematic, like sugar, dairy, grains, legumes, alcohol, and junk foods—including those made with “healthy” ingredients. Instead, you commit to eating whole, nutrient-dense foods for 30 days. For more information about the Whole30, go check out the program rules over here.

How Does Whole30 Differ From Paleo?

I know what you’re thinking: Isn’t the Whole30 the same as eating paleo? Well, yes…and no. Both ways of eating are similar, in that they’re about prioritizing whole, unprocessed, nutrient-rich, nourishing foods. I pretty much eat according to the Whole30 rules most of the time, which is why the vast majority of the recipes on my Paleo Recipe Index are entirely Whole30-friendly.

But the Whole30 is stricter than regular old paleo. Some people think of Whole30 as paleo without the treats, but the primary distinction is that the Whole30 has specific nonnegotiable rules and guidelines that you must follow for 30 days to complete it successfully. When you’re on a Whole30, certain foods that may be seen as “Paleo-friendly” are out, so don’t even think about making “paleo” Bacon Pancake Sandwiches even if the individual ingredients are technically compliant. Unfortunately, that also means that my super-yummy Paleo Pot Stickers are out until at least February 1st. Good thing you can still make my Potsticker Stir-Fry in January! (See? I got options!)

I know—it can be difficult to stick to specific food rules for 30 days. And yes, depending on what you’ve been eating up ’til now, it may take you a couple of weeks to adjust. But believe me: you will. And you’ll feel great. By Day 30, you’ll feel like a brand new person—and you’ll have a much better understanding of how different foods affect your personal wellness. After the Whole30, you’ll be able to systematically reintroduce foods back into your diet to see how each of them makes you feel, which’ll help you develop your own nutritional blueprint. Remember: you’re a special snowflake (just like everyone else!), so it’s important to learn what foods make you feel like the best version of you.

Prep For Success

Is the Whole30 really hard? For some, yes: Sticking 100% to the Whole30’s program rules for 30 consecutive days can be a struggle. Frankly, for many folks, sticking to ANYTHING for an entire month is super-tough. But listen to Melissa Hartwig, the headmistress of Whole30:

Your only job during the Whole30 is to focus on making good food choices. You don’t need to weigh or measure, you don’t need to count calories, you don’t need to purchase everything organic, grass-fed, pastured, or local. Just figure out how to stick to the Whole30 rules in any setting, around every special circumstance, under any amount of stress… for 30 straight days. Your only job? Eat. Good. Food.

You can do that, right? Besides, it’s a Whole30, not a Whole365 or a WholeForeverAndEverAndEver. It’s just 30 days, and I’ll be helping you along each step of the way!

To be perfectly honest, the biggest challenge you’ll face during a Whole30 is bland, boring food. If you try to tackle a Whole30 by eating nothing but boiled chicken breasts and steamed broccoli, by Week 2, you’ll be waging a full-on assault on a donut shop. That would violate the Whole30’s program rules (not to mention numerous laws), so instead, follow along with me this January, and I’ll keep your palates tickled with dozens of easy, flavor-forward, and super satisfying recipes!

Whole30 Resources

Wanna learn more about the Whole30? Start by devouring everything on the Whole30 website. Craving even more details? Get your hands on a copy of The Whole30—the bestselling tome that lays out the science behind this awesome dietary reset.

If you’re a completist and avid reader, you should also pick up the other Whole30 books, too: The Whole30 Cookbook, The Whole30 Fast & Easy Cookbook (which includes recipes by a number of contributors—including me!), The Whole30 Slow Cooker, and the brand-new The Whole30 Friends and Family. These recipe books are crammed with tasty, clean eats.

In addition, Melissa penned the Whole30 Day by Day, a daily handbook to keep you engaged, motivated, and accountable during your month of mindful eating. And finally, Food Freedom Forever will help you develop a personal dietary template that’ll last you well beyond your Whole30.

Get Inspired!

If you’re starved for inspiration, chin up! It’s your lucky day: I’m a walking, talking Whole30 recipe generator.

Check out my Whole30 recipes!

For recipe inspiration and to whet your appetite, visit my free Recipe Index, which includes tons of step-by-step Whole30-friendly recipes.

Sign up for my weekly email newsletter!

