Our new Specials for November are available! Order soon!

NEW PRODUCTS! HOOORAAAAY! These look fabulous! I have ordered mine and can't wait to try them!

My daughter came for a visit and we had a chance to do some cooking. She is such an inspiration to me and she gets soooo excited about this! We made some healthy cookies that were just ok and found a recipe that was for frozen cookie type treats...which because it is getting cold outside, we really didn't want to make. So we put our thinkers together and came up with these super yummy mango cookies! They are super really healthy. You will love them and feel great about giving these to your kids. You can even have a guilt-free pig out (we did!)

So here they are...

Scrumptious Yummy Coconut Mango Cookies

3 Cups unsweetened Shredded Coconut
1/4 Cup Agave Nectar
2 tsp Vanilla
2 tsp THRIVE Corn Starch
1 T Lemon Zest
4 1/2 Cups THRIVE Oats
1 1/2 Cups crushed nuts - I used raw cashews and pecans
3 Cups THRIVE mango - reconstituted

Puree the mangos. Mix everything except the oats together. Stir in oats. Scoop onto lightly greased cookie sheet and bake at 350 for 15 minutes until edges are lightly browned.



That's it! EASY!!!!

Ok, they look a little like meatballs but they are yummy! I promise!! I used my tablespoon measurer to scoop them so they are rounded. Enjoy!

NEW SPECIALS FOR OCTOBER!

BELOW ARE THE NEW PRODUCTS JUST RELEASED FROM SHELF RELIANCE!

How to cook Lentils...

This is just a quick side note...

Lentils cook much like rice. I just pop mine in my rice cooker and add vegetable stock or water (the stock adds flavor!) and let it cook on the white rice setting. YUM!

Scrumptious Lentil Salad

This is such a yummy salad it has become a family favorite!

1 1/2 C dry lentils
3 cups vegetable broth

I cook my lentils in my rice cooker because they take about the same amount of time to cook as rice. You can cook them on the stove as well.

While the lentils cook, chop the following:

1/2 cup cucumber peeled and seeded
1/2 cup finely chopped celery
1/2 cup yellow pepper
2 medium tomatoes
1/2 cup onion
1/2 cup feta cheese

Balsamic Dressing
Salt and Pepper to taste
Lettuce leaves as garnish

Allow Lentils to cool. Add chopped veggies. Pour in balsamic dressing  and salt and pepper and stir to mix well. Serve on lettuce leaves.


I use bottled Balsamic Dressing cuz I am lazy! But here is a recipe that is scrunptious as well:

3 T balsamic Vinegar
2 T olive oil
2 T lemon juice
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 t dried thyme leaves

Mix all. Refridgerate until serving time. Mix again before use.

I love to serve it over washed romain lettuce leaves. The added crunch and freshness just makes it lots yummier! (That's a word, right?!)

Enjoy!

Why Beans are so Important to Having a Healthy Diet

Our diets are loaded with unhealthy nutrient deficient foods. And we are so confused about what to eat! Mixed messages abound and confusion about eating healthy continues to increase. This has been my problem for so long! I am truly studying eating habits and food to get to the answers I need to live healthy. On answer is certain...beans are a necessary part of a healthy diet. I hear many arguments about eating beans. They are high in fat and starch...They don't taste good...I can get my protein from meat...and on and on. Ok. This is what I know to be true....

Enter the bean. A perfect food, actually. Beans contain both soluble and insoluble fiber. This means that they scrub your insides really well. They clean out your digestive tract ( I always think of the line from Beverly Hills cop when the two cops are sitting in car and Eddie Murphy is putting the banana in the tail pipe. The younger cop says to the older one, "Did you know the average American has five pounds of undigested red meat in their intestines?" We use this line regularly!), scrub your arteries removing unwanted fats and build-ups thus REVERSING the main cause of stoke and heart attacks. Hmmm...  

