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!

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!

Jar Meal: Apple Pie Oatmeal

This Thursday I am doing a Make and Take Jar Meal class for my sweet friend Megan!  She's so awesome and she's so excited about THRIVE Life that she wants all her guests to have some THRIVE Life deliciousness to take home and enjoy -- hence the Apple Pie Oatmeal in a jar for every party guest :)! 

So this morning, my toddler and I tried it out!  And it is amazing!  My toddler asked for "more...more!"  And, considering she usually leaves her store-bought cereals to soak up milk and go soggy and go to waste, I was totally impressed that she at all of her oatmeal and wanted more! 

Being that I'm only 3 weeks away from my due date, I am definitely planning on making variations of this recipe to keep in my cabinet for easy to fix breakfasts after we have a new little bundle in our home (and I have less sleep in my body :)).  Definitely going to try doing it with bananas and cinnamon; strawberries and vanilla powder; peaches, etc.!  So versatile!

APPLE PIE OATMEAL
1 cup THRIVE Quick Oats
2 tablespoons THRIVE Instant Milk
1/4 cup brown sugar*
1/2 cup  THRIVE Granny Smith Apples, crushed/broken (about 5 to 6 apple slices)
2 teaspoons Apple Pie Spice

For the jar:  Layer ingredients in a pint-size jar, beginning with oats.

To prepare in microwave:  Place contents of jar in microwave-safe bowl (a larger one) and add 1 2/3 cups water.  Microwave on high 2 to 2 1/2 minutes in 30 second intervals, stirring after each interval.  Add more water slowly to reach desired consistency.  Add milk as necessary to thin/cool after oatmeal is cooked.

To prepare on stove top:  Add contents of jar to 1 3/4 cups water and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes, adding water as necessary.  Add milk as necessary to thin/cool after oatmeal is cooked.

*Denotes other ingredients available through THRIVE Life.

This is 2 servings in the pint-size jar; but you can half the recipe (in a jelly jar) and have single-serve breakfasts!  Which would be totally awesome to take to work with you -- or send with your husband ;)!

I may have used too small of a bowl in the microwave...  And I may have had a little mess to clean up!  But it was so worth it!

I'm so excited about jar meals and how THRIVE Life can help me have easy and fast meals on hand like this oatmeal!  And I'm definitely glad for it as I prepare to make-ahead a bunch of meals (both breakfast and dinner!) to help us as we transition from a family of 3 to a family of 4!!!

Would you like to be able to make your own jar meals?  I can help you out!  Just contact me at THRIVEingNilla@gmail.com or visit my website at www.thrivelife.com/THRIVEingNilla!

Happy THRIVEing!

*This is not my original recipe.  I got it from a jar meal cookbook available through my THRIVE Life team!

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!

Quick, Refreshing Drinks!

Today my little munchkin and I had a play-date at a local park.  It was a beautiful day -- and we needed to get out anyway!  My husband is working the awful graveyard shift, so we try to leave the house every morning for a few hours in the interest of allowing him to get some solid sleep.

But that's not really important ;).

So as part of our play-date, we were doing a picnic lunch!  And I decided I wanted to take a quick, refreshing drink to enjoy!  So I played around with my THRIVE Life ingredients and came up with something yummy and fast which blended wonderfully during the hours it waited to be enjoyed!

I just grabbed a pint-size mason jar, tossed in some THRIVE Simply Peach drink mix (2 tablespoons, since that's the recommended amount for one cup water), and then added a small handful of THRIVE Pineapple Chunks and a small handful of THRIVE Raspberries!  Dropped in a couple ice cubes, just to keep it chilled, and then shook it up!  Oh yeah...  And don't forget the water ;).  I filled it with cold water to the neck of the jar -- and then I shook it!

And by lunchtime, the fruits were all nicely rehydrated and had added their wonderful flavors to the peach drink mix.  It was so yum!  And so easy!

And so customizable!  I'm looking forward to trying this with some other combinations in the near future!!!

Interested in adding some of these items to your Home Store?  Contact me at THRIVEingNilla@gmail.com!

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 ;)!!!

Raspberry Sauce/Filling

Yesterday I had some extra kiddos coming over early in the morning.  One of them is only 8 months old, so he wasn't going to be caring too much about pancakes for breakfast...  But the other is 4, and then my toddler is almost 2.  So I figured I'd make a "special" breakfast.  Particularly because my husband likes to tease me about my cast iron pancake puff pan (the as seen on TV! one) that I have used only a very few times, yet continue to move around with me from home to home.  Well, here's the thing:  my dad got it for me many years ago, because he thought I would like it.  I'm kind of a sentimental person, so I hold on to things like that.  Plus, it is super cute!  And I just know my kiddos will appreciate the fun of having pancake puffs in the years ahead. 

