Friday, October 1, 2010
Granola Update-THRIVE brown sugar
SO, I had to share this tidbit of information. My mom and sister are visiting and I decided to make the granola for breakfast this morning because it is so good. I chose to use my brown sugar from the grocery store instead of the THRIVE brown sugar, because I didn't want to use it up. I only have a pantry can... I need to order a case of #10 cans I think. It is seriously good stuff. Anyway, the granola did not taste the same. The only difference between this batch and the other batch was the brown sugar. My husband evven noticed a difference, and he doesn't usually notice things like that. So, this is even more proof that the quality of brown sugar really does make a difference. Who knew? I am totally sold though. I want the good stuff. THRIVE brown sugar, all the way.
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Granola
This granola recipe is SOOOOOOOo delicious! I am hooked, for sure. I am going to have to make this on a regular basis, and possibly double the batch each time.It was the hit of my party the other night, and I ate the leftovers for a nightime snack, and then for breakfast. A friend of mine who was at the party approached me today and wanted to know what she needed to get, to make that granola immediately. I will share the recipe with you. It is seriously good...yum!
Here is the video of Kelsey Nixon making the granola.
Coconut Almond Fruit Granola
This tasty granola includes berries, coconut, and almonds.
Prep Time
45 minutes
Yield
6 servings
Ingredients
2 c THRIVE quick oats
3⁄4 c whole almonds, halved (I just chopped the almonds in half)
1⁄2 c sweetened flaked coconut
1⁄2 c raw cashews (I bought lightly salted cashew pieces, in the snack aisle)
1⁄3 c THRIVE brown sugar (THRIVE brown sugar is AMAZING! It is so rich, and has a really deep molasses flavor and aroma. It's good stuff...)
1⁄2 t ground allspice
1 1⁄2 t ground cinnamon
1⁄4 c unsalted butter (I used salted, because that's what I had on hand)
2 T honey
1⁄4 c each - THRIVE freeze-dried pears, raspberries, and blueberries
Instructions
*Preheat oven to 300°F.
*Mix first 7 ingredients in large bowl.
*Melt butter with honey in heavy small saucepan over low heat. Pour over granola mixture and toss well. (I heated mine in a glass measuring cup in the microwave)
*Spread out mixture on baking sheet. Bake 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
*Continue to bake until granola is golden brown, stirring frequently, about 15 minutes longer. Cool.
*Toss with freeze dried fruits.
Notes:
Can be made 2 weeks ahead.
Store airtight at room temperature.
Serve with milk or over yogurt, or eat as a snack on its own.
WWW.SHELFRELIANCE.COM
Here is the video of Kelsey Nixon making the granola.
Coconut Almond Fruit Granola
This tasty granola includes berries, coconut, and almonds.
Prep Time
45 minutes
Yield
6 servings
Ingredients
2 c THRIVE quick oats
3⁄4 c whole almonds, halved (I just chopped the almonds in half)
1⁄2 c sweetened flaked coconut
1⁄2 c raw cashews (I bought lightly salted cashew pieces, in the snack aisle)
1⁄3 c THRIVE brown sugar (THRIVE brown sugar is AMAZING! It is so rich, and has a really deep molasses flavor and aroma. It's good stuff...)
1⁄2 t ground allspice
1 1⁄2 t ground cinnamon
1⁄4 c unsalted butter (I used salted, because that's what I had on hand)
2 T honey
1⁄4 c each - THRIVE freeze-dried pears, raspberries, and blueberries
Instructions
*Preheat oven to 300°F.
*Mix first 7 ingredients in large bowl.
*Melt butter with honey in heavy small saucepan over low heat. Pour over granola mixture and toss well. (I heated mine in a glass measuring cup in the microwave)
*Spread out mixture on baking sheet. Bake 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
*Continue to bake until granola is golden brown, stirring frequently, about 15 minutes longer. Cool.
*Toss with freeze dried fruits.
Notes:
Can be made 2 weeks ahead.
Store airtight at room temperature.
Serve with milk or over yogurt, or eat as a snack on its own.