Beans are very high in resistant starch. Resistant starch is being proven as very desirable in our diets. Although technically deemed a 'starch', it acts more like fiber during digestion.  Typically starches found in carb rich foods break down into glucose during digestion which is used as energy or stored as fat. Resistant starch 'resists' digestion and passes through the small intestines without being digested. Researchers are classifying this as a third type of fiber as studies continue. So a significant amount of the carb calories being listed for beans is not absorbed.

Because of this feature in beans they:

• Aid weight loss
• Aid digestive health
• Help prevent constipation
• Help maintain lower blood sugar levels
• Reduce the risk of developing diabetes
• Reduce the risk of heart attack
• Reduce the risk of colon cancer

A Super Food!

As far as taste, as with trying anything new, give it a chance. There is nothing more delicious than a bean still warm from cooking. Vary the beans you use, don't just stick to one. You will get bored the same as if you ate the exact same kind of apple day in and day out. Boring! There are so many to choose from! I just found Cranberry Beans and am having a love affair with them! It is so fun to try new things!

Beans also take on spices and seasoning especially well. They absorb the flavors and taste super yummy with an endless variety of flavors. They are so adaptable.

I remember years ago I was making a salad for a party and a friend added plain beans to the top. I had never seen anyone add or eat beans plain like that. I didn't want to eat the yummy salad I had made. But after a gentle encoouragement I found it to be so delicious and filling! Now almost all my salads include beans.

I eat them as my meat replacement. I am NOT a vegetarian, nor could I be if I wanted to. I married a hunter!! But even we have cut way back on our meat consumption. We have replaced meat with beans in our tacos, enchiladas, sloppy joes, burgers, and throw beans into so many other dishes.

Even my 'hunter' husband says he feels so much better. It is amazing!

It is recommended that we shoud eat at least 1 cup of beans EVERY DAY unless you eat a meat dish. Although adding beans adds nutrition. I won't go into why you should consider cutting back on meat consumption. Just remember: Beans are more than yummy, they could actually save your life and keep you free of disease!

EAT BEANS!

 

Shelf Reliance has many varieties of beans and INSTANT BEANS! 

 If you would like to learn more, please contact me thrivewithamy@gmail.com or schedule a class.

Click here to order our YUMMY beans!

10 Reasons to Love Whole Wheat!

1. It’s more nutritious, providing several more minerals, vitamins (18 more to be exact!), and natural photochemicals than white flour.

2. Relax! It has More B Vitamins which are known to help with nerves & stress.

3. Get cleaned out. Whole wheat provides more fiber, preventing constipation & diverticulosis.
The American Dietetic Association recommends 20-35 grams daily, the average American consumes only 12 grams.

4. Lose weight and keep it off! Whole wheat has a lot of fiber which has almost no calories, keeps you fuller for longer, absorbs 3x it’s weight in water, cuts absorption of calories, cleans out impurities, requires more chewing, and takes 1/2 as much to fill you up and takes longer to digest.

5. Reduces your risk of colon cancer & other diseases.

6. Lowers blood pressure, cholesterol levels, and risk of adult on set Diabetes.

7. Cheaper! It will lower your food costs by at 30% to 50%!

8. Lowers doctor visits, bills, & medications.

9. Lowers Dentist Bills by cutting down on tooth decay.

10. Eating Whole Wheat keeps your body both emotionally and physically used to wheat.

It has been awhile since I have visited the blog. In April our world was turned upside down when my husbands mother died quite suddenly. Upon returning home summer was upon us and I struggled with getting back into the routine of life. But back I am and ready to go. I have been reading and learning more and more about food and recipes and nutrition. Ready to share knowledge and health and preparedness with you!

Shelf Reliance is a company I have been part of for more than a year. They are the kind of company I am glad to attach my name to. They take every care - and then some- so make sure their food is top quality when it comes to nutrition, taste, and freshness. It stands head and shoulders above the rest.

I am inviting you to give them a try.

