Summer Lime Bars

So even though I don't produce enough milk to sustain the life of my babies, I do produce enough that I can eat something that upsets their tummies...  And with our little guy, one of those things, I'm pretty sure, is chocolate.  Heavy Sigh!  Chocolate is one of my favorite food groups ;).  It's how I like to satiate my sweet cravings.

So I had to find a new way to do that -- and one of my other favorite things is lemon-y and lime-y stuff.  So I started thinking about lemon bars...  Which led me to thinking about lime bars -- with THRIVE Summer Limeade!  So I gave it a go!  And it was a success.  The flavor of these bars was wonderful!  I did get a little distracted while they were baking, so they came out a little darker than I wanted.  And I opted not to add food coloring, so they don't look lime-y.  But they are!  And they are oh-so-good!

Here's how I did it!

SUMMER LIME BARS
For the Crust:
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup THRIVE Butter Powder + 2 tablespoons water
1/2 cup white sugar*
2 cups all-purpose flour*
For the lime layer:
2 eggs
2 tablespoons THRIVE Whole Egg Powder + 1/4 cup water
1 1/2 cups white sugar*
1/4 cup all-purpose flour*
2 tablespoons THRIVE Summer Limeade powder + 2 tablespoons water
THRIVE Powdered Sugar for dusting

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a medium bowl, blend together softened butter, THRIVE Powdered Butter Powder plus water, 2 cups flour, and 1/2 cup sugar.  Press into the bottom of a greased 9x13-inch pan.  Bake for 15 to 20 minutes in the preheated oven, or until firm and golden.

In another bowl, whisk together the remaining 1 1/2 cups sugar and 1/4 cup flour.  Whisk in the eggs, THRIVE Whole Egg Powder plus water, and THRIVE Summer Limeade plus water.  (I recommend using the whisk attachment of a stand mixer on high speed to fully blend the egg powder).  Pour over the baked crust.

Bake for an additional 15 minutes in the preheated oven.  The bars will firm up as they cool.  Once cooled, sprinkled with THRIVE Powdered Sugar.

*Denotes other ingredients available through THRIVE Life.

I love the THRIVE Summer Limeade.  It is so versatile!  I'm excited about using it in a variety of ways in the months ahead :)!  But it's a seasonal item, so if you want to grab some, you should do it soon!  You can shop at my website: THRIVEingNilla.thrivelife.com/THRIVEingNilla or you can contact me at THRIVEingNilla@gmail.com!

Happy THRIVEing!

72-Hour Kit: Infant/Baby Kit

Well, we once had a baby 72-Hour Kit.  And then our baby grew into a toddler!  Which meant we then had a toddler 72-Hour Kit!  You can check out that link if you'd like to see what we include for our toddler's kit.

But as many of you know, we recently added a handsome baby boy to our family.  Which meant we needed a new baby 72-Hour Kit!  And now I'm posting it here to share with everyone to help you prepare a 72-Hour Kit for your baby!

As with all of the kits I've shared here, your baby's 72-Hour kit may look different than our baby's.  For one thing, I have a low milk supply, so I cannot exclusively breast-feed our baby in an emergency situation (though wouldn't that be nice!?!).  Therefore, we need to make sure we include formula and at least one bottle for our little man.  And this means we also need to consider having extra water for his kit.

Here's what we have included for our baby boy's kit for early baby-hood (he's almost 2 months):

• 12 diapers
• pack of wipes
• burp rag
• 2 changes of clothes (one warmer) for summer weather
• 1 bottle
• 6 emergency water packs
• 2 small cans formula
• small bottle of baby wash
• toy

Something else to remember with a baby kit is that babies grow fast.  You will want to try to remember to change out diapers and clothes in the kit when you change them out for everyday use.  For us, I chose to start out with size 2 diapers in the kit from the get-go.  I figured I'd rather have too-big diapers rather than too-small ones!  And as your baby learns to eat foods, you'll want to include those items too!  So you may find yourself updating your baby's kit more frequently (perhaps every 3 months, instead of every 6!).  But better to keep it up-to-date in case of emergency!

Hope this helps you get better prepared if you have babies at home!  If I can help you prepare in any way, please let me know by contacting me at THRIVingNilla@gmail.com.

Happy THRIVEing!

To check out all of the information I have shared about our 72-Hour Kits, follow this link.

Q-Pon Cooking: July 2015: Sausage Crumbles -- Pizza Pasta

It's nearly the end of July, which means time is running out to snag the great deal on THRIVE Sausage!  It's the Q-Pon item for just a few more days, so let me know if you want to get some before the opportunity passes you by!

THRIVE Sausage Crumbles is easily one of my favorite THRIVE Life products!  I have used it in so many recipes.  Here is a small sampling of those recipes:

Mountain Man Mix
Italian Bowtie Pasta (which can also be a jar meal!)
Sausage and Pepper Brunch Pizza
Sasuage Zuppa Toscana (which can also be a jar meal!)

