A great new gluten free food find of mine is Dry-It, who do a range of products using dehydrated fruit and vegetables. Now don't let the word 'dehydrated' scare you away, stick with me here, what they do is pretty darn clever...
As fruit and vegetables are seasonal, this often means that there is a surplus when they are in season that goes to waste. This has many negative effects such as unnecessary packaging and transportation costs, disposal issues, loss of income for farmers and a pet hate of mine - food waste.
The clever souls at Dry-It came up with a solution to this problem. By using energy efficient low temperature dryers, they can dry surplus fruit and vegetables to create some wonderful products. This method of drying means that the nutritional value is reserved, and no chemicals, preservatives, colourings or additives are required. This is particularly good for those with sulphur allergies who usually have to avoid dried fruits.
Some of their products that I have tried are:
Banana wattle seed mix
All the dried banana that I've ever had has been hard and chip like. But this banana is still chewy, and a very good snack for a sweet-tooth like myself. Plus the pack has little wattle seeds, almonds, sultanas, hazelnuts and bits of chocolate in it - yum!
Dried apple
They come in different varieties of apple!
Quick meals
Simply add water (and maybe a little cream), and voila, you have a sweet potato soup. Or just add some oil and water and you have a mushroom and garlic risotto! Now, those who know me are aware that I'm not a real fan of pre-packaged meals, but these are really good - and I guess they should be, there's no nasties added.
Some other products include; a steak rub, stir fry mixes, other dried fruits and much more.
They are currently available at Thomas Dux stores and Norton Street Grocer.