The food is freeze dried and although it has a long shelf life, is really something to be used daily. It really will save you time in the kitchen as well as save on time and money as you will not have to run to the store as often (no more $60 loaves of bread cuz you picked up this and that as long as you were out...)! The food is already chopped and peeled and ready to be eaten. It is quick and simple to throw something together!

Here is a quick chicken salad recipe that is delicious, nutritious, and fast:



1 cup freeze dried chicken (reconstituted)
1/2 cup freeze dried celery (reconstituted)
1/3 cup freeze dried onions (reconstituted)
2 Tablespoons mayo
salt and pepper to taste

This is the standard recipe we use at parties to allow people to try freeze dried meat. It is a weird concept and takes some time to get used to, but once you try it you will realize it is delicious and a tremendous time saver! And I love to change it up!

 For a fruity chicken salad I add:
1/3 cup pineapple (reconstituted)
1/3 cup mandarin oranges (reconstituted)
Chinese noodles

Sometimes I just throw in 1/2 cup apple pieces (reconstituted) and some almonds for a touch of sweetness and crunch.

A great seasonal recipe is strawberry chicken salad:




2 cups THRIVE freeze fried chicken (reconstituted)
1/2 cup pecans
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 cup THRIVE white sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup freeze dried THRIVE onions (reconstituted)
1 teaspoon ground mustard
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper
2 heads Bibb lettuce - rinsed, dried and torn
1 cup THRIVE freeze dried strawberries (reconstituted)



Place chicken in warm water for 15-20 minutes to reconstitute.

Meanwhile, place pecans in a dry skillet over medium-high heat. Cook pecans until fragrant, stirring frequently, about 8 minutes. Remove from heat, and set aside.

In a blender, combine the red wine vinegar, sugar, vegetable oil, onion, mustard, salt, and pepper. Process until smooth.

Gently stir together chicken, pecans, and strawberries.

Arrange lettuce on serving plates. Top with chicken, strawberries, and pecans. Drizzle with the dressing to serve.

Substitute THRIVE Mandarin Oranges, THRIVE Blackberries or THRIVE Raspberries. It's yummy!!

CLICK HERE TO TRY FREEZE DRIED CHICKEN NOW! A real time saver and scrumptious tasting!

For best pricing just email your order to me at ThriveWithAmy@gmail.com.

Host a DEMO and earn FREE and 1/2 price food! Lots of samples and fun. Learn about the Q to save even more and add more convenience!

Investing in food gives a higher return rate than your bank!

Stock up my pantry? Food as an investment? Really?!!

Here is a link to an interesting article on why we should stock up on food. It is interesting and really something we should be doing.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120881517227532621.html

I just went to the grocery store and spent $150. Not too bad - right? Well, I had to go back the next day for all the stuff I forgot and spent another $100. That's for one week and there are only 2 people in our home. This is the cost of laziness and not planning!

When I cook with my food storage I spend maybe $250 per month with no waste.

Plan now! And earn your food for free by hosting a party! It's really that simple. The only investment is a bit of time and you can get a great start to building your Home Store!

Here are this month's specials. They are great deals and a super opportunity to stock up! Here is the link to my website:
http://www.amybray.shelfreliance.com/

If you email or call me with an order or if you host or attend a Demo, the pricing is even better!

Adding Help!

Easter was a blast! But because I was out having fun I have not been blogging. YIKES! So I have recruited help. My daughter, Kellie, is crazy about THRIVE foods as well and she is joining me on my adventure - cooking with foods that have a long shelf life. She is awesome and she tries EVERYTHING! Plus we have a lot of fun cooking together. So you will be seeing posts from her and from me and we will keep you up to date on how to start building your own Home Store!

What?!!! A home store?! Yes! Instead of having to run to the store for milk in the middle of your favorite recipe which has to be done in one hour, and then you come home with three bags of groceries because impulse buying is soooo.....wellll....impulsive (and those boxed brownies look so good! So did the chips and the pop and the....ok, you get it!). So that gallon of milk actually cost you $60.