WWW.SHELFRELIANCE.COM
Saturday, September 25, 2010
Product reviews and first party
I had my first party last night. Friday the 24th. I had 9 close friends attend, and they made it such a comfortable setting, that I got so sidetracked doing my presentation. Now, looking back, I remember starting to talk about something, but never finishing because someone asked a question, or we went off on a tangent of some sort. That's just what happens when we girls get together. We have too much fun. So, it was definitely a good practice run. I need to sharpen up my presentation outline for the next party I do!
So, while preparing , prepping, and carrying out this party I was able to try several things. I want to document my feedback on these things...again to share with others who might be interested.
Pineapple( freeze-dried): This stuff is delicious. It's pure pineapple, with no additives or preservatives, or sweeteners of any kind. Word on the street is that Shelf Reliance shopped 16 different pineapple vendors to find the "perfect" pineapple for their product. They can only have the very best, and this pineapple nailed it. 35 calories for a 1/4 cup. It's a great, healthy snack. And only 8 grams of carbs for 1/4 cup as well, so for anyone watching their carb intake, it's a fantastic snack.
Pineapple(dehydrated): This is the super yummy, super sweet, super sugary dried pineapple that you can find in trail mixes. It's heavenly. I consumed almost the entire #10 can by myself. It's like candy. It almost melts in your mouth. It's so good.
Mangoes: These freeze-dried cubes of mangos are so darn addicting, it isn't funny.I have heard talk around the THRIVE community that a lot of children liken these to the marshmallows from Lucky Charms cereal. Although not as sugary, and much healthier. My 3 year old daughter is CONSTANTLY hungry. I started giving her these to eat for snacks, and she comes begging for more. And I can give them to her guilt-free because they are so healthy and nutritious. Not laden full of high-fructose corn syrup like "fruit" snacks. These are actual fruit snacks. I eat my fair share as well, just sayin'.
Banana Chips: These are the normal, regular dehydrated banana chips that you can also find in many trail mixes. They are really good. they do have some banana flavoring, as well as sugar and other ingredients, so they aren't straight bananas, but they are the best "fake" (as my friend called them) banana chips I have had. I took them to the movies the other night for my movie snack. And I am not a big banana fan in general. They are good.
Strawberries: Freeze-dried strawberries from THRIVE were featured on the Rachael Ray Show last week as the "Snack of the Day". I wasn't able to watch it, because I was at my daughter's dance class, and I don't have DVR so I couldn't record it. These strawberries are a popular item and a best seller. I like them, although they can be a bit tart. My kids doon't care for them as much due to their tendency to be more sour than sweet. When I tried to reconstitute some to put on top of crepes one morning, I didn't have much luck. I need to practice with them a bit more, but they are excellent for smoothies! My husband was also putting handfuls of them on his cereal.
Apple Chips: These apple chips do not have the peel, and they have a nice, light crunch. My daughter will eat these for snacks too, so I am very happy about that. If only I can convince my 6 year old son to eat them, they would be a great item to put in his school lunches.These apples are dehydrated.
Sweet Corn: Who knew I would want to munch on dried corn? This stuff is tasty! Again, after letting my daughter try some, she kept coming back for more, yelling "corn!" I have no problems letting her eat freeze-dried mangoes, dehydrated apple chips and freeze-dried corn for snacks. None whatsoever.
Green beans: I have heard these beans are super great once reconstituted. While in their freeze-dried state, they have the texture of a packing peanut, but with a fresh from the garden green bean taste. It's really weird. I am not sure I would want to snack on these as is, but am anxious to make something with them, or eat them as a side dish.
Freeze-dried chopped onions: So cool! They have the most interesting texture! It almost looks like that popcorn snow, or little fluffy white beads. Maybe like the crumbs of packing peanuts? But with a yummy onion aroma, and a nice little crunch. Very unique!
Brownies: These were yummy! ANd so easy! Just add water! Who doesn't need something simple like that to keep in their food storage for when you can't get to the store for oil and eggs, and need a fast dessert? Yum.
