History Of Food Storage: The Root Cellar

Welcome! I love history! Through history, we are better able to understand ourselves, where we have been, and where we are going.

Each week, I am going to share a bit with you about the history of food storage!

Lucky for us, food storage is the easiest and healthiest it has ever been! Start your home store today and you will always have fresh yummy food on hand for you and your family!

The Root Cellar

Root  Cellars are an ancient form of long-term food storage of foods and veggies and fermented beverages.

Early records show Root Cellars in use 40,000 years ago.

Native Australians were among the first to take advantage of the insulated properties of burying food.

Walk in food storage cellars were invented in the 17th century in England. This was the first appearance of the root cellar as we know it.

According to Hobby Farm, "the most notable practitioners of root-cellar arts were the early colonists that arrived in North America from the United Kingdom. The eastern halves of America and Canada contain thousands of old root cellars, and the small Newfoundland town of Elliston actually claims the title of “Root Cellar Capital of the World,” and boasts of over 135 root cellars, some dating back 200 years."

How Does it Work:

Root Cellars were essentially the first refrigerators. The under ground storage provided a dark cool environment to store produce and slow or prevent spoilage. A good root cellar can often be 40F cooler than the outside temperature.

You can store just about anything in your root cellar! Some preparations and precautions are needed for some items and to prevent some produce from causing a bitter taste to others. One cellar may be used for items needing a high humidity, and a lower humidity cellar for other goods requiring a lower humidity such as canned foods, and grains.

According \ Wikipedia, "Vegetables stored in the root cellar primarily consist of potatoes, turnips, and carrots. Other food supplies placed in the root cellar over the winter months include beets, onions, preserves/jams, salt meat, salt turbot, salt herring, Winter squash, and cabbage.Separate cellars are occasionally used for storing fruits, such as apples. Water, bread, butter, milk, and cream are sometimes stored in the root cellar also. In addition, items such as salad greens, fresh meat, and jam pies are kept in the root cellar early in the day to keep cool until they are needed for supper."

Want to learn more or build your own root cellar?

Check out this great article or this one at Hobby Farm Magazine.

Start your own Chapter in Food Storage History today!

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Our Daily Starch?

Bread. For many generations, bread has been an essential to life for man kind. It was *the* staple of every culture. Bread was healthy. Bread was life sustaining. But now, it seems, bread just makes you fat.

Most likely you can peek at the label of one of your favorite treats and you will see 'enriched wheat flour' as a main ingredient. But what IS enriched wheat flour?

Enriched wheat flour is flour that has been bleached and striped of all nutrients until it forms a nutrition-less starch. Enriching is necessary because the processing used to make white flour destroys most of the nutrients that originally were present in the whole grain.

Interestingly, One of the key nutrients added back to white flour is iron, however it is not iron in a usable form, but yet a metallic form our bodies cant process.

White flour is essentially nothing more than a starch, and the body processes it does other starches and sugars. White flour is really nothing more than a refined carbohydrate. It is a great contrast to its Whole Wheat counterpart which is processed by the body in a completely different way.

Whole Wheat flour is absorbed by the body as a grain. It is used for energy and processed slowly by your body.

Enriched Flour is basically a healthy grain striped down to a starch and 'enriched' with some of the vitamins and minerals removed in the processing.

 This enriching and bleaching process is esentially why bread is now 'bad'. This bleaching process took a nutrutuous food which sustained life of all kinds and turned it into a literal killer. This 'Daily Starch' sends out bodies through a roller coaster of sugar highs and lows and leads to diabeties, obesidy, heart disease and a whole host of other health problems.

Our daily bread had been turned into our daily starch!!

But, the good news is, flour is NOT bad! Whole Wheat and sprouted flours are an important part of a healthy diet. With Shelf Reliance your can store whole kernels of wheat and grind it to make your own healthy flour!!

Chose Whole Wheat when ever possible... And think of white flour not as a grain, but as the starch/sugar it is once processed by your body.

Reclaim your daily bread!

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Recipe: 1 Minute Brownie

Sometimes at the end of a long day, you just need some quiet & some chocolate! And chocolate doesn't come in many better forms that brownies!

But, an entire pan of brownies is just too tempting!

So, my new best friend, is a Brownies in a Mug,AKA: The 1 Minute Brownie!

Recipe:

4 Tbsp Thrive  Fudge Brownie Mix

2 Tbsp Water

Optional: 1 Tbsp Mix-In (chopped nuts, candies, chocolate chips, ect)

Combine Ingredients. Microwave on high for 1 Minute in heavy mug or cup.

This delicious treat can also be used as a perfect gift!