Imagine...you need milk. You are in the middle of your favorite recipe and instead of having to run to the store you go to your pantry (or your back bedroom) and get out your yummy powdered milk and finish your favorite recipe in record time!

You have saved on your $60 gallon of milk because powdered milk is so much cheaper and very easy to cook with, you didn't buy all that extra, AND you saved on gas! WOW!!!! Wouldn't that make the world (and your life) a much nicer place!

Oh, and a heads up on milk - powdered milk is just that, milk. It is the very best to have in your storage and to use every day. If you had powdered milk alone you could survive a very long time because actual milk is so good for you!

There are other types of drinks that taste like milk but are not milk at all. They are yummy but they are made from whey and shortening and corn syrup. I don't know about you but I don't really want to drink shortening!

How do I make my powdered milk taste good? I add a tablespoon of sugar and a half a teaspoon of vanilla or almond extract to a gallon of milk. Then I chill it overnight and keep it really cold.

You can ease your family into drinking powdered milk by mixing your milk 1/2 gallon powdered and 1/2 gallon store milk. Chill it well!

That's the secret. My husband is the pickiest milk drinker ever and he likes my milk. It's yummy and less expensive than milk from the store. Especially if you have to make a 'quick' run! :)

THRIVE foods are delicious! Why not host a cooking demo and see for yourself? These are so fun and the food is so good. I would love to show you just how wonderful they taste and how easy they are to use every day! And the nutrition can't be beat - even by fresh foods!!

Day 3 of Beans

Congratulations! You have made it this far!

I thought I had better show a bean that has sprouted after just one day:

It has a tiny little tail just like this. My white beans sprout really fast, whereas my black beans are just opening after one day. But they are still better nutritionally after at least one day of sprouting.

Remember to rinse the beans daily as you are sprouting to keep them fresh.

Never throw beans into a dish straight from the package. Beans are covered in a toxic substance that is a natural pesticide. So be sure you always rinse your beans - or seeds of any kind - before eating. If you have followed this process they have bean rinsed more than once which is ideal!

THRIVE has beans that are basically instant beans. They have been par boiled, which means they have been soaked and partially cooked and are ready to toss into any dish you are cooking. It is really great in a pinch! And if you are putting together your meals before hand (more on this later) they are perfect for building meals that you can toss in the crock pot in the morning and have dinner that same night!

The down side is they are not sprouted. But still SUPER great for you!

Here are my white beans in the crock pot and ready to be cooked:

I have covered the beans with 1 inch of water above the beans. Ten I turn on my crock pot and let them cook! Yummy!

I use a crock pot that is automatic. I just set how fast I want them cook and when it is done it put my pot on a warm setting. It's the best!

Once the beans are cooked I drain them and freeze them. You can keep the bean stock and add it to cooking in place of water. It is full of all the yummy nutrients from the beans!

THRIVE has a great variety of beans. They even have instant beans so all you have to do is add to your dish and you are ready to go! Check them out at http://www.amybray.shelfreliance.com/!

THRIVE foods are delicious! Why not host a cooking demo and see for yourself? These are so fun and the food is so good. I would love to show you just how wonderful they taste and how easy they are to use every day! And the nutrition can't be beat - even by fresh foods!!

Next day of Beans

Here is day 2 of Bean soaking and cooking. You can tell your beans have soaked well when you can see lots of wonderful little bubbles all over the top of the soaking water. The more bubbles the better! Here is what it should look like:

The bubbles show that the soak has released the gas in the beans. The more bubbles in the water, the less gas out of you! Some people add a small amount of baking soda to the water as the beans soak to help release the gas. I have never needed to do this.

If you have trouble with the music from the beans (gas), give it a couple weeks. Because we eat a diet so low in fiber, our intestines do not have the enzymes needed to digest the high fiber in beans. The enzymes will build up as you begin to include this food into your diet and soon the gassiness should subside.

