The Q

When I ventured into Thrive foods, I didn't want a big commitment, I didn't want to spend a lot of money, I wanted to know how to use the food I was getting, and I wanted to have an easy way to have my questions answered. The Q was the perfect answer along with Smart Start. The Q is monthly shipments of the foods of your choice in an amount that you specify shipped directly to your home every month. You can choose to pay $79.99 to join (kind of like a Costco membership), or you can sign up with a monthly Q of $100 or more and you get your Q for free. You are not paying extra for your groceries. This is part of your grocery budget. Or it could be your food storage budget. If you spend $500 a month on groceries at the store, now you will pay $400 at the store, and $100 on your Q.

Each month there is a Qpon which is a monthly special, along with addition monthly specials that you can add to your Q for your shipment. You decide each month what you want to purchase. You can pick and choose, you can have Thrive pick for you, you can look at recipes and then check the box to add recipe ingredients to your Q. You are in charge. There are no minimums. You also earn points with each Q purchase. These points never expire and you can use them towards your purchases to reduce the cost. The Q is a great way to build your home store. You will make fewer trips to the store, save time prepping food, eat healthy food, and save money.

The best thing I did when I signed up was use the Smart Start Kits with my Q. I chose the $100 option. I am committed for $100 each month for 3 months with the Q. Each month I get a shipment of pantry size cans of a variety of food products. Included are recipes using these foods to create delicious meals and desserts. The first recipe I tried was the Green Chicken Enchiladas. They are delicious and I made some modifications which you can read in my post, Recipes. You can also order the 200 Smart Start kit which costs $200 each  month for 3 months. These kits are a great way to try out the foods and see what you like and don't like without a huge financial hit. I highly recommend using Smart Start. It walks you through their products and helps you use them.  The brochure link below should answer any additional questions. If I can answer any questions, please let me know. In order to get the best price, be sure to go to my Thrive Life Website: Thrivelive.com/backcountrycook

Q Brochure

This is month 1 of the $100 Smart Start option.

Recipes

Here are some recipes for you to try. If you don't have the dry ingredients on hand, you can substitute fresh.

 The Taco Soup recipe (found on the Thrive Life website) is designed to be layered in a jar for you to have on hand for a quick meal. It is easy and very good. I halve the recipe and put in a pint jar (it doesn't fill it all the way) and use 2 cups of water. I simmer for an extra 5-10 min. for the beans to soften up more. It is just the perfect amount for my husband and me. Top with some sour cream, shredded cheese, and corn chips. I don't add in the green chili peppers, the mixed bell peppers, or the tomato dices because my husband doesn't like them. It is still very tasty.

Taco Soup

Ingredients:

Top of Form

• 1 1/2 tsp. Fiesta Brand Extra Fancy Taco Seasoning (or a pkg of your favorite Taco Seasoning)
• 1/4 c. THRIVE Sour Cream Powder
• 1/4 c. THRIVE Cheese Blend
• 1/4 c. THRIVE Tomato Powder
• 1/4 c. THRIVE Chopped Onions - Freeze Dried
• 1/4 c. THRIVE Green Chili Peppers - Freeze Dried
• 1/4 c. THRIVE Mixed Bell Peppers
• 1/4 c. THRIVE Tomato Dices - Freeze Dried
• 1/2 c. THRIVE Ground Beef (Hamburger) - Freeze Dried
• 1/2 c. THRIVE Instant Black Beans
• 1/2 c. THRIVE Sweet Corn - Freeze Dried

Bottom of Form

Directions:

1. Add all ingredients to a Wide Mouth Quart size Canning Jar in the order listed above. Cap Jar until ready for use. When ready to cook, empty jar contents into a pan, add 1 Quart of water for soup or 2 Cups water for dip. Simmer 15 min. or until beans are soft. Fill bowls & sprinkle THRIVE FD Cheese over the top & serve. Consider toppings like olives, chips, Thrive Sour Cream dollups, Jalapenos, Thrive Green Onions & etc. Serves 4.

 Chicken Salad

3/4 C water, minus 1 TB

3/4 C chopped Freeze Dried Chicken (21567)

1/2 tsp Chef's Choice (23628) or seasoning salt

1/4 C Freeze Dried Celery (21223)

2 3/4 TB Freeze Dried Onions (21227)

2 3/4 TB mayonaise

Add water, chicken, & seasoning and let sit for 10 min.

Add celery & onions to chicken mixture and let sit for 10 more min.

Add mayo, mix and serve, or chill.

If you don't have the freeze dried celery or onions, use fresh. It will still be great. Serve on crackers or bread for sandwiches. Serves 1-2. I LOVE this salad and take it to work a lot with crackers and an apple. The numbers in parentheses are the Thrive product numbers for ordering.

