u/Unusualhuman

Hello all, has anyone in here tried out the Recipes for Adventure cookbooks by Glenn McAllister? I've looked at reviews, they are not at my local library, I'm wondering if they are worth $25 ish each. And is volume 2 much different from Volume 1?

My dehydrated things must be very low sodium/salt free, gluten free, dairy free to work with my family's special dietary needs. I'm looking for more "instant meal" recipes to help us with traveling, because eating away from home with these special dietary needs is tricky. Having to do a lot of grocery shopping and cooking during a vacation isn't fun at all. It also means that we have to very carefully plan meals, and even bring special cookware along sometimes. But, home dehydrated "backpacker" just add water and simmer/thermos soak could be an excellent solution to really help simplify travel eating for us.

Anyway, are the books really worth the price? Are the recipes going to be mostly incompatible with no salt, gluten, dairy diets? Or can the recipes be safely modified with salt free, gluten free, dairy free swaps/substitutions?

I've been making yogurt for a while, and I'm settling on my best method being using the instant pot, on "saute" with a rack, and stainless steel pitcher inside for raising the temp to 180', then maybe an ice water bath to lower it down to 110', and incubation in a fridge storage ready container, in the same instant pot, on "yogurt" setting.

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But I'm wondering about a few small details.

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Has anyone noticed a difference in finished texture when you allow the milk to cool slowly at room temp, vs quickly in a bath of ice water? I think that the slower cooling at room temp seems to yield a smoother, creamier finish, but creates skin at the top which must be removed. I don't notice the skin forming at all when cooling it in an ice water bath, but I'm stirring that actively so maybe that prevents it? Perhaps I'm skimming off some protein when it cools slowly and then gets the skin removed before incubating?

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I also wondered about the containers that are safe to use in the instant pot water bath for incubation. It seems like at 108' that pretty much any container that fits correctly should be safe. I want to use a cute, new ceramic bowl which says it's safe for microwave, fridge, and dishwasher. Would that be questionable for incubating? As long as I'm not thermal shocking it, to me I think that container should be fine for that low heat setting, but I would like to hear what others think.

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My husband doesn't really like scooping out of Mason jars for some reason. I don't really want to incubate in re-used plastic yogurt containers. I'm having a little trouble finding the right sized dish, with a lid, if it's got to be oven safe. Pyrex storage containers are probably the most likely option, if I can't use the "cute ceramic" bowls.

I'm looking for more recipes using my home dehydrated foods, especially some that would be useful for traveling. I'm thinking like, things that are essentially like the "meals in a jar" recipes, but maybe with different cooking methods outlined so that I don't need to bring my pressure cooker on travels. I'm thinking I could adapt some pressure cooker recipes to include some presoaking of dehydrated ingredients, and using canned beans instead of dried beans in the mix. But I'm still pretty new to cooking with dehydrated ingredients.

I've read that it's possible to cook up a one-pan meal, then dehydrate that- like maybe a vegan chili, or refried rice, then later rehydration is fast and easy to add in some canned or freshly sauteed bites of chicken, scrambled egg, browned ground beef, etc. but I haven't tried that kind of dehydrating yet, it's been more making dried fruit snacks, or putting up bulk single veggies to pull from the pantry, to use in instant pot recipes.

Can you recommend some online sources of recipes for me to check out? In my family we've got to stay low sodium for me, plus no gluten & dairy for one of the kids. We make adjustments on our own plates to add certain ingredients, and I can make some substitutions pretty easily, but often I need to carefully pick and choose a few recipes from any collection to find ones that will fit our needs.

Thank you in advance!

Has anyone in here tried using a "ham maker/meat press" to make your own homemade, low/no salt deli meats? I just learned that these exist, and it's left me wondering if I could make some good tasting, low sodium lunch meat in one of these. I do enjoy a little homemade deli sandwich now and then, but I only know of a few deli meats that are low enough in sodium to fit my dietary needs.

https://a.co/d/00xplP4S

So I have very very sensitive skin. I'm figuring out that hyaluronic acid, niacinamide, ceramides, and chemical sunscreens are all problems for me. Also I can't use tea tree, and I avoid citrus oils as well. When a listing includes any of these I don't order.

But often what happens is that I request a product from my RFY that doesn't mention those ingredients anywhere (and I click all through to look at every detail) but when it arrives... I see one or more of those ingredients on that full ingredients list on the packaging!

The first few times I still tested items. First I did an allergy patch test on my inner elbow. I have to do this with anything new, even if there's nothing obvious in the ingredient list. It seems I can tolerate a lot more on my inner elbow than on my face, though, because pretty often I then try new things on my face, and it burns. A few times I've been left with little red flaky patches, or tiny blisters around my lips from just trying these products for a few minutes. I have only continued to test these things "surprise known personal irritant ingredient" a few times, and now I'm done, I've decided I'm not taking that risk any more if I am surprised by those ingredients on the packaging info.

So far, I've been including photos of the ingredients list with my reviews on these situations, and trying to review the product honestly, but also mention my sensitivity, the lack of full ingredient list by the seller, and my disappointment that I ordered something then found out I can't actually use it. I typically give 3 stars at most for these situations, because of the lack of info in the listing, but in fairness, most people won't be bothered by those ingredients.

But today with my lips irritated again, and deciding not to even try it if I get a "surprise irritant" product- is the way I'm handing it the fairest way? I don't want to screw the sellers, I appreciate the vine program. But I also am tired of feeling like I'm getting screwed by lack of info on all ingredients in the product- before I order it.

What do you all think?

I just wanted to ask, do you all think that I'm handling this issue fairly?