Fresh vs Processed

DH and I bought a dehydrator tonight. I can't wait for the weekend to try it out! We have so many spices in the garden and hot peppers that we need to dehydrate some before they go bad. I have been surfing the Internet and my favorite website, Pinterest, looking for different things I can dehydrate. There are soooo many options. I want to make my own trail mix for work and different fruits for my morning oatmeal. This will all help to keep me on the allergen-free straight and narrow as it will open up so many options.

Dehydrating it myself will also be cheaper AND I will know exactly what is in my foods. That is something I am liking about eating clean. I know what is in my food. Before, when I ate processed foods I would have absolutely no idea what was in it. If I did bother reading the ingredient's lists, I wouldn't recognize half of the ingredients! Do you ever look at that list and scratch your head? Look at a simple Chocolate Frosted Donut from Dunkin' Donuts. If you follow the link and look at the ingredients, they have to tell you what some of those ingredients even are! If they didn't tell me I would not know what Soy Lecithin was or what Potassium Sorbate was used for. And for that matter what is Sodium Stearoyl Lactylate?
When I make food now, I am the one putting the ingredients together and I know exactly what they are and what they are for. I also don't have to worry that what I am putting in my body doesn't have so many preservatives that it won't ever rot. Have you ever seen Supersize Me? The burger and fries on the desk never rot. Think about that in your stomach. Gross!

I know which I would prefer! How about you?