Zucchini Chips {Recipe Redux September 2014}

Happy Monday!  Guess what?  Today is Recipe ReDux Day!  If you haven’t heard of the Recipe ReDux, it’s a challenge to reinvent healthy eating with a taste first approach.  Each month a theme is given out and members use that theme to flex their creative muscles and come up with something healthy and delicious! Let’s take a look at this month’s challenge:

This Month’s Challenge:  Get Your Dehydrator On

“Whether it’s extra garden bounty or a sale at the supermarket – dehydrating food is a budget-friendly way to stock up for later. You can use a food dehydrator, a low slow oven, or natural sunshine to preserve natural healthfulness. Show us how you like to dehydrate, or a healthy recipe for how you enjoy using dehydrated fruits, veggies or other bounty.”

I made Zucchini Chips using the low slow option.  Truth be told I wanted to do something fruit, but I’m still trucking away at Sugar Free September, so I opted to use the last of some Zucchini in the fridge.  Plus, I don’t have a dehydrator so I also wanted to test out using the oven as a dehydrator.

After several failed attempts, I did purchase a mandolin from target (used setting 2).  In order for this to work the zucchini need to be sliced exactly the same so that some pieces don’t get charred.  I’d also recommend just using one cookie sheet full at a time (1 medium zucchini) because my racks tend to produce different products.  I was snacking on these by themselves, but then I remembered my FAVORITE thing to do with dried vegetables… throw them in salad!

For some reason since they were “chips” I really wanted them to become nachos, so I made a taco salad with cheese, guacamole, and ground turkey seasoned with taco seasoning.  It was DELICIOUS!

Directions:

1.  Use a Mandolin on setting 2 to thinly slice one whole medium zucchini into rounds.  Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and place round in one layer on sheet.  Spray with desired cooking oil (I used olive in my Misto.)

2.  Set oven temp to lowest setting  (mine was 170F) and dehydrate for 2 hours or more.  I opened up my oven door during the last 30 minutes to help them dry out a bit faster.

3.  Assemble taco salad with zucchini chips or use them to dip or snack on!

Don’t forget to check out the link up below from the fellow Reduxers for more ideas on dehydrating your favorite foods!

[Tweet “Easy and Delicious Zucchini Chips via @hungryhobby! No dehydrator required. #RecipeReDux”]

 Past Recipe Redux Posts:

• Sweet Bourhon Plantains
• Coconut Sugar Lemon Almonds