Sample, Anyone?

I would love to share some samples of Thrive with you! Feel free to email me at rtdjreeder@gmail.com and let me know what you'd like to try.


I haven't blogged about the yogurt or ice cream yet, but it is so good and yes, I can mail you ice cream! I can also send samples of corn, broccoli, strawberries and banana chips just to name a few. I could even send some instant milk powder for you to try or how about a little bit of chicken salad? Let me know what you're curious about and if I have it on hand I am happy to send you a sample.

The Vegetables

I am so happy with the quality of all the Thrive vegetables I've tried so far. The sweet corn and broccoli are great to snack on right out of the can. I actually keep a baggie of corn in my purse for a little munchie. I've never been a big fan of canned vegetables, even though I tend to serve canned green beans or corn with dinner pretty often. I usually buy Green Giant even though it costs a little more because I hope it tastes the best. I've now started replacing my canned beans and corn with Thrive and I really like it. It's just as easy as canned. I just add water and microwave for a few minutes just like I normally did with canned veggies. It tastes so much fresher and there's no preservatives!

The other night I wanted to make a comfort type casserole for dinner that called for a bag of frozen mixed vegetables. I didn't have any in the freezer and didn't feel like going to the store. Then I thought - Oh yeah, I can use Thrive! I just took out my cans of corn, green beans, onions, carrots and peas, poured some of each in a bowl, added boiling water and let it sit covered for about 10 minutes. Drained the veggies and they were ready to go.


The colors were so vibrant! The veggies stayed a little crisp and tasted great in the casserole. No more frozen bags of mixed veggies for me! I love that I can just make the amount that I need. I don't know how many times I've left half used bags in the freezer that stay there for too long and never get used.

Representing the men in the family...

Hi,
My beautiful wife Trish has assigned me the task of writing about the Thrive instant powdered milk. I think it's because I'm the chief consumer of dairy in the family. She isn't much of a recreational milk drinker, but I guzzle the stuff. We really should invest in a milk cow, but because I don't have time for care, feeding, and milking of the animal, and because the neighbors would likely complain, that's not happening anytime soon.

In the meantime, I have found that Thrive milk is really close to store-bought. I have tried whey powder, soy milk, and almond milk. I actually enjoy drinking them all to some degree, and some quite a lot. Powdered milk is another story. I haven't tried them all, but those I have don't even work with chocolate - they are relegated to pancakes. There are rumors about powdered milk brands available that are close to the real thing - I just haven't experienced any until we got the Thrive Instant Milk. It's great being able to skip a trip to the store just to get milk. The Thrive powder mixes up well with cold water (1 and a 1/3 cup into 2 quarts water) and is ready to drink.

I am a fan, and most telling of all, the boys drink it without ever asking if it's "real" milk or homemade. Until the next time Trish needs me to write her blog for her,
Rob

Easy Spinach Pasta

Have I mentioned that I really like to make easy dinners? I found a recipe for Spinach Shells on the Shelf Reliance website, it sounded super easy so I thought I'd try it out. I had recently ordered a can of Thrive freeze dried spinach and was excited to use it. Are you wondering what a can of freeze dried spinach looks like? Here's a picture for you -

I know that looks like a lot of spinach but this will stay fresh for 2 years. I didn't have shell pasta so I used macaroni noodles. I honestly didn't really measure anything so the amounts in the recipe are estimates and completely flexible. I pretty much just got all the cans I needed out of my pantry and shook some of each in while the macaroni was cooking. It's not the prettiest meal ever and I was worried how my family would like it, but they surprising all loved it! Even though it's not very pretty I'll still show you a picture. I've since started adding Thrive Mixed Bell Peppers which gives a little more color but it's not shown in this picture.

Easy Spinach Pasta Dinner
3 cups macaroni
1 cup Thrive FD chopped Chicken
1 cup Thrive FD spinach
1 cup Thrive FD celery
1/2 cup Thrive mixed bell peppers
onion salt
garlic powder
3 Tbsp Thrive Butter Powder (or 3T butter and omit hot water)
3 Tbsp hot water
4 Tbsp cream cheese
parmesan cheese

In a medium saucepan boil 2 quarts water. Add the pasta, chicken, spinach, celery and peppers. Boil until the pasta is ready. Drain and return to the pan on low heat. Mix the butter powder with the hot water and add to the pasta with the cream cheese, garlic powder and onion salt. Mix until the cream cheese is melted and everything is heated through. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese.

