With all the mention being made of childhood obesity and how it is actually being considered by some to be an epidemic, you may be more concerned than ever with ensuring your youngster has proper nutrition. You know that in order to accomplish this you must make sure they are getting the proper amounts of fruit and vegetables that they need.

But what if you have a child who doesn’t like vegetables, or would rather eat a candy bar or cookie than a piece of fruit? What can you do to make sure they are getting the foods they need? You can purchase a food dehydrator and dry the fruits and vegetables you grow or buy yourself.

Dehydrated food just looks different than fresh or frozen food, and sometimes this is all it takes to get your youngster to eat them. For example, those dehydrated carrots don’t look like carrots any more. You sliced them with a serrated knife, which left those cute little ridges, popped them in the food dehydrator, and now they look like orange pickles!

And those sliced strawberries that your youngster refused to eat because they made such a mess? Now that you have dried them in your food dehydrator, they can literally make them a hand-held snack. You can even use your food dehydrator to dry meat. Your child may not like eating regular meat, but they may enjoy eating beef or chicken jerky.

Drying your meat also means it’s easier to add meat to vegetable dishes. Just toss a few strips of dried meat in with those dehydrated peas or beans you’re cooking and you’ve got an instant one-dish meal. Using a food dehydrator makes it easier to pack healthy lunches and snacks for your youngster. They don’t have to worry about keeping their lunch or snack refrigerated, because dehydrated food won’t spoil.