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!

Hiking Snacks!

Summer is coming in!  We have enjoyed several beautiful days here in Western Washington.

True, they've also been warm days -- and I'm not entirely fond of those ;).  But they have still been beautiful blue-sky days.  Great for soaking up the Vitamin D!

With this time of year come many opportunities to go hiking, back-packing, and camping!  And guess what!?!  THRIVE Life is awesome for those activities!  The foods are light-weight and so convenient!  So today I thought I'd share a couple of great hiking snack recipes using lots of THRIVE Life goodies!  These are especially great, because in addition to being light-weight, they are packed with great nutrients and protein -- the stuff to keep you going on those hikes!

MOUNTAIN MAN MIX

Mix equal parts:
THRIVE Sausage Crumbles
THRIVE Green Peas
THRIVE Sweet Corn
THRIVE Shredded Cheddar Cheese

Optional:  Sprinkle with THRIVE Chef's Choice Seasoning Blend to taste. (We opted out of the seasoning blend and it was still delicious!)

It's recommended you put all this in a bowl or container with a lid and shake, shake, shake (especially if you choose to use the seasoning blend).  

The other recipe is one I made up.  I call it Tropical Trail Mix.  Full of tropical fruits along with granola and nuts (and, of course, some chocolate!), it's a yummy little trail treat!

TROPICAL TRAIL MIX

2 cups Granola of your choice
¼ cup white chocolate chips

¼ cup milk chocolate chips

1/3 cup shredded coconut

2 ¼ cups THRIVE Mango

1 cup THRIVE Pineapple Chunks

1 cup THRIVE Banana Slices, broken

1 cup roasted salted cashews

½ cup THRIVE Passionfruit Yogurt Bites

In a large bowl, combine all ingredients until well-mixed.  Enjoy!

I'm pretty excited about these hiking snacks!  They aren't just for hiking, of course :).  They are great for snacking anytime!  A great way to get some fruits and veggies.  I just think they are phenomenal for back-packing and hiking, because they do have the ingredients to really boost energy levels and provide great nutrition while doing so!

Are you a hiker or back-packer?  Would you love having great home-made and healthy trail snacks?  I can help you with that!  Contact me at THRIVEingNilla@gmail.com or visit my website www.thrivelife.com/THRIVEingNilla!

Happy THRIVEing!

Chef Todd's Salsa... Sort Of

I had a get-together the other evening when I hosted a doTERRA Class for my sister-in-law.  (If you're interested in Essential Oils, you should totally check out her website here.)  Being the foodie that I am, I can't not serve food at an event!

So I made salsa.  One of the reasons for this was because I could "showcase" the edible uses of a couple of the Essential Oils (cilantro and lime).

The other reason was because I knew my THRIVE foods would come through for me and I could throw together a salsa in a snap!  Which was particularly awesome when that day turned out to be a harder one that I'd originally anticipated.  I needed easy like you can't imagine that day...

This salsa knocked my socks off for a couple reasons.  1.  It tasted great.  2.  My husband really liked it.  3. It was literally done in 5 minutes and was in the fridge mingling flavors.  No chopping or washing of anything (except the dishes later one).  It was amazing.  I may never make any other fresh salsa again, now that I know I can be spoiled with my THRIVE!

I halved the recipe (which can be found in its original form here) and made it as follows:

CHEF TODD'S SALSA... SORT OF
2 cups THRIVE Tomato Dices
2 tablespoons THRIVE Green Chilies
1 tablespoon THRIVE Chopped Onions
1 tablespoon THRIVE Cilantro
1/8 teaspoon THRIVE Chef's Choice seasoning blend
1 drop doTERRA Lime Essential Oil
a smidge (try not to use a full drop -- it's potent!) doTERRA Cilantro Essential Oil
3/4 cup water

Mix all dry ingredients in a medium bowl.  Add the lime and cilantro oils to the water and stir.  Pour the oil-infused water into the bowl with the dry ingredients and stir to combine.  Cover and chill at least 2 hours.  Serve with chips.