Here are my beans after soaking:

They have nearly tripled. Here I have started another batch of black beans so you can see the difference. Notice that the lid is not on tight. It is just sitting on top of the jar:

The black beans on the left have just been added and the white beans on the right have soaked overnight.

Now I will rinse the white beans:

As you can see, they have been rinsed and are still moist, but there is no water in the jar. Agin, the lid is not tight, I just sat it on the top of the jar. Now they will sit overnight and by tomorrow we should start seeing sprouts! Keep you fingers crossed....!

See you tomorrow!

THRIVE has a great variety of beans. They even have instant beans so all you have to do is add to your dish and you are ready to go! Check them out at http://www.amybray.shelfreliance.com/!

THRIVE foods are delicious! Why not host a cooking demo and see for yourself? These are so fun and the food is so good. I would love to show you just how wonderful they taste and how easy they are to use every day! And the nutrition can't be beat - even by fresh foods!!

Oh Beans....!!!!

I have had many questions about beans. In general we are unsure of soaking and cooking our beans. I was there not that long ago. But today I am soaking, sprouting, and cooking beans almost daily.

There is a method to my madness which I will share with you here today.

First, I love to have my beans slightly sprouted. This releases so much more of the nutritional value in the bean. Sprouting anything is so much better than soaking and cooking! So, to begin...

SOAKING: First, I measure my beans into a glass jar. I have found a couple of jars that I really like, but any glass jar will work as long as it has room enough to hold your beans once they have expanded and it has a lid that can be loosely fitted. Here are mine:

The one on the left is really large. I can soak 3 to 4 cups of dry beans at a time in this one. The one on the right I can soak 2 cups of dry beans but it fills clear to the top as they expand. This jar has a snap on lid. NEVER SNAP THE LID SHUT when soaking beans. It will EXPLODE when you try to open it the next day! I cover this jar with plastic wrap or with one of those plastic dish caps that have elastic around it. This works well for me.

Beans expand 3 times when they are soaked. So to soak 1 cup of dry beans, you add 3 cups of water to the beans. For 2 cups dry beans you add 6 cups of water.  I have 2 cups of white beans soaking now. They are in the same jar as the one on the left:

They are white beans an hard to see.  But as they soak they will expand to at least the water line.

I get my beans lined up for the week and start my soaking Saturday. The above is my first batch of the week. I will let it soak overnight. In the morning, I will rinse it with water by holding my hand or a flat strainer over the top of the jar and dumping out the water. Then I will fill with water, swish it around, and dump again.

SPROUTING: They are ready to cook at this point, but I like to sprout, so I will leave the beans to sit again overnight. They are damp, but no water is in the jar. Lightly cover them or they will dry out.

The sprouting will take at least on, maybe two days. I don't like mine to have a large sprout, just a tiny little tail sticking out from the bean. This is really fun. I love to get up in the morning and see my sprouted beans! I feel like I have accomplished something before I even start my day!

Rinse your beans every single day while they are sprouting or they will go bad. Just a quick rinse is all it takes. Fill the jar with water, swirl it a bit, and drain. This will keep them fresh and continuing to develop that yummy nutrition!

When you see the little tails, either begin to cook or put them in the refrigerator. The fridge will slow the sprouting process and keep them ready to be cooked for up to 2 weeks. I try not to let mine go past 1 week, though that is even rare. I usually cook as soon as they are sprouted.

COOKING: To cook I simply dump them in my crock pot and cover with water so the water is 1 inch above the beans. I like to start cooking first thing in the morning because then they are warm and ready for the dinner I am preparing. Fresh warm beans are the very best tasting. I do cook overnight and store them in the fridge for the following day sometimes. Then I just rewarm them for dinner. They are yummy like this, but I really prefer them directly from cooking.

