Brigadeiro Chocolate Peanut Butter Truffles

I don't know about you, but one of my favorite things about Christmas is making Christmas goodies to give away!  There is just something enjoyable for me about spending hours in the kitchen making a variety of delectable treats for those I love.  I think it's the foodie in me mixed with the giver in me ;)...

Because of my excitement for this each year, I actually spend a lot of time seeking out new things to try.  I don't know why I don't just stick with the same old stuff...  I mean, sure, I do keep some of the same treats.  The ones people ask for or say they liked the best...  But more often than not, I try at least 5 new recipes each year.  It is so much fun for me. So I have a Pinterest pin dedicated solely to "Christmas Recipe Ideas."

My only wish:  that I had more time to do it ;).  Okay, maybe I have two wishes:  I wish we could all eat as many treats as we want just this one month of the year with no unhealthy side effects ;).  But, hey...  That's why we have January!  Haha.

So this year, I have found myself drawn to the idea of making home-made truffles.  I have done a lot of "pinterest-ing" looking for suitable and fun truffle recipes.  And wow have I ever been enlightened!  Things I never even imagined as truffles...  Like white chocolate lemon truffles.  Orange creamsicle truffles.  White Chocolate Blueberry truffles.  Oh.  My.  Gosh.

And then there are these, my own version of a Brazilian-inspired chocolate truffle:  Brigadeiro Chocolate Peanut Butter Truffle.  I didn't completely wing this...  I'm not that awesome.  I used this as a guide.

The ingredient list is pretty short -- which is awesome.  All you need for the basic truffle center is cocoa, butter, sweetened condensed milk, and THRIVE Peanut Flour.

Sorry for the darker picture.  I'm still learning as I branch out and broaden my horizons :).

Place all these ingredients into a double-boiler.  Don't have a double-boiler?  That's okay.  I don't either!  So I used a Pyrex brand glass bowl over a pot of water.  I just made sure the water didn't touch the bowl.

Bring the water in the pot to a boil and stir the contents of the bowl (I chose to whisk with hopes it would make it smoother easier!) until it is smooth and well-blended.  Remove from heat, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until set (at least 1 hour -- I chilled mine closer to 4 just because of other time obligations).

Using a 1/2 tablespoon measure, scoop out truffle mixture and roll into a ball.  Place on a silpat or wax-paper covered cookie sheet.  (You may want to wipe your hands after each truffle to make rolling easier.)  Chill at least 15 more minutes to make truffles easier to handle.  I chilled mine about an hour.

Measure out additional THRIVE Peanut Flour into a shallow bowl.

Roll each truffle in the THRIVE Peanut Flour until coated.  Return to silpat/wax paper.

Refrigerate until ready to serve (if within 3 days) or freeze for longer storage.

When you are ready to serve them, you can even make them look pretty in those little mini muffin-cups :).

My husband and I had to taste-test these, of course.  The peanut flour adds that peanut butter taste, but it is mild.  These are not overly sweet, either, because of the use of cocoa powder.  But they are quite fudgy!  I'm looking forward to sharing them with my chocolate-peanut-buttter-loving friends :).

Brigadeiro Chocolate Peanut Butter Truffles
3 TB Butter
4 TB Cocoa powder
4 TB THRIVE Peanut Flour, divided
1/2 cup Sweetened Condensed Milk

Place butter, cocoa powder, sweetened condensed milk, and 2 tablespoons THRIVE Peanut Flour into a top of a double boiler (or a thick glass bowl over a pot).  Bring water to a boil and stir the mixture until well-blended and smooth.  Remove from heat, cover with plastic wrap, and chill until set (at least 1 hour).

Using a 1/2 tablespoon measure, form truffle dough into balls and place on wax paper/silpat.  Chill at least 15 more minutes to make handling easier.

Roll each truffle in remaining 2 TB of THRIVE Peanut Flour.  Return to wax paper/silpat.  Refrigerate until ready to serve (up to 3 days) or freeze for longer storage.

*This post includes affiliate links.  I earn a small commission from purchases made through these links.*

Q-Pon Cooking: September 2015: Sweet Corn -- Chicken Taco Soup

To wrap up September's Q-Pon Cooking with the popular and delicious THRIVE Sweet Corn, I made some Chicken Taco Soup!  Fall is really starting to be in the air around here and the leaves are turning the beautiful reds, oranges, and browns.  So why not make some soup!?!  I actually developed this recipe on my own, based on a crock pot recipe I used to always make.  The problem with that crock pot recipe is that it used almost all canned ingredients, and my husband always told me that it was too salty.  So after he ate this one and I asked him his opinion, he said it was a lot less salty than usual!  I told him it was because I used all my THRIVE ingredients and made up the recipe myself :)!  I was kind of excited about that!  Truth is, THRIVE has helped me become more adventurous in the kitchen, and I love it!