See?  I told you this was easy.

Would you love to enjoy fresh salsa made in minutes?  Contact me at THRIVEingNilla@gmail.com or visit my website at www.thrivelife.com/THRIVEingNilla to place an order for these awesome ingredients!

Happy THRIVEing!

Cauliflower Tots

As with many of the recipes I try, I cannot take credit for the original of this recipe -- which can be found here.  However, I can take credit for THRIVE-alizing it ;)!

I've mentioned before that I'm always on the lookout for a new way to get vegetables into my toddler (and myself!).  So when I saw that recipe on Pinterest, I thought it was a great idea!  And totally THRIVE-alize-able!  The added bonus is that these tots are a great dipper.  And my little girl loves to dip her food in ketchup, salsa, ranch, etc.  I have used these as a vegetable for dinner, but I think they could also work as a healthy snack!

So here's the recipe the way I made it!

CAULIFLOWER TOTS
2 cups THRIVE Cauliflower
1 THRIVE Whole Egg (+ 2 tablespoons water)
1 egg white
2 tablespoons THRIVE Chopped Onions
1 tablespoon dried parsley*
1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese*
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
salt and pepper to taste

In a food processor or blender, coarsely chop the cauliflower.  Pour into bowl (much of it will be powdered, but that's fine, you just want to get rid of the big pieces).  Add onion to bowl.  Add enough water to cover and allow to reconstitute for 5 minutes.  Drain.

Add THRIVE Whole Egg plus 2 tablespoons water and egg white.  Mix to combine.  Add remaining ingredients and mix well.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and spray a cookie sheet with non-stick spray (or use a silpat).  Form cauliflower mixture (about 1 tablespoon at a time) into "tater-tot" size pieces (1 inch x 1/2 inch) and place on greased cookie sheet.  Bake in preheated oven 16 to 18 minutes, turning once halfway through.

*Denotes other ingredients available through THRIVE Life.

I really like these!  They are so toddler-friendly, but even I enjoyed them :).  Dipped in ketchup they are delicious as well!  And I love that I could skip the washing, chopping, and steaming of the cauliflower.  Along with chopping onions!  Having THRVE on-hand definitely made making these faster than it would otherwise have been! 

Feel free to contact me at THRIVEingNilla@gmail.com or visit my website at www.thrivelife.com/THRIVEingNilla if you'd like to make your life easier with some yummy THRIVE Life veggies!!!

Happy THRIVEing!

Lots of THRIVE!

The other day I used a lot of THRIVE to make dinner and dessert!  It was a lot of fun trying new things :).

Pictured above was dinner, drink, and dessert from that day -- and, being that I don't get super motivated these days until after 2 p.m., that's when I started working on all of this!  Definitely couldn't have done that much without my THRIVE!

First up:  drinks!  The truth is, we are mainly water drinkers in my household.  But every once in a while, a yummy fruity drink sounds really appealing.  So I can understand why experts recommend having some juice mixes as part of your home store.  I have used this THRIVE Simply Peach drink mix for a variety of juices as well as putting it into my smoothies.  I needed the juice for the dessert I'd decided to make, so I went ahead and made up a full batch and enjoyed some of the juice with dinner :).  Simply follow the guidelines on the #10 can (2 tablespoons THRIVE Simply Peach to 1 cup water) and oila!   You have a simple, but yummy juice.  It's a real treat for my toddler when she can have juice with dinner.  And she gulps it down fast.

What I love?  IT HAS NO ARTIFICIAL COLORS!  That's such a win, when so many powdered drinks are full of artificial colors!