Instant Milk: Ok. Now this is super impressive. I opened my can of instant milk to make the smoothie. The first thing that caught my attention with this milk is the smell. There is none. No funny, warm milk smell that is slightly present in other powdered milk products. No smell at all. that was the first good sign. Everyone at my party wanted to try this milk. You have to know if you are going to store something, that you will want to use it in an emergency or not. This milk was good! I was sooo suprised! Everyone at the party liked it, and all said they could drink it. I am a picky milk person, and can't tolerate even the sight of seeing the milk jug left out of the fridge for more than a second. Blech!So, for even me to think this milk tasted good? That's amazing. I am really excited about this, you have no idea.And you too can have powdered milk that tastes good...without having to add sugar or vanilla, or mix it half and half with real milk. THRIVE Instant Milk! It's a winner!
So, for tonight this is where I will leave you. I will post about the recipes we used next time. They were all super yummy and definite keepers. In fact, I am anxious to make another batch of granola just for me and my family to eat. Yum!
So, while preparing , prepping, and carrying out this party I was able to try several things. I want to document my feedback on these things...again to share with others who might be interested.
Pineapple( freeze-dried): This stuff is delicious. It's pure pineapple, with no additives or preservatives, or sweeteners of any kind. Word on the street is that Shelf Reliance shopped 16 different pineapple vendors to find the "perfect" pineapple for their product. They can only have the very best, and this pineapple nailed it. 35 calories for a 1/4 cup. It's a great, healthy snack. And only 8 grams of carbs for 1/4 cup as well, so for anyone watching their carb intake, it's a fantastic snack.
Pineapple(dehydrated): This is the super yummy, super sweet, super sugary dried pineapple that you can find in trail mixes. It's heavenly. I consumed almost the entire #10 can by myself. It's like candy. It almost melts in your mouth. It's so good.
Mangoes: These freeze-dried cubes of mangos are so darn addicting, it isn't funny.I have heard talk around the THRIVE community that a lot of children liken these to the marshmallows from Lucky Charms cereal. Although not as sugary, and much healthier. My 3 year old daughter is CONSTANTLY hungry. I started giving her these to eat for snacks, and she comes begging for more. And I can give them to her guilt-free because they are so healthy and nutritious. Not laden full of high-fructose corn syrup like "fruit" snacks. These are actual fruit snacks. I eat my fair share as well, just sayin'.
Banana Chips: These are the normal, regular dehydrated banana chips that you can also find in many trail mixes. They are really good. they do have some banana flavoring, as well as sugar and other ingredients, so they aren't straight bananas, but they are the best "fake" (as my friend called them) banana chips I have had. I took them to the movies the other night for my movie snack. And I am not a big banana fan in general. They are good.
Strawberries: Freeze-dried strawberries from THRIVE were featured on the Rachael Ray Show last week as the "Snack of the Day". I wasn't able to watch it, because I was at my daughter's dance class, and I don't have DVR so I couldn't record it. These strawberries are a popular item and a best seller. I like them, although they can be a bit tart. My kids doon't care for them as much due to their tendency to be more sour than sweet. When I tried to reconstitute some to put on top of crepes one morning, I didn't have much luck. I need to practice with them a bit more, but they are excellent for smoothies! My husband was also putting handfuls of them on his cereal.
Apple Chips: These apple chips do not have the peel, and they have a nice, light crunch. My daughter will eat these for snacks too, so I am very happy about that. If only I can convince my 6 year old son to eat them, they would be a great item to put in his school lunches.These apples are dehydrated.
Sweet Corn: Who knew I would want to munch on dried corn? This stuff is tasty! Again, after letting my daughter try some, she kept coming back for more, yelling "corn!" I have no problems letting her eat freeze-dried mangoes, dehydrated apple chips and freeze-dried corn for snacks. None whatsoever.
Green beans: I have heard these beans are super great once reconstituted. While in their freeze-dried state, they have the texture of a packing peanut, but with a fresh from the garden green bean taste. It's really weird. I am not sure I would want to snack on these as is, but am anxious to make something with them, or eat them as a side dish.