While you’re at it, you can subscribe to my free weekly email newsletter to stay up-to-date on new Whole30 and Paleo friendly recipes. I send out a weekly meal planning newsletter and a new missive whenever I post a new recipe on the blog and app!

Lots of Whole30 Inspo on Social Media!

And definitely follow me on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest for all sorts of Whole30 goodness in January (and beyond), too! I’ll be sharing Whole30 recipes EVERY day on my social media channels!

Get my cookbooks!

Next, go pick up my cookbooks, Nom Nom Paleo: Food for Humans and Ready or Not! 150+ Nomtastic Make-Ahead, Make-Over and Make-Now Recipes by Nom Nom Paleo. The vast majority of the recipes in my books are entirely Whole30-friendly and 100% delicious. My latest book, Ready or Not! even includes four weeks of Whole30-friendly dinner plans!

And our Webby Award-Winning Nom Nom Paleo iOS app!

If you’ve got an iPhone or iPad, download my two-time Webby Award-winning cookbook app, which contains over 200 (and counting!) step-by-step Whole30-approved recipes! Get the app here!

(Note: If you already own the app but recently updated your device or iOS, the app may act up or show only a few recipes—but there’s an easy solution: Completely delete the app off your device, and re-download it for free from the App Store. If you continue to have any problems, shoot me an email so I can help you troubleshoot, ’cause I want to make sure you can get cooking!)

Other Fab Whole30 recipe resources!

I’m by no means the only source for Whole30 recipe inspiration. Follow Whole30Recipes on Instagram, and check out all the wonderful Paleo recipe developers (including Teri Turner, Michelle Smith, Jenn Bumb, Alex Snodgrass, Melissa Joulwan, and Ronny Joseph) who contribute to that feed!

Buddy System FTW!

In my experience, it’s infinitely better to do a Whole30 with others than to go it alone. Get your family, friends, and co-workers to join you on a monthlong challenge of healthy and adventuresome cooking and eating—and you can all help each other through it. You can coach and support your pals through the many ups and occasional downs, and best of all, you’ll never get bored with your food if everyone shares their Whole30 eats. Accountability works wonders!

And if no one in your immediate circle is willing to accompany you on your January Whole30, visit the Whole30 Forum, where you’ll find free support from others who are on the same journey.

Stock your Whole30 pantry!

Let’s start filling your kitchen with healthy food! I gave a talk at Lawrence Livermore National Labs with lots of tips on how to paleo-ize your pantry and fridge, and you can watch me do my thing over here:

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Also, click here for my epic post on how to stock your paleo kitchen and pantry like a boss.

Stock your kitchen with tools!

My cookbooks discuss the gadgets and tools I keep in my kitchen to make super-nomtastic grub, but if you want an up-to-date list of my favorite ones, head to my Amazon shopping page. These aren’t arbitrary items I’m recommending— I’ve bought every item on the page myself after reading extensive reviews on trusted sites.

If you have the space and extra moola, an Instant Pot, food processor, and spiralizer are useful tools to buy with your holiday gift cards!

Get in the Kitchen!

Most importantly: Cook! Trust me: It’s really, really hard to try to do a Whole30 without getting acquainted with your kitchen. The point of doing a Whole30 is to learn about how different foods affect you—and how can you possibly do that if you don’t know exactly what’s going into your mouth? As I said in Ready or Not!:

Knowing how to prep meals from scratch doesn’t just make you a more rounded individual or hearty survivalist—it makes you more mindful of the ingredients you’re putting in your body. By cooking at home, I know exactly what goes into my food. I never have to guess whether my dishes were cooked with ingredients that don’t sit well with me.

So crack open my cookbooks, check out some Whole30 recipes for inspiration, and get in the kitchen!

Nom Nom Paleo Meal Plans

Also, before I forget: Do you aspire to be a meal prepping maven? I have four weeks of meal plans and shopping lists in our new cookbook, Ready or Not!

If you want ultimate flexibility and customizability, subscribe to Real Plans—the most amazing meal planning program around! Seriously. It’s the bee’s knees. There are even add-on recipe modules by yours truly, Nom Nom Paleo, as well as the Whole30, too! Check it out here!

Leftover Makeovers FTW!