You can easily package Thrive Brownie Mix in a cone-shaped bag or ziplock baggie. Place baggie in a mug. Decorate with cello bag or curly ribbons. Attach tag with recipe instructions.

Enjoy!

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Downloads

Welcome!!

You may have noticed a new section here at Tawny's Thriving Home, Downloads! Here I will be sharing free goodies for  you to print and use! Go check it out! And be sure to subscribe so you don't miss anything!

What's New:

Is your Magic Mix hiding in your fridge in a bare #10 can? Are you constantly having to dig out your recipe? With this Cute label, your recipe is always accessible & no more bare cans!! Also includes my 'Helper Mix'!

Go check it out!

I love feedback! Let me know what you think!

Recipe: Homemade 'Helper' Recipe

We love easy around here. And we have all been brain washed into believing those boxed 'helper' recipes are as easy as it gets.

With a whopping 110 Calories in the mix alone and a lengthy list of unhealthy ingredients and preservative, there must be a better way!

Making homemade hamburger helper could not be easier!! You make up a basic 'mix' and add noodles and meat as you see fit. You could easily layer noodles, mix and spice into mason jars to give as gifts or as a quick meal. With options such as freeze dried meats or TVP, quick 'helper' style meals have never been easier!!

Homemade 'Helper' Mix

• 1 1/4 tsp. black pepper


• 1 Tbs. garlic powder


• 2 Tbs. dried parsley


• 1/3 cup Thrive Freeze Dried Onion


• 1 Tbs. salt


• 1 2/3 cup Thrive Powdered milk


• 3 1/2 Tbs. Thrive beef bouillon

Mix this all up and store in a glass jar or other sealed container.

Use 1/2 cup for each pound of ground meat.

The Nutrition Info for this basic mix comes to about the following: 41 Calories, less than 1g of fat
Basic Preparation:

• 1 pound meat (Thrive Freeze Dried Beef, Thrive Beef TVP, or seasoned browned ground beef)


• 1/2 cup of  'helper' mix (above)


• 1 to 2 cups noodles (elbow macaroni for example)


• 1 1/2 to 3 cups water

Stir in meat, dry mix, then add 2 cups hot water and 2 cups noodles. You can add more or less water and noodles, proportionately, depending on much you need to stretch that pound of beef. Bring to a boil, then turn down to a simmer, cover, and cook until noodles are tender, about 20 minutes.

This Recipe is easily adaptable to what you have on hand and what you are hungry for. Looking for a cheese burger? Add Thrive Cheese Blend or Shredded Cheddar Cheese. Throw in some Bacon TVP for a bacon Cheese burger! With Thrive Freeze Dried vegetables, its easy to add corn, green beans, or other yummy veggies to your helper meal. Just dd them when you add the noodles. Looking for a comfort food: Instead of macaroni, add 2-3 cups very thinly sliced potatoes. Simmer 20-30 minutes until potatoes are tender. Uncover and simmer until liquid has evaporated.

This recipe is easily adapted to your families dietary needs. Use whole grain pasta. Or gluten Free Pasta. Season and adjust the recipe to your needs and taste.

When you do the math this recipe is an incredible money saver!! You could easily take the $2 or so it takes to buy one preboxed 'helper' meal and buy enough pasta to make this recipe 2-3 times! The 'Helper' Mix cost about $2 to make & makes about 6 servings, so this mix is going to cost you about $.30 per serving!

With this mix you are going to save time. You can easily customize it to what you have. You are going to save shelf space, all those 'helper' boxes take quite a bit of room. You are going to save money, preboxed foods are expensive, and you are going to save your family's health.

Ready to start making your mix? Go to my online store to get the very best in freeze dried and shelf stable foods. Contact me about making the most of your 'home store', or book a 'make a mix' party and share this and other great mixes with your friends while earning free products!

 

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30 Days of Faves: Cansolidator

Welcome back! Each day in June I am going to be sharing with you one of my favorite Shelf Reliance Products as part of the 30 days of faves blog party!

Today I am excited to share with you one line of Shelf Reliance Food Rotation Systems: The Consolidator.

 Do you have a disorganized pantry? Maybe a messy pantry?

Do you have expired fruits and veggies sitting on your cabinets? Do you rotate your canned goods? Is you pantry so disorganized that cereal falls on you while you search for Peanut Butter?

We have all been there! Keeping your food rotated and organized can be lots of work!

Not Any More!

Introducing The Consolidator Series!

These awesome devices store, organize, and rotate your canned goods for you!

The consolidator is adjustable and stackable!

The Consolidator series comes in 3 different sizes! The cupboard (20 cans), Pantry (40 cans), and Pantry Plus (60 cans).

With The Consolidator your pantry will be neat and organized.

