I grow my own herbs and dehydrate them. 

You can also dehydrate things like dandelion, lemongrass, mint and the like to eventually make your own teas.

I also melt my cacao butter in the dehydrator when I need it.

Tomatoes dried in the dehydrator are yummm.....I cut them up and sprinkle with herbs and salt (which may be a no-no for you) and dry overnight.

Can make veggie chips made out of zucchinis, sweet potato.....and recently I heard you can make kale chips!!  Haven't tried that one yet.

Dried banana is yummy....well, actually any fruit will do.  Maybe the citrus ones are one to watch out for as they become bitter, BUT that may be to your liking.  Try strawberries, grapes, blueberries, cherries, kiwi fruit, apple, pear, pineapple.....whatever.  Oh, Mango......yummmm.

If you eat nuts, once you have soaked them you can then drain them and dry them in the dehydrator.  They become crunchy.  Yum.

That's all I can think of at the moment, but I'm sure there are plenty more suggestions.

BTW, as to a dehydrator being an essential part of raw, well, I don't necessarily agree with that, but I do enjoy having a dehydrator.  You can do so many things in it.

Take care

Luv

Rita

Thanks Jen and Rita,
 Glad to hear that it is not essential to have a dehydrator but more an step to greater enjoyment     Seems like i am underutilizing my dehydrator though...I've done fruit leathers and dried fruits in it and they are far better than what you buy in the shops especially banana which i dip in orange juice first to stop them turning brown. Can you tell me how long to dehydrate nuts for, i think I did mine for too long and they are reallllly hard and crunchy i think i did them for 36 hours as every one i tried was soft, seems they get crunchy after they 'cool'.  Do you use linseed/flax seeds for your crackers?  Do you have any favourite recipe's for crackers?  If so do you mind sharing them?    I have not done tomatoes and will try them in summer, can you tell me what are the best variety to dry and do you then store them in oil or are they just stored in plastic/glass containers?
May be i should wait a bit till summer comes around and fruits are in greater and cheaper supply as well then dehydrate some for the winter months, mean time look for cracker recipes etc to utilze my dehydrator more.
thanks
regards
frangipanni
Vivien

Absolutely nothing!  Who wants to buy my excalibur?  I used it 3 times. 

google russell james raw chef and check out his Mediterranean almond bread. great for sandwiches! you could try a sweet one using maybe apple and banana instead of the zucchini and tomatoes in that recipe. just add some nut butter and blended berries and agave and you've got a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. its a good way to get rid of left over almond pulp from almond milk.

sorry guys been off line for a 'cupla dayze', Thanks Tora Chan for the suggestions, will check the sites out and try your suggestions, 

I'd be interested in your excalibur if you are in Oz, as i have heard that generally most items generally dont work all that well if a transformer is used, unless it is factory fitted. Any comments on that from any one?
regards
Frangipanni

Okayyyyyy, so you store dried toms in glass in oil, is that correct?         Oh, by the way the SD'd toms i buy are in those plastic disposable containers..... but Glass is certainly better I agree, i guess you can add herbs and garlic as well then? What varieties are better? Roma seem to be better when I buy SD'd toms, any one had any luck with other types, I am thinking of growing them for summer and drying them.
Thanks
regards
Frangipanni

When I do sun dried tomatoes I slice them finely in the food processor with slicing attachment or v-slicer, then dry them 100% until crispy (12-24 hours), let cool, and store in a glass jar in the cupboard. I don't use oil. Most of mine I use to thicken sauces, or chop in salads. They have time to absorb the moisture they need in the dish (or are blended fully).

If you want them a little richer, but don't want to use lots of oil, you can do what Miriam does (Panda on the forum) and brush each slice with a mix of fresh herbs and good quality olive oil. They dry a little crisper and have lots of flavour too. Maybe even try some pressed/finely chopped garlic in the iol mix.

Plum/Roma tomatoes are usually used because they have more flesh than other varieties, but all types work well. And Miss Giggles is right the flavour of cherry tomatoes is excellent. Do make sure you cut them though, I once tried to dry without cutting (like raisins) as an experiment and they never dried.