So here's my chicken taco soup (which I threw in the crock pot at about noon, and it was ready at 1!)  The beauty of this is that you don't even have to use the crock pot!  I simply did, because both kids were down for a nap, so that meant I could get everything in the crock pot and heating and didn't have to worry about it when the kids were both awake!  But it can easily be thrown into a saucepan on the stove and brought to a boil, then reduced to simmer for 20 minutes and it'd be done!

CHICKEN TACO SOUP
1/2 cup THRIVE Instant Pinto Beans
1/4 cup THRIVE Sliced Onion
3/4 cup THRIVE Sweet Corn
1/2 cup THRIVE Instant Black Beans
2 tablespoons THRIVE Green Chilis
3/4 cup THRIVE Chopped Chicken
3 teaspoons THRIVE Chicken Boullion
1 teaspoon taco seasoning
1 10-ounce can Rotel
1 8-ounce can tomato sauce
5 cups water

Add all ingredients to crock pot and cook on low 4 to 5 hours.  Serve with your favorite toppings and tortilla chips! 

*Alternately, you can add all ingredients to a saucepan, bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer 20 minutes.

This was awesome, and I will make it again!  It can even be a jar meal!

There are only a couple days left to get the THRIVE Sweet Corn at Q-Pon price!  Contact me at THRIVEingNilla@gmail.com if you're interested in learning more!!

Happy THRIVEing!

Q-Pon Cooking: September 2015: Sweet Corn -- Easy Spanish Rice

I wanted to make some Chubby Cream Cheese Chicken Taquitos for my family's dinner the pay period, and pondered a recipe I could serve with those.  I generally try to stay within a similar "theme" for dinners, so if I make something that sounds sort of Mexican...  Well, I work on having something else Hispanic.  I'm maybe a bit crazy ;).

So I remembered a recipe on the #10 can of THRIVE Mixed Bell Peppers for Easy Spanish Rice that sounded -- well -- easy!  And then it turned out that this recipe called for THRIVE Sweet Corn, the Q-Pon item for September!  So that was a bonus!

The recipe is super easy, and I was able to throw it all together while having 5 kids ages 8 and under in my house (one of them 2 1/2 months old and 2 of them 2 year olds!).  I call that a winner if I can be successful with a dish under those circumstances :).

I used the recipe to start, but added many more THRIVE ingredients than the original recipe called for, ergo I had to play with the water a little bit and didn't keep an accurate measurement.  But I'd say I added around 3 cups of water total.

EASY SPANISH RICE
1/4 cup THRIVE Mixed Bell Peppers
2 tablespoons THRIVE Chopped Onions
1 teaspoon THRIVE Chicken Bouillon
3 cups water
1 cup THRIVE Sweet Corn (Q-Pon item this month -- contact me!)
1/2 cup Salsa
1 1/2 cup THRIVE Instant White Rice

Add all ingredients except rice to medium saucepan and cook 10 minutes, finally bringing to a boil.  Add rice and cover.  Remove from heat and let stand 10 minutes.  *Optional, add shredded cheddar cheese and stir.  (I didn't do this initially, but when I had leftovers, I added some cheese and thought it was wonderful with the cheese!)

This was super easy to throw together, as I said.  A great side dish!  The THRIVE Sweet Corn will be the Q-Pon item for all of September.  If you have a Q, simply add the corn to your next Q shipment!  If not, contact me at THRIVEingNilla@gmail.com and I'll help you get the great price on this very popular -- and delicious -- THRIVE Life product!

Happy THRIVEing!

A Meal By Mail

I have a dear friend in Alabama who recently had a sweet baby girl.  With all my heart, I wish I was closer so I could go over and take dinner for her family.  I know how fun it can be to have a newborn and still have to prepare dinners for a hungry family!  I know it takes a while for the whole family to adjust to the newest little member.  And so, when dinners were brought to our home just a couple months ago, we were so very grateful.  I wanted so very much to offer my sweet friend the same thing.  But I live in Washington -- and it's not super convenient to drive to Alabama to deliver a meal ;). 

But once again, THRIVE Life came to the rescue!  It occurred to me that I do have a way to offer my friend a meal for her family that would be very quick and easy to prepare.  Literally just add water!!!  So this morning, I prepped a whole meal for her family and shipped it off in the mail -- all using THRIVE!  I posted some pictures of it to my Facebook business page ("THRIVEing with Hila," if you're interested in following me!) and had a request that I share the recipes.  So here they are, the recipes I used for a meal by mail for my dear friend!