BATCHES: If I have a slower week and can take the time, I will soak and cook every day. Then I freeze my beans once they are cooked in 2 cup containers. That way, if I need beans in a rush and haven't had time to cook, I can retrieve them from the freezer in a blink and am ready to go. When doing this, my schedule would look like the following:

Monday: Start soaking batch 1

Tuesday: Soak batch 2; Sprout batch 1

Wednesday: Soak batch 3; Sprout batch 2; Cook batch 1 - freeze batch 1

Thursday: Soak batch 4; Sprout batch 3; Cook batch 2 - freeze batch 2

Friday: Sprout batch 4; Cook batch 3 - freeze batch 3

Saturday: Cook batch 4 - freeze batch 4

Then I have 8 - 2 Cup containers of beans in my freezer.

I use different beans to soak and cook. I have my pantry set up so I can see my beans. They are so colorful and I want my meals to be the same way. I don't want to eat the same beans all week long. That gets really boring. So I always try to use different colors, different beans. Same with my rice. There are so many colors and varieties to choose from,

I do not want to get bored with my food or I won't enjoy eating this way any more. It has to be yummy and colorful! We only eat meat about 2 to 3 times a week, if that. Meat is expensive and we get all our nutrition PLUS fiber from the beans, so we are actually much better off.

THRIVE has a great variety of beans. They even have instant beans so all you have to do is add to your dish and you are ready to go! Check them out at www.AmyBray.ShelfReliance.com!

THRIVE foods are delicious! Why not host a cooking demo and see for yourself? These are so fun and the food is so good. I would love to show you just how wonderful they taste and how easy they are to use every day! And the nutrition can't be beat - even by fresh foods!!

Cooking Like Crazy!

Shelf Reliance has a cookbook and it is wonderful!!! It has so many wonderful recipes and tools to help you cook quickly and easily!

•  It has equivalency tables so, for instance, it shows you how many freeze dried apples to reconstitute to equal 1 medium apple.
• It includes milk mixtures for small amounts of milk, for homemade sweetened condensed milk, evaperated milk, and buttermilk.
•  It teaches bean basics! A wonderful resource!
• And over 100 recipes that show at a glance which THRIVE foods you need to create each item!

And if you schedule your in home demo you can earn one FREE!

I am only offering this though April.

Have only 5 guests attend and 2 sign up for the Q and 1 booking.

Plus you will earn FREE food for being a host!

Here are two great recipes cooked by my daughter from the cookbook. They turned out amazing and were easy to make! She laughed while sharing these with me and said,"If I can do it anybody can!"

These are the whole wheat pitas from the cookbook. They are easy to make and yummy! And you know they are healthy made with the best ingredients! Make them and freeze them!

Here are actual made whole wheat crackers. They are very easy to make. The cookbook gives optional flavorings and these she added parmesan cheese. She gives them to her 16 month old son and he LOVES them! Low in sodium and high in nutrition! Top them with Thrive cheese or homemade dips. 

Schedule your home demo today! They are so easy. You don't even have to worry about refreshments, I provide everything! And get a FREE cookbook!

Taco Filling - EASY and more nutritious than meat filling!

Knowing the calorie content of meat, and because of the fillers and hormones used in meat, I try to eat meat as sparingly as possible. I will often try to substitute partial, if not all meat in recipes where possible. This is a great meat substitute and much more filling than the meat I used to make! It is delicious and my family is always surprised when they find out there is no meat in it! Cooking beans is really easy once you can get your mind wrapped around the concept. But to simplify it even further, THRIVE now has par boiled beans - instant beans - for those days you are in a hurry!

Meatless Taco Filling Using THRIVE

(adapted from BandE)

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons of Thrive onions
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/3 C Thrive Pepper Mix
3 C Thrive black beans, cooked and mashed
2 tablespoons Thrive yellow cornmeal
1 1/2 tablespoons cumin
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 cup salsa (I use PACE)

Directions:

1.Heat olive oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Stir in reconstituted onion, bell pepper and garlic; cook until tender. Stir in mashed beans. Add the cornmeal. Mix in cumin, paprika, cayenne, chili powder, and salsa. Cover, and cook 5 minutes.