“Leftovers” is not a dirty word—especially if you know how to transform your extras into exciting new meals (a.k.a. leftover makeovers). My latest cookbook, Ready or Not!, includes a big section on leftover makeovers, so definitely grab a copy and bookmark the “Kinda Ready” chapter. Prefer to simply reheat the awesome dishes you couldn’t finish last night? That works, too, and is a fantastic way to stay sane on your Whole30 without feeling like you’re spending the entire month in the kitchen. So remember: don’t be afraid to make extra!

Okay, enough chit-chat. It’s time to gear up for an awesome January! As I’ve said before, keep your kitchen adventures fun and your taste buds excited, and you’ll cruise through the Whole30. Aren’t you excited to see which foods make you feel amazing?

Ready to go? I’m all about hand-holding, encouragement, and most importantly, PEER PRESSURE—so find a buddy to take the plunge with you, and let’s do this thing!

P.S. Got questions for me or tips for your fellow Whole30 participants? Please post ’em in the comments!

[Originally posted on December 29, 2018. Updated on December 27, 2019.]

Looking for more recipe ideas? Head on over to my Recipe Index. You’ll also find exclusive recipes on my iPhone and iPad app, and in my cookbooks, Nom Nom Paleo: Food for Humans (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2013) and Ready or Not! (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2017)!

The post January Whole30 Prep appeared first on Nom Nom Paleo®.

[of-another-broken-heart]

My swollen lymph node situation is improving finally. Swollen still, but much less than yesterday. The bug bites have died down and are drying out or something. They aren’t as big or itchy. 

I didn’t get a whole lot of sleep. Woke up to boss making a text request about someone from last month. Turned out everything was in order, but he and the client were both absolute crap and keeping/checking their own records, so I had to get up and waste time triple-checking for them. 

I do think I’ve come down with a bit of a cold. 

I made myself a double batch of cheesy ramen and dumped the leftover green beans from dinner in it. That was brunch. Then, yesterday, I picked up some weirdly out-of-season super-on-sale refrigerated canned chocolate cinnamon rolls. So I baked  some of those when mom was home on her lunch break. Basically they were normal cinnamon rolls, but instead of the usual super-sweet white sugar icing, it came with a smooth chocolate icing. Still sweet, but not the hyper-sugar sorta sweet of the white icing. The can had 5 rolls in it - enough for everyone to have one. Even the kids’ glutton father. 

I’ve just kinda been... coasting thru the day. I’m really tired. 

yesterday lil sis wrote me a note to apologize for how she behaved/snapped on Saturday night. I didn’t find it until later in the day, but between the note and chatting with her/ taking her along to the grocery store, I learned some things. Mostly that she doesn’t want to eat meat/ can’t eat meat because she’s seen too many horror documentaries about how the animals are butchered. The exceptions are: fish (they don’t make the cut for empathy, I guess - that seems to be a common trend), hamburgers (she “doesn’t know why” but I’m sure it’s because it’s her favorite fast food thing), and processed/breaded chicken (it’s not visually recognizable as meat due to the breading and shapes, I guess. I get it, mostly). She says she wants to be vegetarian - but she hates vegetables. Except corn and carrots, basically. She is very insistent lately that she be allowed to eat a whole can of creamed corn as a meal replacement whenever she doesn’t want/like what’s served for dinner. She’s expressed this [desire to go vegetarian / aversion to meat] to mom before, apparently, and lil sis  says mom is really, really resistant to a more vegetarian diet for lil sis. I haven’t witnessed this conversation, but I believe it. Mom is very stubborn and annoyingly closed-minded when it comes to food things, plus she has the stress of managing a whole household’s food on a pretty tight welfare budget. 

I’m in the middle. I understand the financial inability to add a completely separate food list to a household’s grocery shopping when that household gets by primarily on food stamps. But I also don’t think it’s impossible to make a few swaps and adjustments to compromise and make sure everyone has food they like and will eat. The main concern is: lil sis primarily likes to eat noodles. After that, high-starch low-nutrition vegetables (corn). Then, sweet fruits (apples, strawberries, peaches, grapes). Obviously, when the household is tight on cash, the boxed pastas are the cheapest and most filling, so those are the “best” option. And we always have pasta in the cabinets. But the nutrition of that option is bullshit. It’s practically all carbs - no dietary fats, no protein, very little vitamins and minerals. The canned creamed corn isn’t much better - it’s also primarily carbs and starch, with some added sugar and animal fat in the form of the cream. Fruits: more of the same, with a greater shift to natural sugars and fiber. But still: little to no protein, and incredibly scant amounts of vitamins and minerals. And no, she doesn’t take supplements or multivitamins. Lil sis is quite bad at swallowing pills (when she was prescribed antibiotics, the first few days were stressful, tedious hell). She even refuses the delicious gummy ones. 