Next up:  dinner!  It was one of those "what am I going to make for dinner?" days...  I mean, I had my menu list all planned out -- like I do most pay periods.  But I flat out forgot to pull meat out to thaw.  And this is one of the reasons I love my THRIVE meats.  They are ready to use, even at the last minute.  So I found a recipe on the THRIVE Life website for Chicken Broccoli Alfredo.  You can follow that link and get the original recipe.  You can even make this as a jar meal.  Here's how I did it (with what I had on hand):

CHICKEN BROCCOLI ALFREDO
1 heaping cup shell macaroni
1/2 cup THRIVE Bechamel Sauce
2 tablespoons THRIVE Sour Cream Powder
1 1/2 teaspoon THRIVE Chopped Onions
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 1/2 teaspoon Italian Seasoning*
1 teaspoon THRIVE Chef's Choice Seasoning
1 1/2 teaspoons THRIVE Chicken Bouillon
1 cup THRIVE Seasoned Chicken Slices
1 cup THRIVE Broccoli
1/4 cup shredded Parmesan Cheese*

Place all ingredients except Parmesan Cheese in a saucepan with 4 1/2 cups water.  Allow to sit for 10 minutes.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer 10 minutes or until pasta is done, stirring occasionally.  Stir in Parmesan Cheese until melted and incorporated.

*Denotes other ingredients available through THRIVE Life.

So the things I loved about this dish: 
1.  It was all in one pot.
2.  It was easy to throw together.
3.  I didn't have to worry about thawing meat, etc.

But I have to be honest...  I personally didn't especially like this meal.  I think it was the Italian Seasoning.  Granted, I don't have THRIVE Italian Seasoning, so maybe that makes a difference.  But I just didn't enjoy that flavor.  My toddler really didn't like it.  My husband, however, said he didn't think it was bad.  So I guess it's all in personal preference.  But I have to share my true feelings, and those are that I don't plan to make this again.

For some reason, anytime I make pasta, I feel like I need bread to go with it.  Clearly, I did not start my meal-making in time to do a yeast bread.  And even throwing together scratch biscuits seemed like a lot of effort (lazy, huh?).  But then it occurred to me I could do the next best thing!  Sort of scratch biscuits!  I grabbed my Honey Whole Wheat Mix and decided to try making biscuits with it!  A quick glance at the ingredients told me it already had shortening in the mix, along with flour and salt...  Basically I just had to add a leavening agent.  And that was simple enough with baking powder!  So here's my recipe:

HONEY WHOLE WHEAT DROP BICUITS
2 cups THRIVE Honey Whole Wheat Dough Mix
3 teaspoons baking powder*
1 1/4 cups milk*

Place the dough mix into a medium bowl and add baking powder.  Stir well to combine.  Add milk and mix.  Drop by heaping tablespoons onto a greased cookie sheet.  Bake at 450 for 9 minutes.  (I got 9 biscuits.)

*Denotes other ingredients available through THRIVE Life.

You can add less milk if you want to make "cut out" biscuits.  But I like the drop biscuits, because they are fast.

And finally...  What I did for dessert ;).  Which was just a random idea I had, so I ran with it.  And it's also a pretty decent snack for a toddler!  I'm calling them Strawberry Peach Jiggly Squares :).

STRAWBERRY-PEACH JIGGLY SQUARES
4 cups THRIVE Simply Peach, prepared (this is 4 cups water plus 8 tablespoons THRIVE Simply Peach drink mix)
4 packets unflavored gelatin
1/2 cup coarsely chopped THRIVE Strawberry Slices

Bring 3 cups of prepared juice to a boil.  Place one cup of prepared juice in a large bowl.  Sprinkle all 4 packets of gelatin over juice. Allow to sit for a minute.  Pour hot juice into the bowl and stir until all gelatin is dissolved.  Stir in THRIVE Strawberry Slices.  Pour into a 9x13 pan (I usually spray with cooking spray for even easier release later!).  Refrigerate until firm.  Cut into squares.

Again, one thing I really love about this is that there are no artificial colors!  Don't get me wrong, I'm not great at staying away from all the artificial colors.  And who doesn't love Jell-o Jigglers?  But if I can come up with something just as fun and kid-friendly without the fake stuff?  I'm totally in!

Anyway, I had a lot of fun experimenting and playing around and trying new things.  And I just really love how THRIVE Life has often come to the rescue on those days when I am not as prepared as I could be to make dinner ;)!