Freeze-dried chopped onions: So cool! They have the most interesting texture! It almost looks like that popcorn snow, or little fluffy white beads. Maybe like the crumbs of packing peanuts? But with a yummy onion aroma, and a nice little crunch. Very unique!
Brownies: These were yummy! ANd so easy! Just add water! Who doesn't need something simple like that to keep in their food storage for when you can't get to the store for oil and eggs, and need a fast dessert? Yum.
Instant Milk: Ok. Now this is super impressive. I opened my can of instant milk to make the smoothie. The first thing that caught my attention with this milk is the smell. There is none. No funny, warm milk smell that is slightly present in other powdered milk products. No smell at all. that was the first good sign. Everyone at my party wanted to try this milk. You have to know if you are going to store something, that you will want to use it in an emergency or not. This milk was good! I was sooo suprised! Everyone at the party liked it, and all said they could drink it. I am a picky milk person, and can't tolerate even the sight of seeing the milk jug left out of the fridge for more than a second. Blech!So, for even me to think this milk tasted good? That's amazing. I am really excited about this, you have no idea.And you too can have powdered milk that tastes good...without having to add sugar or vanilla, or mix it half and half with real milk. THRIVE Instant Milk! It's a winner!
So, for tonight this is where I will leave you. I will post about the recipes we used next time. They were all super yummy and definite keepers. In fact, I am anxious to make another batch of granola just for me and my family to eat. Yum!
How I got started
Last summer, 2009, while visiting my family in San Diego, I happened to randomly buy a book at Deseret Book called "I Can't Believe it's Food Storage". The concept of food storage was so confusing and overwhelming to me, and this book was like a lightbulb went off! It actually started to make sense!It made me understand things and get excited about starting food storage, and using food storage. And 4 years ago, when we moved to Kansas, I started feeling an insane desire to get us prepared...in all aspects. Sad to say I haven't done much, but I am working on it very slowly. I am learning a lot though, so that's a start!
After learning more about food storage and getting basics from the LDS dry-pack cannery, I started looking into freeze-dried and dehydrated fruits and vegetables to round things out. I had heard about the new THRIVE line from Shelf Reliance sometime last year,and had been watching the videos on YouTube of them cooking with the THRIVE products. So when they had a booth at Time Out For Women last October, I ordered a 6-pack of fruits to try. I opened both cans of the pineapple...both the freeze-dried and the dehydrated. I have consumed both cans almost entirely by myself! It is really yummy just to snack on.
Anyway, the cans are super cute too, which is a draw for me! I like cute things...I can't help it. But my concern was about the price. I knew the basics like flour, wheat, sugar, macaroni, rice, oats,powdered milk, etc. are WAY cheaper from the cannery. That made me assume the other products were just as expensive, and feared that other companies would have items for much cheaper.
I learned sometime early in the year that Shelf Reliance was starting to do home parties. Now that's something you don't see everyday! Anyway, when I was in Idaho this summer, I bought some Augason Farms powdered eggs from Wal-mart. I think it was about $18? for the #10 can. THRIVE eggs are $21.89 retail, or currently $19.64 through party pricing. You can get special low prices only if you order through a party or a consultant. With the Augason Farms eggs, there are only 56 servings in a can. I assume that is 56 eggs. It takes 2 1/2 Tbls. of egg powder to equal one egg. The THRIVE eggs only use 1 Tbls. of powder to equal one egg, and there are 236 eggs in the can! So, basically for only $1-2 more, you get almost 20 dozen eggs as opposed to almost 5 dozen eggs in one can! $3.86/dozen for the Augason Farms eggs. $1.00/dozen for the THRIVE eggs. Much better than the average price of fresh eggs in most cases! At Walmart the other day, eggs were $1.88/dozen. This is just an example. In general, compared to other food storage companies, SR prices fall right in the middle. Some items are cheaper, some more expensive, etc. but the quality is far superior.