Super Easy Chicken Salad

Really? Dried Chopped Chicken in a can that stays fresh for 25 years unopened and 1 year opened? Surely it must taste like cardboard. This is what I thought before I actually tried the chicken.

After trying this chicken salad I was shocked that it was so good and tasted just like fresh chicken. I've had this chicken salad served on crackers at a couple of Shelf Reliance parties and everybody loves it. I love how easy it is to make. No cooking raw chicken and no chopping vegetables. My husband made this salad for a quick dinner the other night since we were seriously low on groceries and it turned out great!

Chicken Salad Sandwiches

1 1/2 cups Thrive FD chicken
1/2 cup Thrive FD celery
1/3 cup Thrive onion
3 cups water
1/2 cup mayo
salt and pepper

Combine chicken, celery, onion and water in a saucepan over high heat. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to low and simmer until reconstituted (about 10 minutes). Drain well, making sure to remove all excess water. Set aside in the refrigerator until cool. Combine the cooled chicken mixture with mayo. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Spoon onto bread or crackers.

The Q

I am really impressed with all of the useful tools and information on the Shelf Reliance website. Even if you're not looking to purchase anything right now there is a lot of useful stuff. When I began looking into their products as a way to become more self reliant and prepared for emergencies I was very interested in the Q. The Q is a monthly plan that allows you to create a food plan, set a budget and then have food sent to you every month. Of course items can always be purchased without a monthly plan, but here is how the Q works:

• You create a custom food storage plan (even without signing up for the Q) You just enter your family members and how long of a supply of food you'd like to have on hand - anywhere from 3 to 24 months. You are able to edit the plan to fit your family's likes and needs.
• Next you set a monthly budget. As much as I'd like to buy everything all at once, I knew that was not practical for our family. Being on the Q helps me know that month by month I am adding to my storage while staying on a budget. Plus by using my Thrive food in some of our meals I am able to use a portion of my grocery budget towards the Q.
  
• Finally you set up a monthly ship date to begin receiving shipments. It's pretty comparable to Netflix. Once you have your queue set up you are always able to adjust what is going to be sent to you.
  

Being on the Q ensures that you always receive the lowest prices on Thrive food. Some of the prices are 1% - 4% cheaper than ordering directly from my website. There is also a Q Club rewards program which provides additional benefits. The basic bronze level is free while the highest platinum level costs $79.99. My favorite things about the platinum level is the monthly coupons - usually 25% off a certain item, for May it is the Sour Cream Powder, monthly recipes and earning reward points towards free products. The best part is there are 3 different ways to get on the Platinum Q Club for Free!

1. Sign up for the Q with at least a $100 monthly budget.
2. 2 or more people sign up for the Q at a party at any budget amount. This does not necessarily have to be done through a party. If you get at least 2 people together and contact me, I can place you on the Platinum Q for Free!
3. Become a Consultant! This way you can get free platinum membership as well as a discount on all of your purchases!

If you'd like to get more information - and probably better explanations than mine - here are some links:

The Q https://www.shelfreliance.com/productqueue/
Q Club http://www.shelfreliance.com/parties/index/thriveqclub

Baked Potato Soup

I received a recipe for Baked Potato Soup from another Shelf Reliance consultant. It sounded good but I made some changes to make it even easier. I'm finding that convenience is my favorite thing about cooking with my Thrive food. I'm all about finding shortcuts and having meals that are quick and easy to make. I also like that this soup is healthier than baked potato soups I've made in the past. I usually prefer a cream base potato soup but this has a broth base and is still creamy and yummy! This recipe uses Thrive Freeze Dried Potato Dices. I can't tell you how much I liked having all my potatoes peeled and cut up for me, and yet they still taste just like fresh potatoes. Here's a picture of these adorable little potato dices.

I liked this soup so much I think I made it 3 times in 2 weeks. What I ended up doing was assembling all the ingredients into several ziplock bags. This saves me even more time and I love having assembled meals in my pantry. All I have to do is add water and cook. I brought some of my meals in a bag to a Shelf Reliance party and let the host and those that booked parties choose a meal to take home!