Happy THRIVEing!  And, as always, contact me at THRIVEingNilla@gmail.com with any questions or to place an order to help your meal-times not be a conundrum when you forget to thaw the meat ;)!!!

Whole Wheat Tortillas

Don't you love it when you go to the store and forget something so basic as bread?  Even when it's on your list!  Yeah, I did that.  On Saturday night. 

I didn't want to go to the store for a special bread-buying trip for a couple of reasons:  1.  waste of gas to buy only one thing.  2.  I am an impulse shopper (I know, shameful!) and that one thing would have turned into more than one, I can guarantee it.  Which means I'm spending money I don't need to. 

Anyway, without bread in the house earlier today, I decided to try my hand at some whole wheat tortillas I found a recipe for in the THRIVE Cookbook.  I love that this recipe can be made with 100% food storage!  And 100% THRIVE, for that matter.  Mine weren't 100% THRIVE, simply because we have wheat from years ago given to us by my in-laws, and we grind it up for flour.  We need to use the oldest stuff first, naturally ;).  But this could totally be 100% THRIVE.  And I love that I had my THRIVE Shortening Powder on hand to use!  It is one of my favorite items, because I don't usually buy shortening.  I buy butter a lot at the store, but not shortening, as very few of my recipes call for it.  So I'm really thrilled that, on the rare occasion my recipe calls for shortening, I now have a solution in my home store!

Anyway, so on to the recipe!  (P.S.  I halved the recipe below and ended up with 12 tortillas)

WHOLE WHEAT TORTILLAS
1 cup white flour*
4 cups whole wheat flour*
2 teaspoons salt*
1/2 cup THRIVE Shortening Powder (plus 1 to 2 tablespoons water)
 2 1/4 cups boiling water
additional flour for rolling

Sift together white flour, whole wheat flour, and salt.  Add shortening powder and mix.  Add 1 to 2 tablespoons water and mix in with a fork (or hands) until mixture is crumbly.

Make a well in the center of the mixture, then pour boiling water in the well.  Mix with a fork until all the water is evenly incorporated into the mixture.  Dough should be soft and not sticky.  If your dough is too flaky, add more water 2 tablespoons at a time until dough comes together.

Sprinkle with a bit of additional flour and knead until the dough does not stick to fingers (this took me about an additional 1/4 cup).  Make balls the size of golf balls and place them on a sheet pan.  Cover the dough with a cloth and let sit for an hour.

Heat a griddle or large frying pan over high heat.  On a lightly floured surface (we found we needed it heavily floured or the dough would stick...), roll out a tortilla as thinly as you prefer.  Fry the first side for approximately 10 seconds until you see a bubble form in the middle of the tortilla.  Flip the tortilla and let it cook for approximately 30 more seconds.  Flip the tortilla once more and let it cook for 30 seconds more.

*Denotes other ingredients available through THRIVE Life.

So this was my (and my husband's) first attempt at making tortillas from scratch.  We learned a lot!  I think we may have over-floured in an effort to prevent sticking when rolling.  And I think we over-cooked and dried them out.  We learned by the last few, and then those were much better.  They all still tasted fine.  Just some were drier than others. 

I used the tortillas to make cheese quesadillas for our lunch.

Then, I used one and slathered it with Nutella and put a banana in it and sliced it for an afternoon snack for my toddler and myself ;).

It was definitely a lot of fun trying out new things with the tortillas :).  And, as always, I had fun using my THRIVE!

Tropical "Sauce"

So this is a totally Nilla-made recipe.  And so I had to come up with a name.  I'll explain its origins shortly ;).

A few weeks back, I bought my toddler one of those squeeze pouch things while we were at the store.  Usually I get her these when we're close to nap-time and I don't want her to fall asleep on the way home.  She loves them and doesn't get them often, so they are a treat.  I like that I can get the ones with vegetables in them, and I feel like I'm having a mommy win, because she's getting extra veggies!  So on that particular day, the one I chose for her was something along the lines of carrot, mango, and orange.