VEGETARIAN TACO SOUP  (original recipe posted here, but I changed some measurements)
 1/2 cup THRIVE Instant Black Beans
1/4 cup THRIVE Taco TVP
1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons THRIVE Sweet Corn
3 tablespoons THRIVE Chili Peppers
1/4 cup THRIVE Tomato Powder
2 tablespoons THRIVE Chopped Onions
1 tablespoon Taco Seasoning
3/4 teaspoon ranch dressing mix

Bring 4 cups water to boil.  Add contents of bag and simmer 15 minutes.  Add additional water to your preference.


GOLDEN CORNBREAD (this is a THRIVE Life recipe)
1 cup THRIVE Cornmeal
1 cup all-purpose flour*
2/3 cup white sugar*
1/2 cup THRIVE Butter Powder
2 tablespoons THRIVE Whole Egg Powder
2 tablespoons THRIVE Nonfat Powdered Milk
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

Put contents of bag into a medium mixing bowl.  Add 1 1/2 cups water and stir (or whisk) until well blended and lumps are gone.  Pour into a greased 8x8 pan.  Bake at 375 for 30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.  Allow to set 15 to 20 minutes before serving.


SUMMER (BERRY) LEMONADE (recipe from the can of Summer Lemonade)
1 cup sugar*
2 tablespoons THRIVE Summer Lemonade
berries of your choice (I included THRIVE Strawberry Slices and THRIVE Raspberries)

Mix contents of larger bag with 2 quarts (8 cups) water.  Chill.  Add berries of your choice to individual servings.

*Denotes other ingredients available through THRIVE Life.

All of these things can be done in jars as well.  In fact, we will be making the Golden Cornbread at our upcoming jar meal event in September!  So if you're interested in attending, let me know so I can get you the details!  The cornbread is awesome, by the way...  My family had it with chili on Friday (the chili recipe will also be available at the jar meal event in September!).

I noted in the instructions to them that I recommend these be used within a month, since they are not vacuum sealed.  At the jar meal events, we do vacuum seal the jars and that means they are good for 5 years!

I am truly excited I found a way to get a meal to my friend.  She is an amazing woman and we have a friendship I treasure beyond words.  And I hope this dinner makes at least one of these days with a new little miracle just a little bit easier -- and yummy to boot!

If you'd like to know more about this and how you can get all these great ingredients, contact me at THRIVEingNilla@gmail.com or visit my website:  www.thriveingNilla.thrivelife.com/THRIVEingNilla.

Happy THRIVEing!

Q-Pon Cooking: August 2015: THRIVE Peanut Flour: Peanut Butter Cookie Dough Truffles

It's time to celebrate!  My sweet baby boy has slept for 5 solid hours the last 2 nights (and here's to hoping this isn't a fluke, but a trend!).  All you moms out there know this is a reason to celebrate!

I can't celebrate by eating these (due to the chocolate coating).  But I can celebrate by sharing them with all of you :)!  Just one more reason to love the THRIVE Peanut Powder!

PEANUT BUTTER COOKIE DOUGH TRUFFLES
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 2/3 cup THRIVE Vanilla Sugar Cookie Mix
2/3 cup THRIVE Peanut Flour
2 tablespoons water
10 ounces chocolate for dipping

Cream butter.  Add next 3 ingredients and mix until a dough forms.  Form into 1/2-inch balls and freeze 15 minutes (for easier handling).

Melt chocolate.  Dip balls and allow to dry completely.  SAVOR!  And have one for me ;).

Happy THRIVEing!!!

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!

Throw & Go Vegetable Beef Soup

I've said it before, and I'll say it again:  one of my favorite things about THRIVE Life is how it helps me save time -- or have a good, healthy meal easily when I don't have any time.  Or when I have very little motivation to make dinner :).  (And I accept that as the way it is when I could deliver a baby any day!)

Well, Tuesday was one of those days.  I'd had a doctor's appointment, hit up Costco, the bank and Target, washed some laundry, took care of a toddler, took the toddler to the library to get new books...  And by dinner-time, I didn't have any meat thawed, and I really didn't feel like doing anything much.  It was quite tempting to go through a drive-thru while out at the library!

But I knew that wasn't the best option for us.  And so I convinced myself to come home and figure out something fast and easy with all my delicious THRIVE!

