Orange Cinnamon Apple Chips - A Grain/Gluten Free, Nutritious, Fat Free Snack

The birthday man taking in the desert morning

To celebrate Brian's 30th birthday this past weekend we went backpacking in the Anza Borrego Desert. Backpacking always poses a challenge to eating - you need to balance weight, nutrients, increased appetite, limited cooking utensils and access, and food spoilage. This is especially challenging for 3+ day hikes in which you have to carry all of your food, supplies, and sometimes all your water if there is not a guaranteed spring or river water source where you can camp.

it's hard to fit 3 days of feeding brian and myself in this bag along with my supplies

Many people just opt for lots of power bars, granola, trail mix, and dehydrated meals like Mountain House. However, if you want to eat gluten free (me not brian), organic, vegan, and sugar free (obviously this is in reference to Brian and not my weak, chocolate-addicted self), you are left with very limited options. Plus, I dislike most power bars and find them completely unsatisfying - especially after lugging a 30 lb pack through the mountains all day. To ensure I don't become super cranky, and to fit inline with Brian's zest for ultra lightweight backpacking, I have started dehydrating my own backpacking meals at home.

Nesco American Harvest Dehydrator

So far I have only gone as far as dehydrating black beans and lentils for dinners, but in the world of snacks I have been much more courageous. Apple chips might be one of, if not my favorite so far. A lot of dried fruit comes out chewy, tough, and sticky. But these apple chips came out light, crisp, and just sweet enough without tasting too sugary. They were also super simple and provided us with an absurdly lightweight source of fiber and vitamins (dehydrating retains much more nutrients than baking or cooking). Bonus: these chips are fat free, naturally sweet/refined sugar free, gluten free, grain free, fiberful, and vegan.

Here's how you can make tasty travel snacks that last for months if sealed in an airtight container (I used a Food Saver vacuum sealer to stock up for our next trip). Note: this is a food dehydrator recipe, and I have not tried an oven substitute - if you don't have a food dehydrator, get one - they are awesome!

Orange Cinnamon Apple Chips Recipe - Gluten Free, Vegan, Dairy Free, Fat Free, Cane Sugar Free

Healthy Apple Chips - Perfect Backpacking recipe!

Ingredients:
4 oranges (can be substituted with lemon)
1 1/2 - 2 cups of water
organic ground cinnamon
6 medium sized organic apples (cored and peeled if they have a wax layer, otherwise the peeling is optional)

Juice the oranges into a large mixing bowl (or you could try substituting with about 1 1/2 cups of orange juice). You don't need a juicer for this - just use a lemon/citrus hand juicer.
Slice the cored apples (if peeling them, peel each one just before slicing to prevent browning) into 1/4 inch or thinner slices. I used a handheld mandolin slicer for this because you want the size of the slices to be as consistent as possible for even drying (kitchen tip: ALWAYS USE THE HAND GUARD, trust me...).

Put the slices in the bowl of orange juice as you slice each apple, and add water as needed to keep all the slices completely covered - swirl around to ensure they are all mixed in and soaking well.
Let the apple slices soak in the citrus water for about 10 minutes. This is very important to prevent the apple slices from browning during the slow dehydration process.
Then lay the slices out on the dehydrator trays, making sure not to overload the trays, as ventilation is very important for proper drying.
Sprinkle the slices with cinnamon and dry at 135 degrees for about 6-10 hours or until completely dry (to test, snap one in half and squeeze the center to see if any moisture comes out). Depending on your dehydrator, you might want to rotate the trays halfway through, and/or flip the apple slices.
Once dry, let cool for about 10 minutes, and then seal in an airtight container.

Walnut Raisin Gluten Free Granola

Try other fruits using the same method, like strawberries, mango, or pears. I also dried some banana slices but they came out pretty chewy. They were ok to snack on (minus getting stuck in your teeth a bit), but they were even better cooked with our oatmeal in the mornings - yum! We also enjoyed some yummy walnut raisin gluten free homemade granola that we munched on at breakfast, lunch, snack, and dinner/dessert.

Next I am looking forward to making some veggie chips. I'll let you know if I discover any good ones. Do you have any dehydrating recipes or recommendations? I would love advice on some good backpacking meals to dehydrate at home.

Here are a few other pics from the trip. We hiked Sheep Canyon to Cougar Falls in Anza Borrego State Park.