While researching things a bit more, I requested a consultant contact me. I wanted more information...either to host a party, or place an order, or to find out what a consultant for SR does. A lady from Ottowa contacted me and she came over one day and made me lunch using THRIVE food. She made me a chicken salad sandwich using the freeze-dried celery, onions, and chicken. (real chicken, not TVP...although they do have TVP too.) She also made me a smoothie using the freeze-dried strawberries and bananas. It was all so good! I really would never have known it was freeze dried food if I wasn't told. Anyway, she answered a bunch of questions,and left me some info. I talked to Tony about it over the next week, and tried to find out as much as I could. I watched two videos of sample parties, and I listened to a conference call one day. That pretty much sealed the deal. I was really impressed with the company, and the quality of the products, and the efforts they have gone to to make sure their food and products are THE BEST! I am soo excited!
Anyway...this is how it works. Anyone can order online at anytime. But, if you order through a party, or a consultant, you will get the party pricing which is less. Each month there are different items that will be on special, so they will be even better prices. The big food rotation systems that hold all the cans that are so awesome, but are $459.99 retail, you can get for $279.99 through party pricing. Awesome deal!
They also have a great program to help people build their food storage without going into debt. It's called the THRIVE Q. Basically it's like Netflix for food storage. You can choose any amount you want to spend, go online to their Q planner, enter the info about your family, and it will populate a food storage program for you depending on the amount of time you want...3 months, 6 months, 1 year, etc. You can also go in and customize it to your own preferences, change the amount, freeze the shipments, etc. And it will just ship the food right to you each month! It's super cool!
Go to www.shelfreliance.com to play around and see what they have to offer. But don't be deterred by the prices, cause they don't list the party prices online for you to see. You will have to ask me.
As a consultant, I get 10% of all sales. I get 20-32% of the first month sales of people who sign up for the Q, and then I get 5% of the monthly Q amounts for as long as people are on the Q. The earning potential is really great! AND something else that is cool about hosting parties,is somethiing called the double dip program. If you go to a party and want to order, but also want to host a party and think you want to wait to order until your party, you can do both! If you order at the party, you can also count that order amount towards the party you host, so you can get more benefits! No other home sales company does that! And of course for hosting, you can earn 10% of sales in free product, and additional half off items depending on the sales. It's a great way to get free food, or free or discounted shelving, or even emergency preparedness supplies.
I told Tony, by signing up for this, I am not wasting money, since it is all items we will use. It's food...or emergency preparedness stuff...all useful and of benefit to our family. Not like stamps...which are now sitting in the basement collecting dust. You know what I mean? I figure this will be one more avenue to help me actually get my family prepared, both with our food storage, and our emergency preparedness items, 72 hour kits, etc. It can only be a good thing in my book.
I am really excited to be starting this Adventure in Shelf Reliance. I wanted to start this blog to have a place to share my thoughts and experiences along the way. Since starting this adventure, I have scoured the internet to find as much info as I possibly can, but since the home parties are new as of this year, there is not a lot of info out there yet. Maybe what I experience will be beneficial for someone else down the road.
After learning more about food storage and getting basics from the LDS dry-pack cannery, I started looking into freeze-dried and dehydrated fruits and vegetables to round things out. I had heard about the new THRIVE line from Shelf Reliance sometime last year,and had been watching the videos on YouTube of them cooking with the THRIVE products. So when they had a booth at Time Out For Women last October, I ordered a 6-pack of fruits to try. I opened both cans of the pineapple...both the freeze-dried and the dehydrated. I have consumed both cans almost entirely by myself! It is really yummy just to snack on.
Anyway, the cans are super cute too, which is a draw for me! I like cute things...I can't help it. But my concern was about the price. I knew the basics like flour, wheat, sugar, macaroni, rice, oats,powdered milk, etc. are WAY cheaper from the cannery. That made me assume the other products were just as expensive, and feared that other companies would have items for much cheaper.