And I came up with this "Throw & Go Vegetable Beef Soup!"  And I liked it!  The THRIVE Ground Beef may be my new favorite item!!!

Seriously, I just threw a bunch of stuff in a pot, brought it to a boil, reduced to simmer and let it simmer 15 minutes.  I thawed out some french bread I'd made and frozen earlier.  And dinner was done!  Here's how I did it (but just realize you can adapt to your likes and preferences with THRIVE Life!)

THROW AND GO VEGETABLE BEEF SOUP
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons THRIVE Chopped Onion
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tablespoons THRIVE Celery
3 tablespoons THRIVE Carrot Dices
1/4 cup THRIVE Green Peas
1/4 cup THRIVE Mushrooms
1/4 cup THRIVE Asparagus
1 teaspoon THRIVE Chicken Bouillon
1 8-ounce can tomato sauce*
1 14-ounce can chicken broth*
2 cups water
1/2 cup THRIVE Ground Beef

Heat oil in a saucepan/pot over medium heat.  Add onion and saute 30 seconds.  Pour in tomato sauce, broth, water.  Add remaining ingredients and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to simmer and allow to cook 15 minutes. 

*Denotes other ingredients available through THRIVE Life.

I enjoyed the flavor in this soup and I could really taste the beef flavor, even after only 15 minutes!  I thought this was awesome for a no-plan meal :).  And I loved that I got all my veggies in and in such variety!  The only thing I'll do differently in the future is add either some macaroni or potato chunks.  But that'll be just as simple with THRIVE Life :)!

I love my home store!

Raspberry-Peach Rolls with a Simply Peach Glaze

So I'd had thoughts of this recipe brewing in my head for some time.  And since I took advantage of the Big Deal Sale we had this month, I finally got my THRIVE Peaches to make it happen!  I had reservations, as this fell under the category of "Hila experimenting in the kitchen" and I'm still a tad new at the whole experimentation game (I do love to follow a recipe!).  But after talking over my idea with my husband and getting his advice...  I decided it was worth a try.  And unless it turned out like charcoal, we'd be eating it!  Can't let those delicious THRIVE Peaches and THRIVE Raspberries go to waste!

Good news!  It wasn't charcoal!  Even better news:  It was a total success!  My husband had 3 big ones.  And is now down for a morning nap ;).

I'll do a step-by-step with pictures at the bottom, but sometimes I know people just want the recipe and I usually hate scrolling through the long version when I'm looking at other people's recipes ;).  So here is the recipe (I am not responsible for making up the dough recipe, though I did THRIVE-alize it a bit.  The original dough recipe can be found here.  But I did develop the "innards" of this ;)).

RASPBERRY-PEACH ROLLS with a SIMPLY PEACH GLAZE

Dough:
1 cup THRIVE Instant Milk (prepared)
1/3 cup butter
2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
1/2 cup white sugar*
4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour* (plus more for kneading)
1 teaspoon salt*
3 THRIVE Whole Eggs (3 tablespoons egg powder + 6 tablespoons water)

Filling:
2 cups THRIVE Peaches
1/4 cup THRIVE Raspberries
1/3 cup white sugar*

Glaze:
1 cup THRIVE Powdered Sugar
2 tablespoons THRIVE Simply Peach drink mix
3 tablespoons THRIVE Instant Milk (prepared)

For the dough:  Heat milk in a small saucepan over medium heat until it barely bubbles.  Remove from heat and melt butter in milk.  Allow to cool until lukewarm.  Pour into large mixing bowl and add yeast.  Mix and allow yeast to dissolve in milk and butter mixture.  Add sugar, 3 cups of flour, salt, and eggs.  Mix until well-blended.  Add remaining flour 1/2 cup at a time until the dough pulls into a ball.  Turn dough out on floured surface and knead until smooth and supple, adding flour as necessary (this was about another 1/4 cup or so for me).  Oil a large bowl and put dough into bowl, turning to coat with oil.  Cover with a damp towel and allow to rise until doubled in size (anywhere from 1 to 2 hours, depending on temperatures).  Turn dough out onto a clean, dry surface and roll dough out to approximately 11x14-inch rectangle. 

For the filling:  Place peaches and raspberries in a blender or food processor and process until powdered.  Pour into a small bowl and add 1/3 cup sugar.  Stir to mix all ingredients together.

For the glaze (I recommend making this while the rolls are cooking):  Add all ingredients (powdered sugar, Simply Peach, and prepared milk) together in a bowl and whisk until a glaze forms.  Set aside until rolls are done baking.

