Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Nesco American Harvest FD-61 Snackmaster Encore Dehydrator and Jerky Maker

This convenient dehydrator makes great tasting, healthy snacks & jerky! Introducing the Snackmaster?? Encore???. It's Grey top and marbled design features 500 watts of drying power, and generates maximum speed and quality for dehydrating fruits, vegetables, beef jerky, and venison jerky. Helps dry food in hours, not days like ordinary food dehydrators. The top mounted fan eliminates the worry of liquids dripping into the the heating chamber!You can make delicious beef jerky, turkey jerky, fish jerky, trail mix, homemade yogurt, apple snacks, banana chips, dried soup mixes, dried tomatoes, watermelon, cantaloupe, honeydew, mangoes, papaya and other dried fruits at a fraction of the cost. Make dried herbs and spices; also make potpourri and dried flowers for any occasion.


There is an idiom that you have likely heard--"the salt of the earth." That saying refers to a person who is someone you can count on, who does not put on airs but is a decent, good person.

The seasoning salt is rather like that idiom. Salt is a basic seasoning that is used in many of our favorite dishes and is useful in other applications around the house. You will find it in your favorite foods at every meal, as well as an important ingredient to recipes such as bread, salsas and chips. Organic salt, along with bulk organic spices, supply your kitchen with the taste controllers you need to put savory foods on the table morning, noon and night.

Seasoning Blends

Many blends of bulk herbs and spices can be made more zesty with the addition of organic salt. Imagine fajitas seasoned with black pepper, onion and garlic powders, cumin, coriander, lemon peel, oregano, parsley and cayenne, then brought to perfection by a little sprinkle of organic salt.

Creole foods like gumbo would not be the same without Cajun seasonings comprised of specially blended organic salt and spices. Savory Cajun foods shine when you add a seasoning blend of black pepper, cayenne, organic salt, garlic, onion and paprika. Southern Red Beans and Rice dishes can benefit from the addition of these wonderful Cajun seasonings as well. Cajun seasoning blends are also useful as a dry rub that can be used with fish or chicken that gets sauteed or even barbecued on the grill.

Salt itself can be seasoned by the addition of different herbs and spices in bulk A delicious rub that can be used on beef steaks, pork spareribs, hamburgers, and even fish fillets can start with salt that is flavored with pepper, paprika, and a smoky malt that goes by the name of Hickory salt.

You can make your own special blends of organic salt, herbs and spices suited to your favorite dishes. If you cook a lot at home, it does save money to purchase spices in bulk. That way, you will have a good supply and not run out when you are cooking late at night, at a crucial moment in putting together an anticipated dish.

Other Uses for Salt

In addition to cooking, salt makes a wonderful organic home cleaner. By combining vinegar with salt in a sturdy spray bottle, you have created a non-toxic counter cleaner that will help you scrub away dirt and grime.

Anne Harvester is an herbalist who has studied the benefits of organic foods and healthy living. In this article, she explores organic salt and spices, cajun seasonings, and bulk herbs and spices.

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Monday, February 16, 2009

Just Jerky : The Complete Guide to Making It

Here's the do-it-yourself guide to making your own jerky in an oven, smoker, or food dehydrator with strips or ground beef, venison, poultry, fish and even soy protein.


Chances are that you've probably heard people talk about a raw food diet and how healthy it is for you, but did you ever wonder exactly what it is they're talking about? Perhaps you envisioned raw oysters and beef on your dinner table. That doesn't sound too appealing doesn't?

In fact, a raw food diet is simply eating food in its natural unprocessed state. You probably already are on part of a raw food diet. If you snack on fruits and vegetables without cooking them, then you've eaten raw food.

Raw food, or unprocessed food is much better for you because the act of processing the food strips it of a lot of its vital nutrients. You've probably heard that cooking vegetables can leach out a lot of the vitamins and it can also destroy the important food enzymes as well. Packaged foods, that you find in the grocery store like potato flakes to make mashed potatoes and other foods that have been processed in some way to make an easy package meal not only have little nutritional value, but your body simply isn't made to process these foods.

If you think about raw foods as being the natural foods the way that they come from the earth, then it makes sense that these are easier for our bodies to process as these of the foods are great ancestors ate and there really hasn't been that many generations since grocery stores, and therefore prepackaged foods, were invented.