Truth is, before I was introduced to THRIVE Sausage Crumbles, I maybe bought sausage 2 or 3 times a year.  Now that they are a part of my home store -- and so easy to use! -- I use sausage so much more!  It's awesome.

So here is one more recipe for you to try out with the awesome THRIVE Sausage Crumbles!  And remember, if you want to grab some at this great price, contact me at THRIVEingNilla@gmail.com or you can order through my website at www.thriveingnilla.thrivelife.com/thriveingnilla.

PIZZA PASTA
1 cup THRIVE Sausage Crumbles (I cut this back to about 3/4 cup for my family's meat preferences)
1/4 cup THRIVE Chopped Onion
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1/2 cup THRIVE Tomato Sauce (also on special this month!)
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon basil
2 cups rotini pasta (or pasta of your choice)
1/2 cup THRIVE Mozzarella Cheese (also on special this month!)
1/4 cup THRIVE Parmesan Cheese
Sliced Pepperoni
2 cups water

Add all ingredients except peperoni and both cheeses to a saucepan and add 2 cups water.  Bring to a boil.  Boil about 15 minutes or until pasta is done.  While there is still thick juicy sauce, add the pepperoni on top and then sprinkle the cheeses on top.  Broil 3 to 5 minutes until cheese is melted.  (You can choose to re-hydrate the cheeses first and they will melt better).

This can also be prepared as a jar meal!  I will be doing it one of these days to hopefully use at a future jar meal event!

I didn't invent this recipe, but got it from a consultant who shared it in a facebook group.  I think it's quite tasty!  And totally kid-pleasing!  We rounded our meal out with grapes and salad ;).

Happy THRIVEing!

Q-Pon Cooking: July 2015: Sausage Crumbles: Stove-Top "Baked" Ziti

July is halfway over, and I've been lax in posting my THRIVEing cooking experiences!  Trust me, I haven't been lax in having them, though!  Life with a 2-month old and a new baby is just a whirlwind and finding the time to sit down and post all of these culinary treats is not as easy as I would hope.  And on those rare days when I could have the chance since I (by some miracle) got both kids down to nap at the same time, I pretty much choose to nap as well -- because we're still in the mostly-sleepless night phase!  My little guy still likes eating on a 2-hour schedule these days. 

But that's enough about me!  Let's talk about some THRIVE!  It's still July, which means you can still snag some Sausage Crumbles at a great price!  Since I have posted before about why I love the THRIVE Sausage Crumbles, I won't reinvent the wheel...  But if you click on that link, you can read all about the many reasons they are among my favorite THRIVE Life products -- and why I keep them on hand in my home store ALL THE TIME now.  (And that's saying something for someone who maybe bought sausage 4 times a year in the past...).

And I'll just add this recipe I recently cooked up, using the THRIVE Sausage Crumbles to make a great one-pot meal even simpler!  You can find the original recipe here.

STOVE-TOP "BAKED" ZITI
1 cup THRIVE Sausage Crumbles
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
12 ounces rotini pasta
3 cups water
3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese*
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 cup shredded Mozzarella cheese*

Heat olive oil over medium heat in large skillet.  Add garlic and cook about 30 seconds.  Add tomatoes, THRIVE Sausage Crumbles, red pepper flakes, pasta and water.  Stir.  Bring to a boil; cover, reduce heat and simmer until pasta is cooked through, about 13 to 16 minutes. 

Remove from heat.  Stir in Parmesan and heavy cream.  Top with mozzarella and cover until cheese has melted, about 2 minutes.

*Denotes other ingredients available through THRIVE Life.

How easy is that!?!  There's a reason I love these Sausage Crumbles.  And I know you will too!  So get some.  Now!  Just contact me at THRIVEingNilla@gmail.com to get the Q-Pon price if you aren't a Q-Club member.  Or add it to your Q for July if you are a Q-Club member! 

Happy THRIVEing!

Sparkling Summertime Limeade

One of the newest products from THRIVE Life is the Summertime Limeade!  It is amazing!  It comes with almost no sugar added, so you are able to sweeten it to your liking -- and with whatever sweetener you prefer!

I decided to try out the recipe on the Limeade can using sparkling water instead of regular water.  It was a total hit!  In fact, my husband, who had previously said to me that he wasn't crazy about limeade, said "that was really good limeade!" after tasting it.  I call that a win!

When I made it to enjoy with our dinner, I only made a couple servings, so below is the recipe for one serving. 

SPARKLING SUMMER LIMEADE
1 teaspoon THRIVE Summer Limeade
2 tablespoons sugar
8 ounces sparkling water

Add all ingredients to a glass and stir until limeade and sugar are dissolved.