But I decided it was a good time to make pancake puffs, since I'd have an older kid over at breakfast time.  And then I started thinking about how much fun it would be to actually fill the puffs (the pan comes with gadgets to help you add pizazz!  And one of those gadgets is a syringe type thing) with something yummy!  And I thought of my THRIVE Raspberries, and the recipe on the #10 can of THRIVE Raspberries for Raspberry Sauce.  So I decided to give it a try!

I will confess straight up that this did not go entirely as I hoped.  I was playing around with the recipe on kind-of short notice.  I decided to cut back on the water in the original recipe to hopefully make a thicker sauce which would do the trick.  Well, it really didn't quite.  It wasn't gel-like enough.  Which means I have learned I need to do some more research.  However, it was still a really fun experience, and the sauce just soaked into the pancake puffs and still made them delicious anyway!  So I'm still posting this and then I will hone the technique and post again when I've had 100% success!

I started out by making my pancake puffs with my THRIVE 10-Grain Pancake Mix (which was just pancake mix and water).  We love this stuff!  I also made up a few regular pancakes with the batter, since it wasn't vital that I have puffs ;). 

While making the pancakes, I started the Raspberry filling.  Here is the way I did it (which was basically cut the original recipe in half, except I significantly decreased the water):

RASPBERRY SAUCE/FILLING
1 cups THRIVE Raspberries
3/4 cup water
2 tablespoons white sugar*
1/2 tablespoon honey*
1/2 teaspoon THRIVE Pure Vanilla Powder
1/8 teaspoon salt*
3/4 teaspoon lemon juice

Boil all ingredients in a saucepan until slightly thickened and syrupy (only I was trying to get it very thick, so I boiled longer).  Place sauce in a strainer over a bowl and push through, leaving only the seeds in the strainer.  Discard seeds.  Cover and refrigerate sauce before serving over desserts.  (Well, I actually used mine right away, which probably didn't help the lack of thickness!  Also, I didn't spend a lot of time on the straining.  I got a lot of sauce out for injecting into the puffs, but left the rest in the strainer with the seeds, and then spread it on my pancakes -- still yummy!)

I tried to get a close-up of the puffs so you could see the filling/sauce squeezing out a bit ;).

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! 

Easy Fruit Salad

One of the things I love most about having my home store through THRIVE Life is the fact that I have a home store!  Does that sound redundant?  Probably.  But there have been many times when I've had the automatic thought, "Oh that recipe sounds good, but I don't have x ingredient." 

But then I remember my home store -- and I realize I do have that ingredient after all!!!

I had one such experience the other day.  I had made a breakfast casserole for dinner, but felt like I wanted something else to go along with it -- otherwise the plate would look kind of bare!  I had recently purchased some fresh strawberries which needed to be used up, plus I had bananas and red grapes (also in need of being used).  So I thought of the fruit salad I make for every large family gathering we attend.  It's such a simple recipe, and it's so delicious!  This time I would just have fewer fruits in it than usual, and no big deal...

Then I remembered I had some extra fruits after all!  I could add my THRIVE Raspberries!  And that's just what I did!  I just threw them in dry and let them get all soggy from the yogurt!  I've done this multiple times with yogurt parfaits, and I love how they turn out when they are allowed to sit and soak up the yogurt!  Saves time, too, since all my THRIVE foods are washed and ready for me to use!

So here's the recipe I made the other day.  It's very simple, and we always get a lot of compliments about it.  I'm actually pretty excited to try this with more THRIVE fruits in the future and see how it turns out, because I could actually make this fruit salad with all THRIVE ingredients, and I think that's pretty awesome!

EASY FRUIT SALAD
1 large banana, sliced*
1 cup red grapes, rinsed and dried*
5-6 ripe strawberries, rinsed, dried, sliced*
1 cup THRIVE Raspberries
1 cup strawberry yogurt* (or yogurt flavor of your choice)

Mix all ingredients in a large bowl.  Allow to chill for 1/2 hour and serve!

*Denotes other ingredients available through THRIVE Life.

This was a perfect breakfast-y complement to our breakfast-for-dinner casserole :).  And in the future, when I have them on hand, I'll be adding apples* and blueberries*!

Green Smoothie

So I've been wanting to do green smoothies for a while.  However, I lack a powerful blender, so I've always put it off as a "someday" thing. 

But yesterday I made some really awesome muffins with THRIVE Chopped Spinach in them (I'll be posting that recipe here soon), and I decided I was going to go ahead and try a green smoothie with the spinach, even without a super-awesome blender. 