I learned sometime early in the year that Shelf Reliance was starting to do home parties. Now that's something you don't see everyday! Anyway, when I was in Idaho this summer, I bought some Augason Farms powdered eggs from Wal-mart. I think it was about $18? for the #10 can. THRIVE eggs are $21.89 retail, or currently $19.64 through party pricing. You can get special low prices only if you order through a party or a consultant. With the Augason Farms eggs, there are only 56 servings in a can. I assume that is 56 eggs. It takes 2 1/2 Tbls. of egg powder to equal one egg. The THRIVE eggs only use 1 Tbls. of powder to equal one egg, and there are 236 eggs in the can! So, basically for only $1-2 more, you get almost 20 dozen eggs as opposed to almost 5 dozen eggs in one can! $3.86/dozen for the Augason Farms eggs. $1.00/dozen for the THRIVE eggs. Much better than the average price of fresh eggs in most cases! At Walmart the other day, eggs were $1.88/dozen. This is just an example. In general, compared to other food storage companies, SR prices fall right in the middle. Some items are cheaper, some more expensive, etc. but the quality is far superior.
While researching things a bit more, I requested a consultant contact me. I wanted more information...either to host a party, or place an order, or to find out what a consultant for SR does. A lady from Ottowa contacted me and she came over one day and made me lunch using THRIVE food. She made me a chicken salad sandwich using the freeze-dried celery, onions, and chicken. (real chicken, not TVP...although they do have TVP too.) She also made me a smoothie using the freeze-dried strawberries and bananas. It was all so good! I really would never have known it was freeze dried food if I wasn't told. Anyway, she answered a bunch of questions,and left me some info. I talked to Tony about it over the next week, and tried to find out as much as I could. I watched two videos of sample parties, and I listened to a conference call one day. That pretty much sealed the deal. I was really impressed with the company, and the quality of the products, and the efforts they have gone to to make sure their food and products are THE BEST! I am soo excited!
Anyway...this is how it works. Anyone can order online at anytime. But, if you order through a party, or a consultant, you will get the party pricing which is less. Each month there are different items that will be on special, so they will be even better prices. The big food rotation systems that hold all the cans that are so awesome, but are $459.99 retail, you can get for $279.99 through party pricing. Awesome deal!
They also have a great program to help people build their food storage without going into debt. It's called the THRIVE Q. Basically it's like Netflix for food storage. You can choose any amount you want to spend, go online to their Q planner, enter the info about your family, and it will populate a food storage program for you depending on the amount of time you want...3 months, 6 months, 1 year, etc. You can also go in and customize it to your own preferences, change the amount, freeze the shipments, etc. And it will just ship the food right to you each month! It's super cool!
Go to www.shelfreliance.com to play around and see what they have to offer. But don't be deterred by the prices, cause they don't list the party prices online for you to see. You will have to ask me.
As a consultant, I get 10% of all sales. I get 20-32% of the first month sales of people who sign up for the Q, and then I get 5% of the monthly Q amounts for as long as people are on the Q. The earning potential is really great! AND something else that is cool about hosting parties,is somethiing called the double dip program. If you go to a party and want to order, but also want to host a party and think you want to wait to order until your party, you can do both! If you order at the party, you can also count that order amount towards the party you host, so you can get more benefits! No other home sales company does that! And of course for hosting, you can earn 10% of sales in free product, and additional half off items depending on the sales. It's a great way to get free food, or free or discounted shelving, or even emergency preparedness supplies.
I told Tony, by signing up for this, I am not wasting money, since it is all items we will use. It's food...or emergency preparedness stuff...all useful and of benefit to our family. Not like stamps...which are now sitting in the basement collecting dust. You know what I mean? I figure this will be one more avenue to help me actually get my family prepared, both with our food storage, and our emergency preparedness items, 72 hour kits, etc. It can only be a good thing in my book.
I am really excited to be starting this Adventure in Shelf Reliance. I wanted to start this blog to have a place to share my thoughts and experiences along the way. Since starting this adventure, I have scoured the internet to find as much info as I possibly can, but since the home parties are new as of this year, there is not a lot of info out there yet. Maybe what I experience will be beneficial for someone else down the road.
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