Book a Demo in your home and earn FREE food!  You can schedule your demo to the right today! Loads of information and fun. Actually taste the food and learn how to save time in the kitchen and money!

Make your own enchilada's!

Todays foods are full of things we may not be aware of or even know what they are! Why chance it? Cook as much from scratch as possible and avoid the concerns!

Here is an enchilada recipe I made that is easy and turned out super yummy!

Pinto Bean Enchiladas
(adapted from Barb Bloomfield)

Stir in:
4C cooked THRIVE pinto beans (we even have par boiled beans - instant. No fuss!)
1/2C bean stock or water
2T low sodium soy sauce
1T tomato paste made from THRIVE tomato powder (water added to thick consistency)
1t ground cumin

Let it simmer for about 10 minutes. Remove from heat.

Enchilada Sauce:

While the beans cook, saute in sauce pan:
1/2C chopped onion
1/2C chopped green pepper
1T minced garlic
1/2t extra virgin olive oil

When soft add:
3C low sodium pureed tomatoes or THRIVE tomato powder, reconstituted
2C water
3 1/2T chili powder
2t ground cumin
1/2t dried oregano
1/2t salt

Simmer for 10 minutes. Pour a couple Tablespoons of sauce in the bottom of baking dish. Use corn tortillas and dip in pan of sauce and then fill with bean mixture then roll.  Dipping the tortillas keeps them from cracking while rolling. Place filled tortilla in baking dish. Repeat.

Once you have filled your pan (approx. 12 corn tortillas), top with a handful of your favorite THRIVE cheese, reconstituted.

Bake at 350 degrees 20 to 25 minutes, untli cheese is bubbly and begins to brown on the sides.

It really is scrumptious!! Another family favorite I can add to my list. Yay! It's growing and I have more and more healthy choices for dinner. I know we are getting the best possible nutrition. I would make my own tortillas but I am not that advanced in my cooking skills as of yet. Soon, though!

Thrive foods are delicious! Why not host a cooking demo and see for yourself? These are so fun and the food is so good. I would love to show you just how wonderful they taste and how easy they are to use every day!

Put a Lid on It!

SO I have been racking my brain for ways to to make cooking healthy and with Thrive Food easy and I have found it!!! Canning jars are the answer. I will show you how to make easy YUMMY meals and keep them in a jar until you are ready for them! I have scrumtious recipes and fun ideas for this!

Did you know you can earn your food for FREE?! Forget couponing and high food prices! Host a cooking demo and earn your groceries! YAY!!!!! Free food! No kidding. It is fun, educational, and very helpful when it comes to planning meals for you family on a tight time schedule and a tight budget!

I happened to pick up a couple of the cookbooks from convention and am giving them to my next Demo Hosts so now is the time to schedule! Free food, free cookbook....what could be better? (Ok. I can't supply personal chef services, but this is the next best thing!
Why YOU should host a demo:
1.Experience the wonderful taste of THRIVE foods in the company of friends and family and get tasty recipe ideas.
2.Receive great information about becoming self reliant. Learn how easy it can be to build, store, rotate and use your Thrive Food on a regular basis.
3.Get the best prices on top of the line freeze dried and dehydrated food, shelving and emergency supplies.
4.Earn additional benefits from the sales you help generate
5.Help feed the hungry. A percentage of all sales goes to our charity, Thriving Nations.

Contact me at thrivewithamy@gmail.com or at www.AmyBray.shelfreliance.com!

URL Changed!