I'm glad I did. 

I made it up as I went along -- and I'm sure there are ways to make it healthier.  But this was my first attempt, so I'm documenting it, because I -- and my toddler! -- are happy with it.  And now I have the ability to play around with it some more and try new concoctions! 

One really awesome thing was having all my THRIVE fruits to add in, along with the THRIVE Chopped Spinach.  It was easy for me to add a lot of healthy fruits to help make the smoothie more palatable.

So here's my recipe:

GREEN SMOOTHIE
2/3 cup THRIVE Chopped Spinach
2/3 cup THRIVE Pineapple Chunks
1/4 cup THRIVE Peaches
2 tablespoons THRIVE Simply Peach
1/4 cup THRIVE Strawberries
1/3 cup water
1 ripe banana*
1 1/2 cup milk*

Place first 5 ingredients into blender jar and pour water over to help moisten and rehydrate a little.  Add banana and milk.  Blend until well-blended and smooth.  Enjoy!

*Denotes other ingredients available through THRIVE Life.

My goal is to get more vegetables into myself and my toddler.  THRIVE has been helping me immensely in this undertaking.  And while I am looking forward to one day having a more powerful blender to really get everything good and blended down...  I am glad I learned I can make a great-tasting smoothie even right now, with my not-so-powerful blender!

And I'm thrilled I had all these options to add to my very first Green Smoothie, thanks to THRIVE Life!  I mean, what's not to love about all my fruits (and veggies) already ready to use -- washed, sliced, and waiting for me to scoop!  Total time saver!

If you'd like to make your own green smoothies quickly and easily with THRIVE, contact me at THRIVEingNilla@gmail.com, and I'll help you get started!

Pineapple Upside-Down Cake

Just a little sweet treat you may want to try when you get some of the awesome THRIVE Pineapple Chunks!  The recipe is from the back of the #10 can of pineapple :).

Topping:
1 1/2 cups THRIVE Pineapple Chunks
1/2 cups pineapple juice or water
1/4 cup THRIVE Butter Powder (+1 tablespoon water)
2/3 cup brown sugar*
Cake Batter:
1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour*
1/4 teaspoon salt*
2 teaspoons baking powder*
1/2 cup THRIVE Butter Powder (+ 2 tablespoons water)
3/4 cup white sugar*
1 teaspoon vanilla extract*
2 eggs*
1/2 cup milk*

Rehydrate THRIVE Pineapple Chunks with either water or pineapple juice. Place in the bottom of a greased 9-inch round pan (or 8x8 pan). In a saucepan, combine THRIVE Butter Powder, brown sugar, and water (you can use any leftover water from rehydrating the pineapple!). Bring to a boil and boil while stirring 1 minute. Pour over pineapple chunks.

To prepare batter, mix flour, salt, and baking powder; set aside. Mix THRIVE Butter Powder, 2 tablespoons water, and white sugar until creamed. Add vanilla and eggs; mix again. Add dry ingredients alternately with milk, mixing well in between each addition. Whip until light and fluffy. Pour batter over pineapple and smooth. Bake 45 to 55 minutes (mine took 35) or until golden and cooked through. Serve warm with whipped cream or ice cream. Makes 6 to 8 servings.

*Denotes ingredients also available through THRIVE.

A couple notes... I ended up getting 12 pieces out of my 8x8 cake. I also altered this recipe a little to include it here... The original recipe says to rehydrate the THRIVE Pineapple chunks in the pan you're going to bake in... Yeah, don't do that. Or, if you do, pour out the remaining water. Because otherwise you end up with Pineapple Dump Cake more than Pineapple Upside Down Cake. Mine was a dump cake (at least visually...). Still tasted good.... But didn't have that pretty layer of caramel and pineapple on the bottom. Clearly I'm learning a lot :).

And only one more week before the Black Friday deals are out!!!  The word out is that all THRIVE Life products will be on sale -- so it's a great time to place those orders!!!  Contact me at THRIVEingNilla@gmail.com if you want to know the Black Friday deals, and I'll make sure to add you to my email list!

Happy THRIVEing!

Berry Banana Smoothie

I know I post a lot of smoothie recipes!  I can't help it!  I love them.  And with THRIVE on-hand, I always have what I need to whip up a delicious one -- and it can be different every time!  Plus, I don't have to spend time washing or slicing!  (The banana gets frozen already sliced :).)

I feel like I hit pay-dirt with this recipe, though.  My niece helped me create this one by telling what she thought should go in it, and I decided on amounts :).

