Decorating with Dehydrated Oranges

We had a busy day today getting ready for Christmas! We woke up early, put on our winter coats, and headed out to cut down our first Christmas tree together for the first time as a couple! Of course we had to make a pit stop for coffee first, this mom wouldn’t be able to function with out it! LOL. We had anticipated a cute photo of daddy with Lilly picking out the perfect tree, and then daddy cutting down the tree and dragging it back to the car. Unfortunately, our little elf couldn’t stay awake long enough so we ended up picking one of the pre-cut trees and heading home.

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Lilly bright eyed and ready to cut down a tree! Lilly is wearing a bow from Cadyandjax
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We still had to get a photo even if she was sleeping!

When we got back home we quickly got to work putting up the tree and decorating it. As usual, Lilly, had to check it out with her curious little hands! We made sure to get a soft tree since we knew she would be exploring it’s limbs. Once the tree was in place I was high on Christmas spirit. I turned Pandora on to my favorite holiday channel and got busy wrapping presents and placing Christmas decor all over the house!

As soon as our little elf fell asleep I was ready to start slicing oranges for an eco-friendly holiday garland! Some ways you can use dehydrated oranges are as ornaments for the tree, as a replacement for the bow on top of a present, as decoration on wreathes and centerpieces, pop one or two in cup of tea, or grind it up for a marinade. There are so many ways you can get creative with oranges at Christmas time or even all year round!

First you will want to wash the oranges thoroughly. Then, slice them about 1/4 of an inch thick. I find that the thinner you slice them, the faster they “cook”. You can use a knife or a mandoline to slice them, but either way be careful not to get your fingers! Once you have them sliced you can either layer them on the dehydrator trays as is or you can blot the excess juice out to make for a shorter dehydrating time.

I set my dehydrator to about 130 degrees and it usually take 24-48 hours for my oranges to dehydrate. This will vary depending on how thinly you slice them. I rotate my trays every few hour, but I never flip the oranges. The ends of the oranges will curl up so I leave them facing the same way the entire time. Disclaimer: Your house will smell HEAVENLY the entire time!

Once they are done, you can use them however you want. No matter how you use them though they will be sure to add a warm feeling to your home during the coldest time of the year! Tag me on Instagram or on facebook with your creations. I would love to see what you do with them! Below are some ways I used them this year.