Which got me thinking...  I could totally make something like that!

So yesterday, I decided to try it out.  And I decided to use some THRIVE goodies to help me!

TROPICAL "SAUCE"
1/2 cup THRIVE Pineapple Chunks
1 ripe banana*
1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons orange juice concentrate
1/2 cup THRIVE Carrot Dices
1 teaspoon THRIVE Honey Crystals
2 1/4 cups water

Place all ingredients in a blender and allow to sit about 5 minutes (to soften the carrots).  Blend until it is a nice orange color and there are no large chunks of carrots left (about an additional 3 minutes).

*Denotes other ingredients available through THRIVE Life.

So here's why I'm calling it "sauce," though I clearly don't use it as a sauce from the picture.  I got the idea from applesauce.  Because, though I was trying for a smoothie consistency, this has more of an applesauce texture and consistency.

Now here's the thing:  I'm a pretty picky eater when it comes to taste.  And I thought this wasn't bad at all.  The first taste gives you that citrus zing, but then it mellows as you continue to eat it.  It's a great way to get carrots.  But I can't only trust my taste-buds.  Because, I think, when you have created something yourself and have a lot invested in it... well, it's easy to become biased in your opinion.  So I always let my husband and daughter be the real judges.

My husband's verdict:  it's pretty good.  He felt like it was missing something, but couldn't pinpoint what.  He tried adding a bit of mint extract to his, but said that was a mistake.

My toddler's verdict:  after tasting it, she wanted me to put the whole bowl at her spot at the table so she could climb up in her chair and eat it.  She was, in fact, quite offended when I took the majority of it to add to a smoothie today (pictured below).

So I'm pretty excited about my tropical sauce.  Because it means today, I got spinach and carrots into my toddler without her realizing it :).  (And I got them into myself too -- but I totally knew ;)).

Anyway, so today I put what was leftover from yesterday into a smoothie (the stuff my toddler wanted to eat).  I can't post a recipe for that, since I just threw stuff together and didn't measure.  But I can tell you what was thrown in -- just not amounts ;).

1 cup (approx) of the Tropical "Sauce"
1 large handful baby spinach
strawberry yogurt
THRIVE strawberry yogurt bites
milk
4 strawberries, sliced

I actually added too much milk, I think.  It was a little less smoothie-like.  But still tasted good.  And my toddler loved that too.  So I think it was a win :).

And this is just some of how I use my THRIVE!  Actually, having these ingredients on-hand has not only made things faster and easier for me, but has also helped me to be more adventurous in the kitchen! 

"Frankenmuffins"

As I've mentioned before, I'm always looking for new yummy ways to get vegetables into myself and my toddler!  I recently came across this recipe for "Frankenmuffins" in a Family Fun magazine my friend Lea gave me.  I knew I wanted to try it out (even if it isn't quite Halloween-time yet ;)), and THRIVE gave me the incentive to do so one day when I realized I had all the ingredients necessary -- thanks to THRIVE Chopped Spinach!  So I tweaked the original recipe a bit, as the original called for fresh baby spinach, and I figured I wouldn't need as much spinach while using my THRIVE.  Below is the recipe as I made them.

FRANKENMUFFINS
1 cup white flour*
1 cup whole wheat flour*
3/4 cup sugar*
2 teaspoons baking powder*
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt*
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/4 cup canola oil
3/4 cup milk*
3 cups THRIVE Chopped Spinach, rehydrated
1 large ripe banana
2 teaspoons THRIVE Pure Vanilla Powder

Preheat oven to 350.  Spray 16 muffin cups with cooking spray.  In a large bowl, combine first 7 ingredients and stir with a mix until well combined.

In a blender, add the oil, milk, and spinach.  Puree until smooth.  Add banana and vanilla and blend until all is well combined.  Add wet ingredients to dry and stir until completely mixed (I used my stand mixer).