Raw foods are packed full of vitamins, minerals and food enzymes. These food enzymes are important, although you don't hear a lot about them. One of the things they do is help you digest your food and getting enough enzymes can help your body with the digestion process which takes a lot of energy, and if your body is spending less energy on digestion it will have more energy for you to do the things you like. Did you ever wonder why you feel so tired after you eat a big meal of cooked foods? One of the reasons is because food enzymes are destroyed by cooking, so there are no enzymes to help your body digests that big meal you just ate.

People in a raw food diet eat about 75% of their food as raw and whole foods. This includes fruits, vegetables, sprouts, raw nuts, seaweed and other foods in their natural form.

Raw foods can be prepared in a couple of ways. One of the most popular is juicing. Many people go on a juice fast where all they do is drink the juice of raw organic fruits and vegetables. Even just drinking fresh juice in the morning can give your health a boost.

Another way that people eat raw foods is to use a food dehydrator. This takes all the moisture out of the fruits and vegetables so they can be easily stored for long periods of time without going bad. A food dehydrator uses hot air to dehydrate the food but it keeps the temperature under 116F so that the vital food enzymes are not destroyed.

Of course, you can simply eat your fruits and vegetables the way nature intended picked straight from the tree. Nuts can be a great raw food that you eat for snacks as well, but be careful because most of the nuts you find in the grocery store are cooked. You need to make sure you get raw nuts which you probably will have to buy either online or from a health food store.

You don't have to all of a sudden start eating 75% of your foods as raw foods in order to enjoy the health benefits of the raw food diet. You can gradually increase the amount of raw foods you eat as time goes on and you will notice how much more energy you have and how healthy you feel. Remember, you are what you eat!

Lee Dobbins writes for Natural Health Buzz where you can learn more about your natural health and find out more about the raw food diet.

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Wednesday, February 4, 2009

Nesco FD-80 American Harvest Square-Shaped Dehydrator

Easy-to-use dehydrator for drying fruit, vegetables, herbs and jerky. Lay out jerky strips with ease. Includes spices and cure packets.


Any regular grocery shopper is familiar with the chain stores and the monotony they represent: a meat department that is either mediocre in selection and quality or jaw-dropping in price; and ethnic aisles that do not even cover the basics. The citizens of France eat more than baguettes, but you wouldn't know that from your corporate food aisle.

It's time to go back to eating steak that tastes like it was purchased from a butcher's counter rather than torn off of your car tire. We have been conditioned to accept meats that are drier than British comedy and more discolored than a tie-dyed shirt, but alternatives often exist in your area. Family-owned markets often carry meat products that are sourced from the best providers and fresher than the Corporate Beef. And local grocers also take the time to seek out the international foods that we want-we live in a melting pot, so why are we still lacking the variety in our diets than the original settlers of this country did?

Try some specialty foods created by real chefs in small town markets, and rediscover that preparing food is actually an art! There is more to life than flat pop and steaks so dry that they may spontaneously combust. You may, however, have to go beyond the strip mall that sits off of the freeway exit in order to find the fresh, locally-owned choice. I'm telling you, family markets are where you need to go for great meats and specialty food.

Wondering where you can get some of these great meats? Check out http://www.franklinmarketbasket.com to see their mouthwatering selection.

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Great Meats and Specialty Food

Any regular grocery shopper is familiar with the chain stores and the monotony they represent: a meat department that is either mediocre in selection and quality or jaw-dropping in price; and ethnic aisles that do not even cover the basics. The citizens of France eat more than baguettes, but you wouldn't know that from your corporate food aisle.

It's time to go back to eating steak that tastes like it was purchased from a butcher's counter rather than torn off of your car tire. We have been conditioned to accept meats that are drier than British comedy and more discolored than a tie-dyed shirt, but alternatives often exist in your area. Family-owned markets often carry meat products that are sourced from the best providers and fresher than the Corporate Beef. And local grocers also take the time to seek out the international foods that we want-we live in a melting pot, so why are we still lacking the variety in our diets than the original settlers of this country did?

Try some specialty foods created by real chefs in small town markets, and rediscover that preparing food is actually an art! There is more to life than flat pop and steaks so dry that they may spontaneously combust. You may, however, have to go beyond the strip mall that sits off of the freeway exit in order to find the fresh, locally-owned choice. I'm telling you, family markets are where you need to go for great meats and specialty food.

Wondering where you can get some of these great meats? Check out http://www.franklinmarketbasket.com to see their mouthwatering selection.

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