Green Chicken Chili Enchiladas

(recipe is on the Thrive Life website)

I leave out the green chilies because my husband doesn't care for them. This is the first recipe I made when I got my Smart Start Kit on the Q. It comes with what you need to put this fantastic dish together. My husband even really liked it. It was way different than I expected, especially since it had the cream cheese in it. I also used Thrive Instant Black  Beans and added enough water to reconstitute because I wanted to give them a try, and them simmered for a little longer.  I made half the recipe and we had leftovers for another meal. Outstanding.

• 1 1/4 c. THRIVE Chopped Chicken - Freeze Dried
• 1/2 c. bacon, diced
• 1 tbsp. garlic, minced
• 1 1/2 c. water
• 1/4 c. THRIVE Chopped Onions - Freeze Dried
• 1/2 c. THRIVE Sweet Corn - Freeze Dried
• 1 can black beans (15 oz)
• 6 oz. cream cheese
• 1 can green chilies (4 oz)
• 3 tbsp. THRIVE Instant Milk
• 1/3 c. THRIVE Tomato Sauce
• 1/2 tsp. cumin
• 1 tsp. chili powder
• 1 tsp. THRIVE Iodized Salt
• 1 tbsp. Cholula hot sauce
• 3 c. colby jack cheese
• 2 can red enchilada sauce
• 12 tortillas, medium

Directions:

1. Rehydrate chicken in ¾ cup water or stock .
2. Brown bacon in skillet and drain off grease. Add garlic and chicken and lightly sauté.
3. Add in all remaining ingredients except cheese and enchilada sauce. Bring up to a simmer and cook until thick (about 5 minutes).
4. Fill each tortilla with ⅓ cup of filling and some cheese. Roll up tortillas and place in two 9x13 pans.
5. Pour one can of sauce over each pan and sprinkle remaining cheese over enchiladas. Bake at 350°F for 10–15 minutes.

---

Yield: 12 enchiladas

Cost Comparison

When I first began looking at freeze dried food, the costs seemed enormous, especially with meats. This is before considering shelf life, ease of use,  and that it's hormone free food. I've tried to break this down for you to give you and idea of actual costs. I hope my math makes sense.

Thrive Life Ground Beef
$55.80 #10 can (price through consultant)
23- 1 oz. serving (equivalent 4 oz. reconstituted) /4 servings per lb. = 5.75 lb. equivalent = $9.70 lb.
$2.42 serving

Thrive Life Ground Beef- SALE
$35.00 #10 can (price through consultant- special)
23- 1 oz. servings (equivalent 4 oz  reconstituted) /4 servings per lb. =5.75 lb. equivalent = $6.08 lb.
$1.52 serving

Store Ground Beef
$5.49 lb.- yield 12 oz. cooked = .48 cents oz = $7.68 lb
yields 3- 4 oz. servings
$2.56 serving

Store Ground Beef- SALE
$3.99/lb.- yield 12 oz. cooked = .33 cents oz. = $5.33 lb.
yields 3- 4 oz. servings
$1.77 serving

When I got this food I did not know what to do with it. I was so thankful that Thrive  included so many helpful recipes and tips. I will post recipes today or tomorrow using this tasty, healthy food.

Eating Healthy and Saving Money

You may be visiting this blog because you are familiar with my other blog, Simple Everyday Living. Thank you for looking over here at my new blog, Back Country Cook1. You may know that I love to cook and can food. I have also tried my hand at dehydrating food. But I will tell you that with just the two of us at home anymore, I find I have a lot of food waste. I only used 3 stalks of celery, half an onion, and 8 mushrooms. The rest spoiled in the fridge waiting to be used. Or, how many times have you needed celery, onions, or mushrooms, but didn't have any?

Not only have I been wasting food, I've been wasting money. I have discovered Thrive Life foods. These are amazing freeze dried foods with up to a 25 year shelf life. They are flash frozen at -50 degrees and dehydrated. They are sealed in BPA free cans with an oxygen absorber. At first I thought the food, especially the meat, was very expensive. But when I consider that I only use exactly how much I need, am not making extra trips to the store (20-70% of store trips are impulse purchases), I have food available when I need it, and it tastes great, I am saving money. Did you know families throw out on average 25% of their food?

When I first got some of this freeze dried food, I wasn't sure how to prepare it, what it would taste like, or how I could incorporate it into our everyday meals that we already enjoy. I will be posting recipes and experiences, soon. I am now a consultant and sell Thrive on my website.

I will be posting more information about the Q (monthly food sent to your home) and recipes. I love Thrive! If you are interested now, you can go to my website:

https://www.thrivelife.com/backcountrycook

Feel free to place an order or email me with questions. Below are the January Specials and prices become effective Jan. 1.