Fill each prepared muffin well two-thirds full.  Bake the muffins until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 18 minutes (mine took 17).

*Denotes other ingredients available through THRIVE Life.

I seriously cannot say enough good things about these muffins!  They are delicious!  And they freeze amazingly well.  We will be making another batch of them tomorrow, because we ran out!  My toddler and I love to eat them as a snack, but I think they could even be used as breakfast.  And I just love that I'm getting extra veggies into both of us in a delicious way!  And I really love using my THRIVE Spinach in this recipe.  It's so super-easy to just scoop my spinach into the blender and add the liquids and blend!

Granola

The other day, I saw my THRIVE Honey Crystals sitting amongst my home store, and I thought to myself, "I need to make some granola!"  And so I did :).  This is seriously a delicious granola recipe.  I pretty much kept snagging handfuls while it was supposed to be cooling.  I also enjoyed some as cereal this morning before my ultrasound.  Delicious!

I followed this recipe, generally.  But I made a few changes.  I will post my recipe below as I made it (with alterations).

HOME-MADE GRANOLA
4 cups oats*
1/2 cup coconut
1/2 cup sliced almonds
3/4 teaspoon salt*
1/4 cup brown sugar*
1/2 cup THRIVE Butter Powder
1/2 tablespoon cinnamon
1/2 tablespoon THRIVE Pure Vanilla Extract Powder
3/4 cup THRIVE Honey Crystals
2/3 cup water

In a large bowl, combine first 3 ingredients.  Set aside.  Preheat oven to 350.

In a small saucepan, add remaining ingredients and stir.  Bring to a boil, then reduce and simmer 2 to 3 minutes or until honey mixture is thickened.

Pour honey mixture over dry ingredients and stir until well combined.  Pour onto greased cookie sheet.  Bake 15 minutes or until lightly browned, removing to stir 2 to 3 times during cooking for even browning.  Allow to cool completely.

*Denotes other ingredients available through THRIVE Life.

Seriously, this stuff is awesome.  I made it once before for a THRIVE brunch party and did a yogurt parfait bar.  The granola was phenomenal on the THRIVE yogurts!  But it is also great as a cereal or as a snack by itself!

Sweet Potato Muffins

At the end of September, I had the opportunity to visit my brother-in-law and sister-in-law and do a mini-THRIVE "party" for my mother-in-law at a Stampin' Up get together!  It was a fun evening, and I enjoyed learning more about crafting -- and getting big a little by the card-making bug!  If you're into card-making, you should check out Stampin' Up here.  I flipped through the catalog and found so many things I wanted!  They were so stinkin' cute!  Being that I'm not super-crafty, my sister-in-law (who is incredibly patient -- she reminds me of my mom with how patient she is!) "held my hand" and helped me make the cutest "pop-up" card.  Which I was able to use as part of a house-warming gift just this past weekend.  So fun!

Anyway, I was also able to meet several awesome ladies and learn a little bit about them.  One sweet lady was particularly interested in how THRIVE Life Foods can help her eat healthier while on the road.  She drives a truck with her husband, and she said it can sometimes be challenging to eat well when their refrigerated space is quite limited and they are on the road for weeks -- and sometimes months -- at a time!  I am always excited when someone finds a way THRIVE Life can benefit their life's circumstances in new ways I'd never thought of before!

I wanted to be able to share some of the deliciousness that can be accomplished with THRIVE Life foods, so I made Sweet Potato Muffins!  I found the recipe on the back of the #10 can of THRIVE Sweet Potatoes, but it can also be found on the THRIVE Life recipe site.  I adapted it a bit to fit what I had.

SWEET POTATO MUFFINS
1/2 cup THRIVE Sweet Potatoes
1 1/4 cup water, boiling
1/4 cup apple juice
2 tablespoons THRIVE Instant Milk
1/4 cup THRIVE Shortening Powder
2 tablespoons THRIVE Whole Egg Powder
1/2 cup THRIVE Honey Crystals
1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour*
1/2 tablespoons baking powder*
1/4 teaspoon salt*
1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/3 cup THRIVE Powdered Butter
1/2 cup butterscotch chips

Soak sweet potatoes in boiling water until soft (about 10 minutes).  Do not drain water.  Add potato mixture to blender and puree with apple juice.

