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!!