BERRY BANANA SMOOTHIE
1 cup frozen sliced banana (about 1 banana)
3 tablespoons THRIVE Instant Milk Powder
1 cup water
1/2 cup strawberry yogurt
1 tablespoon THRIVE Simply Peach Drink
1/3 cup THRIVE Raspberries
1/3 cup THRIVE Strawberries

Place all ingredients in a blender (water last) and blend until smooth.  Takes me no more than 2 minutes!

I served this smoothie up at a THRIVE Party last night and had several people tell me they really enjoyed it!  So I say it's a keeper :)!

Happy Friday -- and Happy THRIVEing!!

Strawberry Banana Smoothie

Do you love smoothies?  Well THRIVE can help you have them all the time!

I love smoothies.  Seriously.  But very often, I will find myself lacking an essential ingredient.  Like bananas.  Or yogurt.

But now that I'm building my home store with THRIVE, I'm finding that's no longer a problem for me!  I always have some yogurt bites on hand...  And I always have a variety of THRIVE fruits and berries on hand.  Makes for some awesome combinations :)!!

My most recent attempt was a simple Strawberry Banana Smoothie.  I happened to have some frozen bananas that I'd sliced before freezing.  I knew they'd make my smoothie delicious and frothy.  I also had THRIVE Strawberry Yogurt Bites and THRIVE Strawberries, so I knew this would be an awesome smoothie :).

Here's the recipe:

STRAWBERRY BANANA SMOOTHIE
1 cup THRIVE non-fat powdered milk, prepared
1/2 cup THRIVE Strawberry Yogurt Bites
1/2 cup THRIVE Sliced Strawberries
1 cup frozen banana slices (about 1 banana)

Place milk, yogurt bites, and sliced strawberries in blender and allow to sit 3 minutes. Put in frozen banana slices. Blend well, until smooth.

Why I Love THRIVE!: Eating Healthier

THRIVE Life is amazing.  I am especially fond of the foods.  Not that that is surprising... I am a foodie, after all ;).

There are several reasons why I love THRIVE Life foods!  One of those is that they help me -- and my family -- eat healthier.

For one thing, the vegetables and fruits are delicious right out of the can!  Which means I am more likely to have healthy snacks.  Because it is so easy to just open the can of asparagus or corn or peas and scoop out some to satisfy a munchie craving!  I also love that my little girl is getting her veggies better this way.  Our favorite vegetables for snacking are the asparagus, corn, and peas.  Our favorite fruits to snack on are the pineapple, peaches, and strawberries!

I will admit that I have always struggled at getting my daily suggested servings of vegetables...  THRIVE is helping me improve in this area of having a healthier lifestyle!

THRIVE's fruits and vegetables are picked at the peak of ripeness, flash-frozen, and shipped to the freeze-drying facility where they are then freeze-dried, packaged, and ready for sale!  This means the fruits and vegetables were able to ripen naturally and were not sprayed with chemicals to keep them from ripening during shipment or chemicals to help them ripen later on!  How awesome is that!?!

The other amazing thing about these fruits and veggies is that they don't have added preservatives, like salt and sugar!  And yet most of them have an shelf-life of 20 to 25 years!  This is wonderful, not just for snacking, but for when I cook with my THRIVE!  For example, one of the ingredients I love to include in soups and spaghetti sauce is mushrooms.  I didn't realize it before, but every time I added canned mushrooms to my soups or sauce or pizza, I was adding a lot of extra sodium!  So now, if I don't have fresh mushrooms, I use my THRIVE Mushrooms -- and all I'm adding is mushrooms!  No added sodium :).  And so my meals are healthier.  I love that! 

And most of THRIVE Life's foods are non-GMO!!!  And the list is constantly expanding.  Just this past week, we received notification that the white flour, cornmeal, and shortening powder have joined the already-extensive list of non-GMO items!  There are also several organic options through THRIVE Life as well :).

I have really enjoyed having so many healthy foods in my home store, thanks to THRIVE Life.  I love all the benefits I am getting with a long shelf-life!!!

If you want to experience these healthy-eating benefits with THRIVE Life, just let me know at THRIVEingNilla@gmail.com!!

Peachy Strawberry Smoothie

Today my wonderful sister-in-law hosted a THRIVE party!  It was lots of fun, and I got to meet some great ladies!  I loved that they had so many questions and were so interactive and involved in the whole event.  It makes for a great time!

One lady discovered that her young son -- who she says is her picky eater -- loved the fruits and veggies for snacks!

Another lady is excited about all the gluten-free options THRIVE offers, because of her husband's diet restrictions! 

I'm always excited when THRIVE Life can help other people in a variety of ways -- just as it has helped me!