In a separate bowl, mix dry ingredients together.  Add puree mixture and blend until almost mixed.  Add in butterscotch chips and mix until barely incorporated.  Spoon mixture into prepared muffin tin.

Bake at 400 degrees for 18 to 20 minutes.  Makes 16 muffins.

* Denotes ingredients also available through THRIVE Life.

These were so yummy!  And they were a hit at the party :).  In fact, my sister-in-law may have temporarily broken her diet for them... ;).

THRIVE Garden Fresh Salsa

Did you know THRIVE has a delicious Garden Fresh Salsa?  Well, they do!  But here's the secret:  you can only order this fabulous salsa through a consultant!  Or by becoming a consultant yourself ;).  You won't find this tasty treat on any price lists or online.  But that doesn't mean you can't enjoy some for yourself!  Just contact me at THRIVEingNilla@gmail.com to get your own party sample -- and devour it all by yourself -- or share it with friends :)!

So why do I love THRIVE Garden Fresh Salsa?

1.  It's has all the flavor of fresh salsa and none of the chopping!
2.  It's easy to prepare -- just add water to the contents of the can and let sit (at least 3 hours, but I recommend overnight to allow the flavors to blend).
3.  It has less sodium than canned salsa you buy at the grocery store!!! 
4.  It is full of healthy veggies:  THRIVE red bell pepper, THRIVE sweet corn, THRIVE tomato dices, THRIVE chili peppers, THRIVE onions, and THRIVE cilantro!
5.  It has a shelf-life of 10 years, so you can always have some salsa stashed away for a day you might need it :)!

Although we didn't have ours stashed for 10 years...  I found myself in a situation where having salsa was preferred...  We were going to have tacos and I love to have salsa on my tacos.  And we'd finished off our store-bought canned salsa earlier in the week!  I was kind of bummed and told my husband, "I wish we had salsa, but we used it up in Monday's meal."  (I'd forgotten about my THRIVE Garden Fresh Salsa!  But then I remembered it -- so we made it up!)

The THRIVE Garden Fresh Salsa added a wonderful zip to our tacos -- and was even better the next day while I snacked on it with some tortilla chips :). 

THRIVE Asparagus

Thought I'd share on of our favorites: the asparagus! I have to say, I think it is totally random that this is one of our favorites. I mean, who says they snack on asparagus? And what's more, who says their toddler does!?!

Ever since I got THRIVE asparagus, I do! And it's true!

I don't know what it is that I like about it so much. I first tasted it at a party and was shocked at the fact that I really liked the flavor and could see myself snacking on it! And knowing how my little one likes to copy me -- and eat whatever I'm eating -- I felt like she'd be willing to at least TRY them out. And well, she was. And she likes them too.

This is how I know: Last Sunday, at church, she had her snack cup full of cheerios, THRIVE peaches, and THRIVE asparagus. She would grab out handfuls of whatever she got her hands on and open her hand, allowing everything to fall out in front of her. Then she'd go through and eat all the asparagus and peaches! Anytime she'll pick a vegetable over cheerios, I think that's a win!

I love that we are getting more vegetables by snacking on the THRIVE veggies. And this one is just one of our favorites!

And don't forget the long shelf-life!!  Unopened, THRIVE asparagus will last 25 years!  And if you just can't stand not opening it...  It's still good for a whole year opened!  But trust me...  It won't last that long ;).

I haven't tried the asparagus in cooking yet. This is mainly because we enjoy snacking on it so much I haven't felt motivated to try it in a recipe . I will one day, though... And when I do, you can bet I'll share!

I felt like some people might like to see what the product looks like up-close-and-personal. Mostly just because I know I would. I only wish I could transmit taste samples through blogger...