I thought I better update everyone. Shelf Reliance has updated our website addresses. Plus mine is different. It is now http://www.amybray.shelfreliance.com/. Maybe a little easier to remember. Ok, I have been playing in the kitchen and tried a really yummy granola recipe on the Shelf Reliance sight. Here it is:

Yield 8 servings                   

Natalie Riley

Ingredients

3 c thrive quick oats
2 c apple juice
1⁄2 c honey
3⁄4 c pepitas (green pumpkin seeds)
1⁄2 c sunflower seeds
3⁄4 c walnuts, pecans, or almonds
1 c shredded or dessicated coconut
2 t salt (or more, to taste)
2 t cinnamon
1 pn grated nutmeg
choice of thrive freeze dried berries and fruit

Instructions

* Mix all ingredients together, excluding berries, making sure everything is coated and well-blended.
* Transfer mixture onto a greased baking sheet and bake at 300-350 degrees for a few hours, tossing the granola every half hour or so, until all moisture is cooked out and granola is toasted. Cook times will vary, so be mindful of keeping your granola from burning.
* Once granola is cool, add in fruits or berries. Keep granola in an airtight container on the shelf for snacking. Can be served with yogurt, rehydrated berries, and milk for a delicious breakfast.

I only cooked it for 20 minutes at 300 and then turned it and cooked again for 20 minutes and it was yummy. Still a little moist so I keep it in the fridge. I did not add the fruit because my husband likes just the nuts, so
I add the fruit as I am eating it. i added sunflower seeds, walnuts, almonds, and pumpkin seeds.

My kids came and couldn't stop eating it. it didn't last long. Next time I will double it!

THRIVE saves the day (or the evening)!

This post will be quick. I am in the middle of a crazy day and it is about to get crazier! Last night I did not have time to make dinner. Seriously. Days fly by when I am chasing a one year old! Before I knew it...time for dinner and nothing prepped! YIKES! So I turned to my trusty Shelf Reliance and pulled out the yummy scrumptious pancake mix. This stuff is delish!!! I added some pecans to the mix and stirred up some eggs with freeze dried shredded cheese and DINNER. It was wonderful, easy, and scrumptious! THRIVE is the best! I can always trust the nutrition and the taste. And the added nuts made it even better than the usual IHop fattening fare. Plus my husband is a pancake flipping expert so he cooked! It was a wonderful evening!

At my daughters house last weekend we had pancakes as well. She had company (besides us) and we were trying to scrape up enough food to feed a good sized crew. I happened to have my THRIVE Blackberries and Yogurt with me. So we reconstiuted about 1 cup of Blackberries and added some suger - about 1tsp - and blended it really well. Then we used it to top the pancakes. We also had THRIVE freeze dried yogurt. It was a hit! It may sound crazy, but I take this stuff everywhere with me. It is so llightweight, easy to toss in for snacks or cooking on the road. And soooo much better for us than the usual chips and soda routine!

Ode to Beans

I have been traveling to St. George every weekend for the last 3 weeks to go to nutritional cooking classes with my daughter. Ihave learned to cook beans. Ok, ok, I know. I really should know this stuff by now. But those of you who are familiar with me know that I am more artist than cook (yes, cooking is an art, just not MY art!) and anything in the kitchen is fair game for the studio (and much more likely to be used there than in the kitchen!).

Shelf Reliance carries a great variety of beans and grains! I have arranged my pantry to make it easier for me to make these a mainstay of our diet. This way I can see what I have at a glance (and it looks really cool!) As you can see I do still have round cans in my pantry and am thinking of moving it all to the canisters. I open a can and add it to the pantry. It looks so appetizing and it helps the artistic side of me to decide which beans to use for dinner!

My Actual Bean Pantry!

Beans are such a mainstay of life, but honestly, they have been a mystery to me. Until now. I really had no idea that such amazing health benefits could be had in the simple, yet complicated bean. Thank you Janet Hailstone for teaching me! A wonder in the kitchen Miss Janet is! And an even bigger wonder to be able to interest me in better living and yes, the 'art' of cooking. I am soaking two types of beans as I type and sprouting. Yahoo!!! It seemed so impossible but I LOVE IT! And since I have been cooking this way, I feel great!

For more great information on eating well, click here to visit my Shelf Reliance website!