No idea if there's a difference between freeze-dried and freeze-dried, but I'd recommend buying a small box of Kelloggs Special K Red Berries cereal and see what you think of the strawberries. Yes, I see the appeal (as do my kids!) but IMO they resemble fresh strawberries about as closely as Strawberry Nestle Quick does.

I use freeze-dried fruit (and vegetables) on a regular basis since it's part of our long-term food storage, and it gets rotated from storage into the pantry on a regular basis. We purchase ours in #10 cans, but you can find lots of outlets (on-line) where you can purchase it in smaller amounts: Honeyville Grain, Augason Farms, Emergency Essentials, Funky Monkey Snacks, The Raw Food World, etc..... There is a learning curve for using freeze-dried foods on a regular basis, but the neat thing about freeze-dried is it's great as-is for snacking, toss some into muffins or other baked goods or your morning oatmeal....

Emergency Essentials has recipes on their web site (link below).

-Grainlady

Here is a link that might be useful: Emergency Essentials

I bought my DH a week's supply of freeze dried food for Christmas. I wanted him to try the entrees before his Appalachian Trail hike around the end of March so he could decide what he likes and we can stock up on them. He will be carrying about a week's worth at a time and I will meet him at different trailheads to restock with his favorites. By the way, there is a new egg product put out by Nutriom called OvaEasy that they recommend. It comes in crystalized whole eggs or cystalized egg whites. Its supposed to be extremely good and comes in different sizes of containers starting with a twelve egg envelope. You might want to check out their blog.

www.livingoverland.com

I also use freeze-dried fruits/veggies on a regular basis as part of our long-term food storage program. Hardly a meal is made that some part isn't prepared with a freeze-dried ingredient. Like grainlady, we purchase in cases of #10 cans but Emergency Essentials (see grainlady's link) now offers some of the same products in their new MyChoice line that would be good to try as a starter.

In many cases, I prefer freeze-dried to fresh because they are prepared when at peak freshness/ripeness. Not always true from my local grocery stores. Consistency of product is another advantage. Freeze-dried foods retain more nutrients than canned. They weigh less and are less bulky for storage. They are always available in your pantry when desired. Lots of reasons to make freeze-dried part of your meal planning.

Their freeze-dried blackberries are just stupid good, IMO. I like them right out of the can...sort of like blackberry popcorn. Yum.

/tricia

Here is a link that might be useful: Emergency Essentials - MyChoice

Me too I use freeze-dried fruits & veggies on a regular basis. I buy most from emergency essentials I keep a 2 year supply on hand in case of any kind of emergency that may come our way plus as tricia and grainlady said you always have a full pantry.

In the last catalog I received I noticed they have peanut butter powder and wondered if anyone here has tried it?

Claudia

Another positive endorsement for OvaEasy egg crystals. I've used regular powdered eggs for many years when they were less expensive per egg than fresh shell eggs (normally each winter when egg production goes down), but I loved OvaEasy so well when I tried them I donated the powdered whole eggs I had in storage to a local mission who feeds the homeless, and replaced them with cans of OvaEasy.

OvaEasy last longer in storage than traditional powdered eggs, mix up easier (powdered eggs tend to clump and you have to sift it before measuring it) and taste better. The #10 cans contain 6 packets and each packet contains a dozen eggs. Once opened, the egg crystals will last a long time if kept air-tight. I wish they would have been available when my mother-in-law was alive because she wasted more eggs....

But back to freeze-dried fruit... If you have a Sam's Club membership, go to their web site and check prices for Augason Farms freeze-dried fruit if you are in the pricing stage. They will delivered to your door. It's usually less expensive through Sam's Club than through Augason Farms.

Honeyville Grain just had a 20% off sale, and have them several times a year (get on their e-newsletter list to receive notice when they have a sale). They also ship your entire order for $4.49, something else to consider. I order #10 cans of vital wheat gluten to use for making "wheat meat" (aka seitan or gluten to use as a high-protein meat extender), 5# bags of almond flour and hi-maize resistant starch, along with freeze-dried fruit, veggies and meat from Honeyville Grain.

-Grainlady

I am looking into freeze dried as I have no room left in my freezer in fridge so it's a storage issue. Good idea to try out smaller portions as I'm sure it can go stale upon opening. The Costco route probably isn't the best start up point. Thanks. I am guessing that the Costco cans are #10.
http://www.costco.ca/Browse/Product.aspx?prodid=10353586&whse=BCCA&topnav=

Claudia, yes I use peanut butter powder. Some things that come to mind are stir fry sauces, granola, cookies, cake icing, and I make a peanut mole sauce using powdered peanut butter. I think regular is messy to use. Powdered is easy. The only ingredient in Emergency Essential's is peanuts. No sugar, salt, preservatives, etc. Also a huge plus, IMO.

/tricia

grainlady..

Where is the best place to buy OvaEasy? Amazon has 2 # 10 cans for $65.64 and free shipping. Is that a good price?

Claudia

I posted pretty much the same time as you Grainlady so I missed your post. I have to ask - do you ever make your own almond flour? I have been making my own and find it is rather "chunky" and would like something a little more on the powder side. Is this how the almond flour from Honeyville grain is? Do you use the eggs for a scrambled egg also? Next thing to research, chickens - I really want two.

partst-

"Best" place for OvaEasy is where I find the lowest price. I got them on sale from Honeyville Grain, but they quit carrying them when they got their own brand of powdered whole eggs back in stock. I've also ordered them from Nitro-Pak where the #10 can is on sale for $29.99. See the link below.

Thanks grainlady..

I checked out Nitro-Pak and wow they wanted $17.00 shipping to my zip code so the Amazon price with free shipping will get my order.
Claudia

I was told (source now forgotten) that hydrated foods cause "gassiness." I was in the habit of taking dehydrated soups (Nile Spice brand) as lunch meals at my work place. I stopped when I was told this. Has anyone else had this experience?

OvaEasy Eggs can be purchased at Nutriom.com. That's where Living Overland got them from. Don't know what size package or can you were looking for, but they do offer them in different amounts from a one dozen egg pouch for $4.99 on up. Try http://www.nutriomstore.com/.