Our first piece of equipment

After officially launching Basic Healthy Living I am pleased to announce that my first piece of kitchen equipment has arrived. I already have what I call the "Chapman Family Nutrition Center" which consists of a Vitamix blender, A Breville Juice Fountain, A Big Berkey Water Filtration System and a food Processor.

Chapman Family Nutrition Center

Excalibur 9-tray food dehydrator

(Wow I'm starting to sound like a product junkie.) But now, I can add an Excalibur 9-tray dehydration system to the collection. It's still in the box as I was busy today with consultations, a run to the farmer's market, (which in case you didn't know can take me anywhere from 2-4 hours especially if I have to take the kids) return phone calls and emails along with preparing dinner. Phew, I'm tired just typing it all. Nonetheless, I am grateful as I am doing what I love so it's not really work right? 

So you may ask, what is a dehydrator and why on earth does your business need that?  It's pretty self explanatory, duh? But seriously, under the Basic Healthy Living Lifestyle (that's a new phrase that I've coined, you'll hear a lot more about it soon)  I support the belief that the best way to obtain the maximum amount of nutrition from the foods we eat is to eat it in it's uncooked state. This does not mean that one should never eat cooked food, but what is means is that a consorted effort should be made to consume as many raw vegetables and fruit as you can daily. Why is this important? Its important because vegetables and fruit contain some pretty serious vitamins, minerals and enzymes that when cooked, are destroyed. By eating more raw foods, your body does not have to work as hard to digest the foods which gives your body more energy to spend in other areas. This in turn can make you feel younger, healthier and happier. 

Have you ever had a pot of dead collard greens? Sure you have. Grandma or your mom (depending on how old you are) washed each collard green leaf carefully, rolled it up real tight, sliced it up nice and thin, threw it in a pot, slathered it in bacon grease, fat back and perhaps a ham hock or two, threw in some vinegar, hot sauce and if she was really jazzy, a green pepper. The greens then get boiled to death, simmered until they were nice and limp, then subsequently served on a plate or in a bowl with a side of corn bread if you have true southern roots. These "greens" are no longer the life-giving, nutrient-dense, healing leaf that God intended it to be. Do they taste good? Perhaps. But how much of a deposit is it making into your "health savings account?" 

Okay okay okay so getting back to the dehydrator. Dehydrated foods can date back to the days of ancient Egyptian civilization where the sun was used to preserve freshly harvested food. Even Christopher Columbus on his voyage to America carried dried fruit & vegetables. When you dehydrate foods at a temperature below 118 degrees, you are able to preserve and retain the vital nutrients in the food. You can dehydrate practically anything. From apples and pineapples, to okra and asparagus. (If you haven't had okra chips, you don't know what you are missing!) Dehydrated foods can be reconstituted and re-hydrated practically back to their original state. This is great for making soups, sauces or for when you travel. 

I am so excited about my dehydrator. If you are ever in the Atlanta area you'll be able to see the dehydrator in action at one of our seminars or at a Basic Healthy Living Lifestyle cooking class. I'll be sure to bring plenty of raw food snacks such as flax crackers, onion rings, and Kale Chips (yum!) for you to enjoy.  I cannot wait to make the kids some real "fruit roll ups" tomorrow. 

Happy Drying!