For the rolls:  Sprinkle filling evenly all over rolled-out dough, leaving a 1/2" bare at one "short" edge of the dough.  Brush that bare strip with water.  Beginning with the other short edge, roll tightly all the way and then pinch seams at the wet dough end.  Cut into 12 equal parts (I do this using string or floss, as it prevents flattening) and place into a greased 9x13 pan.  Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.  In the morning, take rolls out of the refrigerator and allow to set for 30 to 45 minutes (making sure rolls have doubled in size...  You may have to let them sit out longer -- but not too long!  Ours were out a little too long ;), hence the popping out rolls!).  Preheat oven to 375.  Bake loosely covered with foil for 15 minutes.  Remove foil and bake an additional 5 to 10 minutes or until rolls are done.  Drizzle with glaze while still hot.

*Denotes other ingredients available through THRIVE Life.

So here are some step-by-step pictures:

Filling mixture sprinkled over dough rectangle.

Dough rolled up and sealed.

Cut rolls, covered with plastic wrap and ready for the fridge!

After rising and sitting out for a while in the morning (ours sat out a bit too long, so they over-big!).  I almost forgot to take this picture, hence the inside-the-oven picture ;)).

Simply Peach Glaze is ready to go!

The finished product!  So yummy!

One thing I learned is that I'll probably add a little water to the Simply Peach drink mix in a saucepan in the future to melt the sugar crystals in the drink mix.  The glaze was a little grainy from the sugar that didn't melt as I made it above.  So it was just a little learning thing for me ;).  Still tasty, though!  And a delicious treat for a lazy Saturday morning!

If you're interested in enjoying any of these awesome products to make this recipe -- or a million others! -- contact me at THRIVEingNilla@gmail.com or visit my website:  www.thrivelife.com/THRIVEingNilla.

Happy THRIVEing!

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

I'm always looking for new ways to use the amazing THRIVE Peanut Flour.  And I'm always looking for an excuse to make cookies ;).  It's a pretty great combination!  Plus this is my 100th Blog Post at THRIVEing With Nilla!  So why not celebrate with some delicious cookies!?!

So I adapted a recipe I had and came up with something a little bit new -- and THRIVEalized! 

These were so yummy -- both before baking and after!  (I love cookie dough like no other...  Which is why I love love love THRIVE Whole Egg Powder!  No raw eggs, so I can eat the dough guilt-free while pregnant!!!

PEANUT BUTTER OATMEAL CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES
1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
1/2 cup THRIVE Shortening Powder (plus 2 tablespoons water)
2 tablespoons THRIVE Whole Egg Powder (plus 4 tablespoons water)
1 teaspoon THRIVE Pure Vanilla Powder
3/4 cup white sugar*
3/4 cup brown sugar*
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 cup THRIVE Peanut Flour
1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour*
3/4 cup whole wheat flour*
1 cup oats*
1/2 10-ounce bag chocolate chips (or to your preference!)

Cream together butter, THRIVE Shortening powder and 2 tablespoons water.  Add sugars and cream until well-blended.  Add THRIVE Whole Egg Powder + 4 tablespoons water and THRIVE Pure Vanilla Extract Powder.  Mix until well-blended.  Add remaining ingredients except chocolate chips.  Check dough.  If it is too dry, add additional water 1 tablespoon at a time until it reaches cookie-dough consistency.  When dough is all mixed, gently stir in chocolate chips.

Bake at 350 for 9 minutes.  Allow to cool on cookie sheet about 5 minutes, then move to wire rack to cool completely. 

*Denotes other ingredients available through THRIVE Life.

I took these to my book club my book club meeting last night and received several compliments, so I am counting it a success!  The peanut flour is not strong, especially once the cookies are baked, so the peanut flavor is definitely understated, but still there.  I might play around with the recipe some more in the future and see what happens when I add a little more peanut flour ;).  Because I do love chocolate and peanut butter together!

In other fantastic news...  There are even more reasons to celebrate!  THRIVE Life just announced a hosting promotion going on between now and the end of May!!  Party hosts have a chance to receive an additional $75 in free product in addition to the regular host benefits for parties with at least $600 in sales which are held between now and May 31st!  It's a great time to host a party and earn bonus freebies, so if you've ever thought about it...  Think about it some more -- and then contact me at THRIVEingNilla@gmail.com to book your party!

Happy THRIVEing!

Oatmeal Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Pancakes

Our family loves pancakes.  We have them for breakfast at least once a week.  But sometimes 2 or 3 times a week!  We keep a variety of pancake mixes on hand, just for this reason.  We definitely love the THRIVE 10 Grain Pancake Mix, and we are super-excited about the changes that have been made to it, so it is now among the many non-GMO products THRIVE Life offers! 