So, I mean. Until she authentically experiences having to afford to feed herself, she’s never going to fully break away from her opinion that mom can ~totally~ afford a full separate fresh-veg/fresh-fruit grocery list. But, also, mom’s too stubbornly resistant to the idea of letting lil sis eat less meat to make any meaningful grocery list swaps. So I scratched my constantly-misfiring brain and perused some sale items in the grocery store, to try to bring home some more nutritionally valuable things that lil sis can eat. She still likes yogurt, so I had her pick some out. There were some protein granola things that she was pretty sure she’s like - so I picked a couple of those up. (Mom usually gets the “snack” versions that are just granola, sugar, and chocolate bits) Strawberries were BOGO, so I bought two little tubs of those, with the note that each one should last about three days. (Despite putting my initials on them to keep her father out, I think he’s gotten into them already - he also ate the fruit cups I bought for lil sis a week or two ago. She never even knew they were in the house before he’d eaten all of them) 

Anyway. idk. There was also some chitchat with mom before I went to the grocery store with lil sis yesterday. And lil sis was saying some hardcore socialist/ancom shit without knowing it. (mostly she was getting at the idea of the Universal Basic Income) And mom was being predictably super-defensive of her Murican Capitalism (”But if everyone gets their basic needs met, literally no one will work ever again!” etc). I genuinely wanted to get into an explanation of how mom was wrong, and basically advocating for the death of anyone who couldn’t contribute “enough” “meaningful” labor (and we actually did touch on it briefly when mom brought up a handicapped acquaintance of ours) but I did not have anywhere near the energy to go through with it. I felt a bit proud of lil sis for not being brainwashed by capitalist propaganda (even from her own mom). 

goddamn I’m hungry today. Recapping the grocery adventure from yesterday sure didn’t help though. 

[jenhikes]

Dehydrator 101

After my big thru hiking announcement last week I've decided to share some of my favorite backpacking recipes with you guys; however, it occurred to me that while I'm whipping up a lot of these recipes like it's no big deal you might not feel that way too!  In fact, it took me a while to perfect my methods for dehydrating tasty meals.  Once you finally start to master techniques to make your food taste better, dehydrating your own backpacking meals is an easy "set it and forget it" option that not only can provide you better nutrition, but can also save you money on resupplies in tough areas.  Here's my quick and dirty guide to dehydrators - both purchasing and techniques to help you make your best backpacking meals.  

The Purchase

Buying a dehydrator is going to be an investment.  In fact, I'd look at it the way you look at purchasing a major kitchen appliance.  After doing plenty of research about what I'd like to use to make an entire season's worth of hiking meals I chose a 5-Tray Excalibur system with a thermostat.  The thing about dehydrating backpacking meals is that you aren't throwing them all in at one time.  First, you're dehydrating the mixed vegetables for a few days. Then maybe you're doing rice for a few days.  Then, you might be doing a few batches of sweet-flavored rice. You do everything in parts before assembling the meals.  Having a fan and a thermostat will help ensure you're dehydrating fruits and veggies at optimal temperatures to keep nasty bacteria at bay.  Meat, fruit, veggies - they all have optimal temps for pulling out moisture.  The thermostat will definitely make sure you're drying your food at the safest temperatures.  

While there are cheaper countertop models of dehydrators available, I definitely recommend going with a model with a fan for air circulation.  The round tray systems need constant babysitting to move the trays.  If you don't do this in a fan-less model, you'll have leather-like layers closer to the heat source whereas your top layers might not even be halfway dry.  You can definitely do months' worth of food on one of these budget models, but be sure you have the time to dedicate to rearranging the trays.  

Finally, you'll need a set of fruit leather trays for your dehydrator.  You can again go the budget option and use parchment paper.  I went with the generic fruit leather reusable inserts on Amazon.  I've reused them countless times for the past three years and they don't hold flavors and just need a quick rinse.  I highly recommend them.  Aren't planning on making fruit roll-ups?  That's fine - neither did I!  But, you'll need these guys to dry sauces, veggie paste, even condiments you'll want to dry to make them more potent.  Trust me, you WANT these tray inserts!