As part of the party, we enjoyed a Peachy Strawberry Smoothie :).  Due to Nilla error (that would be me...), the smoothie at the party wasn't as awesome as the practice one I made at home.  The first time I made it, I forgot to add the THRIVE Simply Peach Drink Mix!  So I made a second batch -- and didn't blend it long enough (I so need one of those awesome high-powered blenders!  I obviously don't know how to work one!) so there was more ice chunks than I would have preferred :/...  But when I made it at home, I really enjoyed it -- even without any banana (and you know I love my bananas in my smoothies!)

So here it is: 

PEACHY STRAWBERRY SMOOTHIE
1/2 cup hot water
1/2 cup THRIVE strawberry yogurt bites
1 tablespoon THRIVE Simply Peach drink mix
1/2 cup THRIVE strawberries
1 tablespoon milk*
1 1/2 cup ice

Combine all ingredients except ice and let rehydrate 3 to 5 minutes.  Add ice and blend until smooth.

And as for my less-than-stellar ability to actually make it well at the party...  Well, you live and you learn!  I'll be better prepared next time :).

Raspberry Peach Lemonade

One of my friends and I take turns fixing dinner for each other's families every other week.  We call it Marvelous Monday Meals.  It's a time of trying new things, eating great food, and having awesome visiting time.  This past week, I was in charge of dinner (she brought dessert); and, though a drink isn't always on the menu, I decided I wanted to have something special as a beverage.

We are mainly water drinkers in our home, so I don't have much in the way of beverage selection.  But I did have all my THRIVE host benefits!  And I had ordered the THRIVE Simply Peach Drink Mix.  I decided to open up that can and see what I could do!

So all of the #10 cans of THRIVE Foods come with a recipe printed on them!  How awesome is that?  It's a great way to start using your THRIVE in daily cooking, because you have a recipe right in front of you, showing you how to use that product.  The recipe on the THRIVE Simply Peach Drink Mix is for Peach Lemonade.  It sounded great, and I had all the ingredients.  But then I started thinking, "Maybe I could take this a step further and make it mine a little bit."

So I decided to make it Raspberry Peach Lemonade.  Here's how I did it:

RASPBERRY PEACH LEMONADE
1/2 cup sugar*
1/2 cup THRIVE Simply Peach drink mix
1/2 cup THRIVE raspberries
6 cups water
1 cup lemon juice

In one cup of water, rehydrate the raspberries for about 5 minutes.

Place sugar, THRIVE Simply Peach drink mix, rehydrated raspberries, and the 1 cup of raspberry water into a sauce pan. Heat over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until everything is dissolved. Strain into a pitcher (to remove raspberry seeds). Add 1 cup lemon juice and mix well. Add additional 5 cups water and mix. Refrigerate until ready to drink.

*Denotes other ingredients available through THRIVE.

Raspberry Coffee Cake a la THRIVE

As promised, the rest of the Raspberry Coffee Cake recipe -- with THRIVE!

RASPBERRY COFFEE CAKE

Streusel:
1/4 cup THRIVE Butter Powder (plus +/-1 tablespoon water -- I used leftover raspberry water)
1/3 cup all-purpose flour*
1/4 cup sugar*
Mix together with your fingers until it resembles breadcrumbs. Set aside.

Cake:
1 1/4 cup THRIVE raspberries
3 cups water
2 cups all-purpose flour* (we do half whole-wheat, because my husband likes it that way)
3/4 cup sugar*
1/4 cup THRIVE Butter Powder
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons milk*
2 teaspoons baking powder*
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon salt*
1 egg*

Preheat oven to 350. Grease an 11x7 (or 9x9) baking pan.

Place the raspberries in the water and allow to re-hydrate while you are mixing the cake batter.

In a large bowl, mix together flour, sugar, THRIVE butter powder, baking powder, and salt. Add egg, milk, and vanilla. Mix until well blended. The batter should be slightly thick and spread-able.

Spread half the batter in bottom of prepared pan. Place half the raspberries over the batter (you can drain them, but I just scooped them out of the water and put them on the batter -- the extra liquid on the cake doesn't hurt a thing ! Also, the raspberry water is flavorful and full of fruit-nutrients, so you can find a way to use that, too ... I used a small amount in the streusel, but my husband drank the rest). Sprinkle half the streusel over the raspberries. Repeat layers one more time, ending with streusel.

Bake 40 to 50 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. (My oven bakes hot and the cake was done in 35 minutes).  Devour!  (My husband knocked out half of it on his birthday...)

*Denotes ingredients available through THRIVE.

Now, I'm off to enjoy my late-night single-serve brownie and some reading down-time :). 

Happy THRIVEing!