Healthy 5-Ingredient Spaghettios!

Do you ever happen upon something amazing, totally by accident?  Serendipity!  (The movie by the same name is also awesome, by the way ;)). 

Well, that happened to me the other day.  I was making a pasta dish I make at least once a month.  But I realized I had forgotten to purchase store-bought Alfredo sauce.  At first I was despairing, because I knew I wasn't making a special trip to the grocery store for that one ingredient.  Which would mean I'd have to have a straight red sauce for the pasta, or I'd have to pick something else... 

...Until I remembered my home store and my amazing THRIVE Life Bechamel Sauce!  Dinner -- as I wanted it -- was saved!  I would just add a little Bechamel Sauce and extra water, and we'd have something akin to what I usually make. So that's just what I did.  And get this:  it was even better than before!  And as I tasted the sauce to make sure it would "work," I thought, "Huh...  This tastes a lot like Spaghettios sauce!"  I knew I had to replicate it and make it for lunch the next day. 

So to all you mamas out there who loved Spaghettios as children, but are hesitant to feed it to your own kids because you really don't like the high fructose corn syrup in said Spaghettios...  I have your solution!  It's easy, it's fast, and you can even pre-prep it and have it stored in a jar to just add water to when ready to cook!

Let me introduce you to Spaghettios -- THRIVEalized!

3/4 cup Ditalini pasta (you can add up to 1 cup, it will just be thicker than traditional Spaghettios)
1/4 cup THRIVE Bechamel Sauce
1/4 cup THRIVE Tomato Powder
1 teaspoon THRIVE Classic Tomato Sauce
1/2 teaspoon salt (optional)

Place ingredients in a pot with 2 1/4 cups water.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer (stirring occasionally) 20 minutes or until pasta is tender, but not mushy.

This will serve 2 to 3 people, depending how much you put in a serving (and I mean adults here...  Because let's face it:  sometimes we want to re-live our childhood too ;)).

And because our THRIVE Life foods are non-GMO, and include no hydrogenated oils, no artificial flavors and no artificial colors, I can take comfort in knowing I am offering my children (and eating) a healthier option of a childhood favorite!  (You can check out any of our labels online; here is an example.)  Plus you control what kind of pasta you (organic, gluten-free, etc)! 

My 3 year old ate her whole bowl (and she, oddly enough, did not like the canned Spaghettios I bought her to try a few months ago!).  I call it a win.

So to all of my fellow nostalgics out there....  you're welcome!

And Happy THRIVEing!

*This post contains affiliate links.  I earn a small commission on any purchases made through these links.*

Fun Food Hacks with THRIVE Life!: Flavoring Plain Yogurt

I love to eat huge spoonfuls of plain yogurt right out of the container! said no one (that I know of), ever.

Plain yogurt has long been a curiosity for me, honestly.  I can remember one instance in my childhood when I tasted it and thought, "What a waste of yogurt!"  I mean, seriously?  What's the point?

My opinion of plain yogurt isn't quite so negative anymore.  If nothing else, age does give you wisdom ;).  But I still wouldn't eat plain yogurt out of the container by itself.

How do I use plain yogurt these days?  Mainly as a sour cream substitute (it's a healthier option!).  However, the other day, I needed some for a clean eating recipe.  I think it was a brownie recipe that looked really good.

Now, so you don't call me a hypocrite in a few moments, let me divulge this not-so-secret fact:  I am not on a clean eating diet.  I love the idea of it.  But I'm not quite that disciplined.  I have, however, been trying to make some better choices here and there with the sweet snacks I choose.  And for a few weeks, I was being particularly strict about refined sugars in order to show myself that I can choose to go without any (or as much) refined sugars in my desserts.  So, there's the background on that and why I was making a clean eating brownie recipe.  (In case you wondered, I believe this particular brownie recipe was a single-serve microwave one, and it was not good.)

But, back to the fun food hack :)!

So I had this mostly-full container of Plain Greek Yogurt.  I used it in place of sour cream for Chicken Divan (that helped get rid of a lot of it).  But -- and this never happens -- I actually had some real sour cream in the fridge that needed using too!  So generally, for our Mexican food, the real sour cream won out.  Leaving me with a lot of plain Greek yogurt to figure out what do to with.