Techniques

So you've purchased your dehydrator and you've found a couple of recipes you want to try out.  Maybe you want to try and recreate one of your favorite pasta sides at a fraction of the price you'd pay for them over the period of a distance hike.  Either way, it's time to start dehydrating.

Rice

Let's say your recipe calls for you to use your own dehydrated rice for a savory recipe.  Instead of just making plain rice like you'd make at home, I highly recommend seasoning the rice before you get it into your dehydrator.  If you're making a savory dish, I recommend cooking your rice in chicken, beef, or vegetable stock and salting it slightly heavier than you would eat at home for a normal meal.  On trail, you'll wish it had more salt!  After the rice cooks, cool it to room temperature before dehydrating.  Making a sweet rice - maybe for a pudding or breakfast treat?  Try cooking it with vanilla almond milk instead of water!  When it comes time to dehydrate your rice, spread it out thinly and try to avoid clumps of rice.  Clumps will hold more moisture and take longer to dehydrate.  If you're home while it's dehydrating, go out and break up the chunks of rice every so often to help it dry out faster.  

Vegetables

Not all frozen veggie mixes are created equally!  My favorite store, Aldi, has mixed veggies in a bag as cheap as $0.95!  However, their mixed veggies aren't all the same size and, in fact, the carrots are in rounds that are easily four times the size as the other vegetables.  This doesn't make for fast dehydrating OR rehydrating!  On the flip side of this, Wegmans makes a great mixed veggie blend with the exception of the lima beans.  Lima beans are another rehydration nightmare.  I don't care how long you soak or boil lima beans - they never seem to fully rehydrate properly.  When you're looking for mixed vegetables to dehydrate for additions to your meals, I highly recommend looking at the contents and shapes of the veggies in the bag.  BJ's Wholesale has great 4-lb bags that require minimal changes.  The only thing I did to these was cutting the green beans in half to make everything the same size.  When it comes to vegetables, uniform size is key to getting them dehydrated and rehydrated at the same times.  Trust me, there are few things sadder than being hungry on trail and crunching into half-rehydrated corn when the rest of your meal is ready!

Something I did for our meals a few years ago was broiling and blackening bell peppers before dehydrating.  This little something extra really made the flavors taste even more homemade despite being in the backcountry.  My most important tip is to NOT mix different veggies in your dehydrator at the same time if you can help it - especially strong-smelling veggies.  If you want to do a tray of red onions, put them in by themselves or else all your food will taste like onion!

Meat

Meat is a tricky, tricky thing to home dehydrate.  If you're doing beef or ground turkey you'll quickly become familiar with the term "gravel".  The reason?  Ground meat basically has the texture of gravel when you do it right.  Buying meat is the critical first step and you've got to do it right.  If you're set on using ground beef, you'll need to buy the leanest possible cut you can find (less than 90%, and 95% lean is more ideal).  Since buying meat this lean is often expensive, I chose to go with lean turkey as my meat choice.  We bought 99% lean white ground turkey.  Now, cooking the meat is also tricky because you'll have to do it low, slow, and as dry as possible.  No oils at all can be added to the pan, as every bit of oil can go rancid in packaging.  Adding dried breadcrumbs to your meat to soak up the oil is a great step you can take during the browning process.  After cooking the meat to well done, you'll need to sop up any oil that happened to cook out before breaking it up to place in your dehydrator.  Like rice, meat has a tendency to clump, so you'll need to break up the clusters every once in a while. Once your meat is completely dehydrated, I highly recommend vacuum sealing each portion to keep it fresh, just in case.  

Fruit

Like veggies, uniformity is key with fruit.  Having all your pieces roughly the same size will save you time on both ends of the dehydrating and rehydrating process.  One tricky element to dehydrating fruit, however, is browning.  Apples and bananas both tend to brown when they're exposed to oxygen for a period of time.  I solved this problem by brushing easily browning fruits with lemon juice on both sides before putting them on trays in my dehydrator.  I liked seasoning my fruit as well.  A sprinkle of ginger and cinnamon on apple slices comes out delicious!

Just like with any good recipe, mastering skills with a dehydrator will take time and a few errors will happen as well.  It's all part of the journey!  Have you experimented with dehydrating meals?  What is your favorite backcountry meal?