And it's on special this month!  The perfect time to stock up!

But that isn't actually the pancake mix I used today.  Today I used a regular store-bought mix and jazzed it up -- a lot!  It wasn't a special celebratory day or anything.  I just felt like trying out some fancy "special" pancakes with the new -- and completely amazing THRIVE Peanut Flour.  I realize I've been posting a lot of recipes recently with the Peanut Flour, but that's because I am simply amazed by the versatility of it; not to mention how easy it is to use and clean!

I would have never thought to add peanut butter to my pancake mix without this great product.  I got the idea, because many people enjoy peanut butter spread on their pancakes.  So I thought, "Why not step it up and put peanut flour in the pancakes!?!"  And it was so easy to do!  I just tossed some in with my other dry ingredients, and oila!

And these were yummy.  So yummy, I didn't even use syrup.  And my toddler snarfed all of hers down.  Quickly.

OATMEAL PEANUT BUTTER CHOCOLATE CHIP PANCAKES
2 cups all-inclusive pancake mix*(we used Krusteaz brand)
3/4 cups oats* (I used old-fashioned, but quick would work fine too!)
2 tablespoons THRIVE Peanut Flour
1 1/2 cups water
1/4 to 1/2 cups mini chocolate chips (this depends on how many chocolate chips you want!)

Add all dry ingredients, except chocolate chips, to a medium-size bowl and whisk together to combine.  Add water and whisk until well-blended.  Mix in chocolate chips.  Pour batter onto prepared skillet or griddle and cook according to pancake mix directions (or to your preferences ;)).

When I make pancakes, they are usually 6 to 7-inches in diameter.  This recipe yielded 5 pancakes that size.

I'm definitely making these again!  So easy, and so yummy!

The Peanut Flour is also on special this month!  It is a perfect time to get some!  Through April, it is $15.09 for a #10 can, which will make a little more than 11 1/4 cups of fresh peanut butter however you like it (you control the salt, sugar, and oil!).  And just for comparison purposes, 2 large jars of JIF peanut butter from Costco are 10 3/4 cups of prepared peanut butter without the ability to control the sugar, salt, and oil  (fat) content!  I can't remember the cost of the peanut butter at Costco right off hand, but I'll make a mental note to check on Tuesday and post it!  But the 5 year unopened shelf life on this peanut flour is a great thing, because it's a lot longer than store-bought peanut butter!!

It's a great time to stock up on some great things with THRIVE Life!  Not only are the 10 Grain Pancake Mix and the Peanut Flour on sale this month, but everything is being discounted for this months BIG DEAL Sale!  It's still going on through April 20th, so if you want to take advantage of the sale and bulk up your home store, contact me at THRIVEingNilla@gmail.com!!!

Happy THRIVEing!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Smoothie -- Again!

I know, I know...  I've posted this recipe before.  But now, with the amazing THRIVE Life Peanut Flour, I've made it a new way -- and we love it!!! 

Gone are the days of messy measuring with peanut butter!  Having to clean measuring utensils used for measuring peanut butter became one of my least favorite things to do.  In fact, because I disliked it so much, I pretty much stopped measuring in most cases.  I'd just use a huge dollop of peanut butter on a spoon.  Which means I sometimes didn't have enough peanut butter, and I sometimes had too much!  Now, clean-up is super easy!

I also love that I can omit extra salt and sugars in this smoothie now.  And even the extra fat!  And yet, I still have the potential for peanut butter in my long-term home store (unopened, this is good for 5 years!  Can't say that about regular peanut butter!), because with a few ingredients (oil, salt, sugar), I can make up my very own peanut butter the way I want it to taste using this peanut flour!  So all in all, I'm seriously loving this brand new product!

So though I've shared the recipe before, here it is again, with the peanut flour!

CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER BANANA SMOOTHIE
1 cup fat free milk*
1 frozen banana, sliced
1 tablespoon THRIVE Peanut Flour
1 tablespoon cocoa
1 tablespoon sugar* (you can adjust to your preferences)

Put all in a blender (or regular mouth mason jar a blender attachment will fit on ;)) and blend!

*Denotes other ingredients available through THRIVE Life.

This is an amazingly filling smoothie.  And so delicious, as I'm sure I've mentioned before.  Easy to throw together -- and even easier now with the Peanut Flour!  In fact, my munchkin just woke up from her nap, so guess what we're having for a little afternoon snack :)!

