Dehydrator or Food Processor?

[ebonysea7]

If you had limited funds (like me) and had to chose one, which would you get first and why?

/gfj

[tvillemom]

Well....since I DON'T have a dehydrator, but DO have a blender and a food processor...I vote for the FP! Do you have a blender? I have found that my CHEAP blender makes a GREAT nut grinder. All ya have to do is take the BIG blender "cup" off and substitute a small mason jar (it screws into the same place) and I've made lots of stuff. I can't make cookies and such, but what I have learned to make to stave off my "sweet" craving is chopped nuts w/ raisins. What I do is: use equal portions of each (say 1/2 cup of each) and first grind my nuts in the small jar...then put raisins in the blender and blend them alittle to make them kinda like mush....then add the nuts to the blender....make them into little balls. I even roll them in some cinnamon...I KNOW it doesn't sound like much...but my NON-RAISIN-EATING SON ate a whole plate full!! :D I also use my FP for making all sorts of pate's, garden burger mixtures, hummus...I don't think I could stay RAW without it...the dehydrator will be a nice bonus when I get one!! I sure hope this helps!!
Wendi
PS. I don't have an expensive FP either...I have an OLD hand-me-down Hamilton Beach ;) . My Mother-in-law gave it to me one year after she decided she had made her last batch of fruit cake with it...she thought it might be on its' last leg...so she said, "Maybe it will last you alittle while till you get your own"...TWO years later...it's still grinding away!!

[ebonysea7]

Score 1 for the FP! I do have a blender but it's not very strong. And, thank heaven, I have a juicer I bought years ago. I like the nut/raisin snack idea. I'll have to give it a try.

Thanks for your feedback, tvillemom.


/gfj

[rawpriestess]

definitely food processor, although the dehydrator can not be beat for crackers, and warmed foods, I did start my raw journey years ago with a baby 2 cup food processor, and a salad shooter type of thingy and my Vita Mix, and that was it, now of course, I've purchased every kitchen gadget known to woman kind.

But back then, that was all I had. I think a food processor costs about $40 at Walmart, and they are great, also you can get an American Harvest Nesco dehydrator at Walmart for abourt $40, or so I've heard on this site, just make sure it has the temp control.

Have fun shopping.

[Raw_Medic]

My vote would be for the FP too. You can do so much more with the FP, besides, if you need to choose between the two remember this, most of the stuff you'd stick in the dehydrator first will need to be processed in an FP. So you'd kinda be defeating the purpose. But the other question is how much money you want to spend. My FP is the same as the one Alissa used in her DVD, she said in her book that she uses an inexpensive FP. Mine was about $40, it's a black and decker, and works amazingly! I also have a dehydrator I picked up at Walmart for about the same amount, it's a Nesco. It's round with a whole in the middle of each tray, which makes it interesting when i try and make loaves...I usually end up making patties. So depending on what you want to spend, you can get both for about $80. BTW, the dehydrator does have temp control, and on there website you can even get spacers to make thicker stuff.

So in conclusion ;-), I'd get the FP first. Then make Alissa's Date Nut Torte (if you don't have her book, it's posted under her recipe section you can get to from her home page) and then you'll thank yourself 10times over for getting the FP first!

Ursula

[Revvell]

Food processor. Can't hardly use a dehydrator unless your food has been processed in some way and doing it by hand will not endear you to this lifestyle.

R.

[Ariannah]

My vote is for the FP... I'm still hmming and hawwing over getting a dehydrator. I think I will start off with a cheap dehydrator to get the family started on all the yummy raw dishes and recipes I see.

I'm not much of a raw gourmet, as plain seems to satisfy me. But I'm enjoying the raw cauli "rice" or "couscous" (depending on how I process it) and even "whipped" (like potatoes). This past week it satisfied my potato/rice cravings. I'm experimenting with lots of things so I have a nice repertoire to serve the family. My DH seems more and more open to raw foods, and my children already are fruits and greens afficianados so I'm partway there.

Oops. Did I mention my vote is for the food processor? ;)

[Autumn]

Food processor - for all the reasons previously mentioned.