Baked Potato Soup
4 cups Thrive FD Potato Dices
4 tsp Thrive Chicken Bouillon added to 8 cups water
2/3 cup Thrive FD onion
1 cup Thrive Powdered Sour Cream reconstituted with 1/4 cup water
1 cup Thrive TVP Ham or Bacon (optional)
salt and pepper

Cook potatoes and onion in chicken broth until soft, about 20 minutes, adding additional water if necessary. Mash Slightly. Stir in sour cream and bacon. Heat until warmed through, adding more water if necessary. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Sour Cream Doodles

Snickerdoodles are probably my most favorite cookie. So when I got this recipe for Sour Cream Doodles in an email from Shelf Reliance yesterday I knew I had to try them. I've been wanting to try baking with the Thrive butter and egg powders and this gave me the perfect excuse!

Here's what the reconstituted butter looked like. Please don't pay attention to the dirty countertop. Apparently the maid (that would be me) didn't realize how dirty the tile grout was until it was photographed. Why did anyone ever think white tile kitchen countertops were a good idea? Seriously.
It was definitely different than creaming butter and sugar together like I normally do, but it was really easy and the dough seemed like normal cookie dough. I'm sure I won't use butter powder every time I bake, but it's so nice knowing that if I want to bake and realize I'm out of refrigerated butter I can use the powder instead. It also saves me the embarrassment of asking to borrow butter from my neighbor or having to load up the kids and go to the grocery store just for butter. Can you tell this has happened to me a few times??? I also thought the butter powder would be nice for those times I was planning on baking but forgot to set out my butter to soften. When this happens I end up putting it in the microwave and it ends up melting a little and I end up getting frustrated!

I also have to mention the egg powder. It worked great too and I couldn't tell a difference. But here's the BEST part about the egg powder - The process they use in freeze drying the eggs kills all of the Salmonella. This means I can eat my cookie dough! Oh wait, I always eat the cookie dough. Well now I can eat the cookie dough without the risk of Salmonella! I do try to be a good mom and not let my kids eat regular cookie dough. Although I'm not sure if I'll tell them that they now can eat the dough. There probably wouldn't be any left to bake!

Overall the cookies turned out great. They weren't quite like the snickerdoodles I'm used to, they were more thick and cake-like, but very soft and yummy. I think next time I'll try the suggestion in the recipe to frost the cookies instead of rolling in cinnamon sugar.

Sour Cream Doodles
1/2 C Thrive Butter Powder (reconstituted with 2T water)
2 T Thrive Whole Egg Powder (reconstituted with 4T water)
1 1/2 C Thrive White Sugar
1 t vanilla
3 C Thrive White Flour
1/2 C Thrive Sour Cream Powder (reconstituted with 1/4 cup water)
1/2 t Thrive salt
1/2 t Thrive Baking Powder
1/2 t Thrive Baking Soda
2 T Thrive White Sugar
1 t cinnamon

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cream butter, sugar, vanilla, and eggs. Add ½ of the flour and ½ of the sour cream; mix well. Add salt, baking powder, baking soda and last half sour cream. Add remaining flour slowly until desired texture. Roll into balls and roll in cinnamon sugar mixture. Bake on greased cookie sheet for 8 minutes.

For variation, these cookies can be frosted instead of being rolled into the cinnamon/sugar mixture.

Welcome!

I'm so excited about becoming a consultant with Shelf Reliance that I decided to start this blog as a way to share what I'm learning. What began as a desire to get more shelving for my canned foods has turned me into somewhat of a Shelf Reliance junkie. I wasn't too sure about how well I would like freeze dried food. It sounded kind of weird to me. I figured I would just end up buying some freeze dried meats, fruits and veggies to add to my food storage. That way if we ever really had to live off of our food storage at least we'd have some variety and more nutrition in our diet.

Then I had my party. My sponsor came and let us sample a lot of Shelf Reliance's food which is called Thrive. We had brownies and macaroon cookies and tried strawberries and pineapple. She made chicken salad using the freeze dried chicken, onion and celery. Everything was so good and tasted so fresh. I was hooked! Since my party I've been able to try a lot more food. Some of my favorites are the freeze dried corn, broccoli and peaches. They are great for snacking right out of the can. Not to mention the delicious orange yogurt which is the best snack of all.

So now that I knew the quality of the food is great, I wanted to see how it would be to actually cook with Thrive. A few things I've made so far are BBQ chicken with cornbread in the crockpot, Broccoli and Beef, Chicken Noodle Soup, and my favorite Baked Potato Soup. Everything turned out great and was so easy. I'll soon be adding more posts with recipes and pictures!