It just so happened I had also bought some single-serve Greek Yogurts as well.  And one night, for my snack, I had an orange creme one.  As I sat here at this computer, enjoying that little 5.3 ounce yogurt, I had an epiphany:  THRIVE Orange Bliss drink mix + plain Greek yogurt =(?) Orange Bliss Greek Yogurt!  I had to give it a try!

So I did.  And you know what?  I may just start buying a whole lot more Plain Greek Yogurt!

So you can watch and see how easy this is:



And then you can check out the nutritional comparisons!  One thing I want to mention is that you actually get fewer calories, less fat, MORE protein, and added vitamins for an equal serving by doing this little hack!  And if you use Greek yogurt, as I did, you get a snack that is packed with protein!

And here's the (super easy) recipe:

1 cup plain yogurt (I used Greek)
2 tablespoons THRIVE Orange Bliss drink mix

Mix well and let sit 10 to 20 minutes for sugar to dissolve.  Enjoy!

In fact, we'll be enjoying this as a part of our afternoon snack while we celebrate National Greek Yogurt Day today!  Here's to healthy banana splits!

Celebrating Panama's Independence with THRIVE!

*This post contains affiliate links.  I earn a small commission on any purchases made through these links.*

Today is Panama's Independence Day.  And since I was born and raised there (spend the first 18 years of my life there), I decided it is worth celebrating!  And anyone who knows me knows a celebration is not really a celebration unless it includes food!  

I grew up eating Arroz con Pollo (Panamanian Chicken and Rice).  It is one of the best meals I've ever eaten.  It is pretty much a staple in most Panamanian homes.  I'm sure everyone's recipe is just a little different -- and I'm equally sure everyone is sure theirs is the best :).  

One challenge of the recipe I have is the amount of time it takes to make.  My traditional recipe takes 2 to 2 1/2 hours and lots of chopping.  Onions, celery, bell pepper, carrots....  Not to mention the raw meat that has to be browned, then boiled, then cooled, then shredded...  It's a lot of work!  Don't get me wrong -- it's totally worth it.  But with that much hands-on time required, I simply can't make this most of the time.  I have two young children and a lot of other household responsibilities.  So, alas, Arroz con Pollo hasn't been something I could just include in our monthly menu.  

...Until now!  I decided to THRIVE-alize my recipe!  You can find the recipe here (plus, I added an additional 1/2 tablespoon of THRIVE Life's awesome Vegetarian Chicken Bouillon for tonight's meal).

I even did a couple videos to show how easy this is to prepare when you don't have to wash, chop, shred, etc!  In fact, I prepared 2 meals in 10 minutes (in a jar):

And it took me less than 4 minutes to get tonight's dinner cooking once it was time to actually prepare it:

And above you see the finished product (ready in 30 to 40 minutes as opposed to 2 to 2 1/2 hours!).  So yum!  Happy Independence Day, Panama!  And thanks for the happy memories of growing up in such a beautiful, unique place!

P.S.  I also made Canal Zone Empanadas :).  

Happy THRIVEing!

Halloween Goodie Containers!

I've been blessed with THRIVE Life in my life for about 2 1/2 years now.  That equates to a lot of yummy meals and snacks.  It also equates to a lot of awesome cans to up-cycle! 

My most recent adventures in up-cycling THRIVE Life cans (both the #10 (or Family) size and the Pantry Can size) was making Halloween Goodie Containers!  It was a lot of fun. 

Fact:  I don't have an artistic bone in my body. 

But that doesn't mean I can't venture to try -- and still manage to come up with something cutesie! 

I did all the painting, since it was acrylic paints (and let the kids paint with tempura paint to keep them happy ;)).  Then my sweet girl helped me glue on the eyeballs for the monster eye can!  Then, on Halloween, I baked up some monster eye cookies (colored with THRIVE Raspberries, Blueberries, and Spinach Fruit Crisps which I had powdered!) and we put them in a plastic gallon bag and in the monster eye can!

My Frankenstein monster reminds me less of Frankenstein and more of Kif from Futurama.  Haha.  But oh well ;).  We stuffed them with candy!

So I love finding new ways to up-cycle my THRIVE Life cans!  And I'm pretty sure I'm going to start doing more of these so I can give them as gifts around Halloween!  And goodness knows I won't have a can shortage ;)!