[ebonysea7]

Thanks everyone. All your responses match what I thought already. I'm surprised that one can buy a decent dehydrator for so little. It may not be long before I have both but I think the FP is the way to go for now.

/gfj

[TimmyC]

Food processor. Why?


One reason is that I did my 30 days without a dehydrator without any problems. You can too.
It's cheap, mine cost $39.
It's simple and fast and easy cleanup.
Instant food, as opposed to having to wait
Start off small, and then develop your preparing over time. Maybe that will give you some time to save up for a quality dehydrator. I just ordered mine yesterday.
Just my 2 cents,

Tim

[ebonysea7]

Food processor. Why?


One reason is that I did my 30 days without a dehydrator without any problems. You can too.
It's cheap, mine cost $39.
It's simple and fast and easy cleanup.
Instant food, as opposed to having to wait
Start off small, and then develop your preparing over time. Maybe that will give you some time to save up for a quality dehydrator. I just ordered mine yesterday.
Just my 2 cents,

Tim

Your 2 cents are appeciated, Tim. Great points.

/gfj

[shakti17]

i just bought a $40 black and decker food processor -- i LOVE it!! it works great, so much fun! :)

[ebonysea7]

Well, you'll be pleased to know that I got a little windfall in the mail yesterday so I'm going out and get my FP this weekend at Wal-Mart AND maybe get the dehydrator too! (We'll see since I've got some bills to catch up on.)

I'm psyched!!! :D

Thanks for everyone's input.

/gfj

[Nama NY]

Well....since I DON'T have a dehydrator, but DO have a blender and a food processor...I vote for the FP! Do you have a blender? I have found that my CHEAP blender makes a GREAT nut grinder. All ya have to do is take the BIG blender "cup" off and substitute a small mason jar (it screws into the same place) and I've made lots of stuff. I can't make cookies and such, but what I have learned to make to stave off my "sweet" craving is chopped nuts w/ raisins. What I do is: use equal portions of each (say 1/2 cup of each) and first grind my nuts in the small jar...then put raisins in the blender and blend them alittle to make them kinda like mush....then add the nuts to the blender....make them into little balls. I even roll them in some cinnamon...I KNOW it doesn't sound like much...but my NON-RAISIN-EATING SON ate a whole plate full!! :D I also use my FP for making all sorts of pate's, garden burger mixtures, hummus...I don't think I could stay RAW without it...the dehydrator will be a nice bonus when I get one!! I sure hope this helps!!
Wendi
PS. I don't have an expensive FP either...I have an OLD hand-me-down Hamilton Beach ;) . My Mother-in-law gave it to me one year after she decided she had made her last batch of fruit cake with it...she thought it might be on its' last leg...so she said, "Maybe it will last you alittle while till you get your own"...TWO years later...it's still grinding away!!

Hi, tvillemom:
When you mentioned about blender and Mason jar method, I was not quite sure what you meant, and I found this site http://www.elise.com/recipes/archives/001357tip_blender_and_mason_jar.php. I just grind flax seeds and it worked very well. I don’t have to use s small coffee grinder anymore. Thanks!

[Rawkinlocs]

Tvillemom and Nama NY...THANK YOU for a great tip and for the link (Nama NY)!!

This should definitely cut down on my prep time when grinding such a small amount of flax seeds at a time in my coffee grinder :D

[Essensual]

...okay for some reason I couldn't the pics to download so I had to visualize the instructions. I am psyched to try this when I get home. I the only rawbie at my house and I am always trying to figure out how to make smaller batches of things. How awesome is this!?!?

[Mom of 3]

Yard sale season is almost over, but you never know what you'll find.
I found a juiceman juicer for $2.25 to send to my sister, a Hamilton beach blender for $2.75, and a spiral slicer for $2.00. There were no dehydrators that day, but a year ago I was given a dehydrator that was larger than a microwave. It kind of sat around as I was figuring out this raw thing. Now I make these sheets of "bread/crackers" out of cauliflower, carrot, flax seed and spices. It works great for that filling sandwich feel. I grind the flax seeds a few at a time in the coffee grinder that my mother gave me. Maybe you'll find your food processor at a yard sale or the thrift store like I did!