Want to try some of this amazing new product?  Contact me at THRIVEingNilla@gmail.com or visit my website www.thrivelife.com/THRIVEingNilla -- or add it to your Q this month, if you're a Q customer!!!

Happy THRIVEing!

Peanut Butter Cookies

Last night we had our first jar meal party!  We were blown away by the success of this event -- and we already have had multiple requests for another one!  So we have one in the works ;).

But as part of the "party" (which was really meant to be more of a 'come and make a jar meal' thing), I made some delicious peanut butter cookies featuring THRIVE Life's all new -- and all amazing -- Peanut Flour!

I have used this in 3 different recipes so far, and I love it.  I am getting more of it this month with my Q!


I made about 40 of these cookies for the event.  I came home with none!  And the best part?  They were so simple.

I halved the original recipe, which is a Chef Todd creation and can be found here.

PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 tablespoon THRIVE Whole Egg Powder plus 2 tablespoons water
1 2/3 cup THRIVE Vanilla Sugar Cookie Mix
2/3 cup THRIVE Peanut Flour
2 tablespoons water

Add softened butter to a mixer and whip until light. Add whole egg powder and water and mix until blended.

Add cookie mix and peanut flour and mix together. Add water and mix until dough forms

Scoop onto greased cookie sheet and press with a fork dipped in sugar.

Bake at 350F for 8 minutes.

I made smaller cookies and still came out with about 40.  They were delicious!  And my husband's comment was that he noticed they weren't super sweet, and he really liked that!  I told him it's because the THRIVE Peanut Flour doesn't have the added sugar!

The Peanut Flour is now available to add to your Q!  And if you aren't on the Q, but still want to get some of the peanut flour, contact me at THRIVEingNilla@gmail.com.

Want to see the other great specials this month?  It's all about the baked goods!  And THRIVE Life has re-vamped their Coconut Macaroons (now gluten free!), Fudge Brownies, and 10 Grain Pancake Mix making them all non-GMO!  Check out the specials for April here!

And that's not all!  April is going to be a BIG DEAL!  There is a huge sale -- everything on sale -- starting April 9!  I'll have pricing information starting tomorrow, and you won't want to miss out!

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 ;)!!!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Brownie in a Mug

It's officially announced:  THRIVE Life has a brand new product!!!  PEANUT FLOUR!!!  This new product was "unveiled" at the Leadership Training meeting in Seattle, and my friend and up-line was invited to attend that meeting.  She had the privilege of getting to try it out early -- and she's super awesome, so she got a can for me too!  And let me just say...  I'm adding this to my Q in April!  I love this Peanut Flour!

So here was one of my first experiments with the THRIVE Peanut Flour! 

PEANUT BUTTER BROWNIE IN A MUG
1/4 cup THRIVE Fudge Brownie Mix
1 tablespoon THRIVE Peanut Flour
2 1/2 tablespoons water

Place all ingredients in a mug and stir until blended.  Microwave on high for 30 seconds.  (Then I added some vanilla ice cream on top ;)).

Super simple.  Super yummy!  I simply love how easy it was to add peanut butter flavor without adding a lot of extra fat or sugar.  I am already imagining so many ways to use this great new product! 

If you are a Q Club Member, you can pre-order this great new product through your Q!  If you aren't a Q Club member, but still want to get some of this amazing new product, contact me at THRIVEingNilla@gmail.com and I'll get it on order for you! 

And here's a little more information about this brand new product:

*One extra change to note:  THRIVE Fudge Brownies will now be found as part of the THRIVE Bakery line, rather than the THRIVE Desserts!  And they are now completely Non-GMO!!!

Meals in a Jar Open House Sneak Peek!

Some of you are aware that my friend and I will be holding a Meals in a Jar Open House at the end of the month!  There are going to be some fabulous "jar meals" there, and you won't want to miss out on the opportunity to see what THRIVE Life can do to simplify your life on the crazy busy days!  We will be vacuum sealing these jars, making them shelf-stable for 5 years!  That's just awesome!


One of the meals attendees can make is my Italian Bowtie Pasta! It includes the following THRIVE Life ingredients:

THRIVE Sausage Crumbles
THRIVE Vegetarian Chicken Bouillon
THRIVE Chopped Onions
THRIVE Tomato Powder
THRIVE Rainbow Farfalle Pasta

A few other dried herbs finish off the delicious meal in a jar (oregano, thyme, and basil), and oila!  You'll have a quick and easy go-to meal that is way healthier than going through a drive-thru -- and cheaper too!  This particular meal is $9 a jar, and will make 8 1-cup servings -- which comes to only $1.13 per serving!

So if you're interested in trying out this meal in a jar -- or one of the others we'll have available for you to make, stop by the Sunn Fjord Condominiums Clubhouse on March 31st between 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. and make one to take home! 

Contact me at THRIVEingNilla@gmail.com if you need directions or more information!

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!

Cornmeal Cookies

Some days I just get in a baking mood.  And then I need to either freeze or give away what I bake.  Because I have an insatiable sweet tooth! 

When I became a consultant with THRIVE Life, one of the awesome things included in the consultant kit was the THRIVE Cookbook.  I love cookbooks.  So I have spent much time flipping through the pages of this cookbook, thinking about all the things I want to try.  One of those things that grabbed my interest right away was cornmeal cookies!  I'd never heard of putting cornmeal in cookies.  I was intrigued and knew I wanted to give them a go. 

So I did!

I shared them with one of my sweet customers, and she said it is one of the best cookies she has ever tasted.  If you don't like lemon, you'll want to steer clear.  But otherwise, these are a delicious treat!  And I even threw in an extra little something yummy :)!

CORNMEAL COOKIES
3/4 cup butter, softened (I used 1/2 cup butter and 1/4 cup THRIVE Butter Powder + 2 tablespoons water)
3/4 cup white sugar*
1 tablespoon THRIVE Whole Egg Powder (plus 2 tablespoons water)
1 teaspoon lemon extract
1/2 cup THRIVE Cornmeal
1 teaspoon baking powder*
1/4 teaspoon salt*
1 1/2 cups white flour*
1/2 cup dried cranberries (or raisins -- I used cranberries)
1/3 cup white chocolate chips (optional -- these were my addition)

Preheat oven to 375.  In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Mix in he egg, water, and lemon extract.  Mix well.

In a separate mixing bowl, combine the cornmeal, baking powder, salt, and flour.  Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and combine.  Stir in cranberries and white chocolate chips (if desired).

Drop by teaspoonfuls onto a lightly greased baking sheet.  Bake 10 to 12 minutes, until the cookie bottoms are lightly browned.  Let cookies cook for 2 minutes on baking sheet before placing them on a cooling rack.

*Denotes other ingredients available through THRIVE Life.

These are yummy and just a different spin on a cookie!  Loved trying them out -- and love my THRIVE Cookbook!

Speaking of becoming a consultant...  There is seriously no better time than now if you have ever considered becoming one!  THRIVE Life has just revamped their Consultant Kits and restructured everything.  It's amazing!  Enough that I sort of wish I was just now signing up ;).  Except for all the fun I've already been having as I've built up my own home store!!!  So if you have any questions about being a THRIVE Life Consultant and want to know more, contact me at THRIVEingNilla@gmail.com!  I'd love to tell you why I love what I am doing!

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! 

Dinner and Dessert -- With THRIVE Help!

I love THRIVE Life foods.  For a number of reasons.  But I don't use them exclusively.  And that's just because I have a lot of the ingredients on hand already, which I didn't purchase through THRIVE Life.  Or they are items not available through THRIVE Life.

But when I do have those THRIVE goodies on hand to help me out...  It's just awesome!  Because I am often able to shave 5 or 10 minutes off my meal prep, simply by not having to chop onions or clean and chop celery, etc.

Yesterday, I was making dinner for my family as well as taking some to a friend who recently had surgery.  And THRIVE Life helped me out!  Here are all the THRIVE Life Ingredients I used in yesterdays dinner (and dessert!):

For dinner, I made Salisbury Steaks, mashed potatoes, and purchased a pre-made chopped salad kit (just for something a little different).  Dessert was chocolate chip cookies. 

(sorry for the sideways picture!)






I love these chocolate chip cookies!  I have made them before using THRIVE Butter Powder as well, but this time, since I am running low on the butter powder (need to get that on order!), I used regular butter.  You can find the recipe here. 

I love that THRIVE Whole Egg Powder allows me to eat raw cookie dough guilt-free when I'm pregnant ;).

The THRIVE Chopped Onions saved me some time for the Salisbury Steaks, and the THRIVE Potato Beads saved me a ton of time!  I didn't have to wash, peel, chop, or boil potatoes!  I just brought water and milk to a boil with some butter and a couple other seasonings and added in my THRIVE Potato Beads, and voila!  Side dish was done!  And I love that!

Don't get me wrong:  I am excited about all the things I can prep ahead of time using so much of my THRIVE Life ingredients.  But even on the days when I'm just using a few of the awesome THRIVE ingredients to cut some corners and save myself some time and effort, I'm grateful to have my home store of delicious THRIVE Life foods!