You will save time and money by easily being able to find your canned goods.

Not Sure which Consolidator or Food Rotation System is right for you? Use our Shelving Planner, or contact me!

Watch Shelf Reliance Food Rotation Systems in Action:

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No More Starving College Kids!

The Freshman 15! My theory is it comes from all the junk food poor college kids are living on: Ramen noodles, Mac & Cheese, Frozen Pizza! Yuck!!

Eating healthy can seem expensive. Fresh Produce goes bad very quickly. processed food  is cheap because its full of 'junk'.

Do you know a college student you care about? Would you like an easy, affordable way to provide this 'starving' college student real, healthy, easy to use, convenient, shelf stable food?

The perfect gift: The Q!

You choose the amount. Each month Real healthy food is sent to your 'starving' college student! You can even choose what foods to send! Does you student love milk but is short on space? Send him a #10 can of instant milk each month! Is she a cheese lover? Send her yummy real freeze dried cheeses each month? You can choose entrees, desserts, fruits, veggies, dairy, basics, meats & beans, anything you would like!

What college student wouldn't love a monthly gift of food! How comforting would milk & brownies be each month? You will feel great knowing you are providing real food free of preservatives, with no added sugars or salts! What a great way to ensure he gets his fruits and veggies even when away from home!

College kids are short on space! Pantry cans are perfect! They can be stored just about anywhere! You can also provide your student with a consolidator or FRS shelving to help store his monthly gifts of goodies! Thrive foods require no refrigeration and have a long shelf life!

Many college kids don't have access to a full kitchen, many shelf reliance foods can be eaten right out of the can, reconstituted, or warmed in the microwave!

When you give the Q as a gift, you get the satisfaction of providing a great gift, earn Q club reward points, and are always guaranteed the lowest price on Shelf Reliance Products!

The Q really is the gift that keeps on giving!

The Q makes the perfect gift for graduates, college students, newly weds, or anyone who eats!

Contact me today to set up a gift Q for your loved one!

What Is The Q? Learn More here.

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Adding to your home store for FREE

Who doesn't like free? There is a certain high from knowing, you got something for nothing!

Today I am going to tell you about how to add great foods and products to your home store for FREE!

Your home store is your 'food insurance' but it is also your 'basic necessities insurance'. No one like realizing your out of shampoo or other necessities when you need them most! Why not add these items to your store for FREE?

1.Host a Party by Tawny's Thriving Home

Shelf Reliance is unlike any other Party Plan out there! We have products that can be used by anyone who eats! We have some amazing hostess incentives! My favorite incentive: FREE PRODUCT! You can use your credit toward food, shelving and food rotation systems, outdoor gear or more! Shelf Reliance offers more than just food! As a hostess, you earn 10% of your parties total sales in FREE product!! You can also earn additional half off credit on products! And we have our exclusive double dip incentive! (For example: If you book a party while at Sue's Party and place an order of $100, Sue gets $100 credit for her party & you will also get to count your purchase toward your party! So you are starting with $100 in sales!!) Hosting a Shelf Reliance Party with me is easy! I do all the hard work for you! I offer exclusive benefits to my hostess, so contact me today for more information! I offer all kinds of parties, online parties, blog parties, book parties, theme parties and more! For more information, Contact Me today!

Hosting a Shelf Reliance Party is a great, fun way to add to your home store for FREE!!

2.Couponing

Couponing is a great way to make sure your home store is stocked with all those important items Shelf Reliance doesn't carry (yet). Have you ever been *in* the shower and realised you were out of shampoo? Your home store should contain these necessary items. This is where couponing comes in! You can stock up on these items for FREE! 

Couponing is easier now than ever before! Everything I know about couponing I learned from The Bargain Hunting Mom! 

I also love CouponMom.com! It's free and helps you know when & how to use your coupons to get the very best price!

I am also very excited about The Bargain Hunting Mom's Price Match Report! With this handy report, I do not have to run all over town matching my coupons to the stores with the best prices to get my free and almost free goodies! I use my report and have Wal-Mart match the prices! Their new price match guarantee policy means I just need to know the sale price and what store it is at. This saves me tons of time and money! And, helps me get lots of free goodies for my home store!!

Couponing is easier now than ever!! 

 

Your home store is your security net. It is your food insurance. It is convenience. It is healthy food waiting for you. It is quick meals. And it is what you want when you need it.

We all love free. So why not take these great opportunities to stock your home store for free!!

Contact me today to learn how easy it is to get your free goodies at your own Shelf Reliance Party!

 

~ Go to TawnysThrivingHome.com to shop products and get the best deals on food storage and emergency preparation products.~~Always be in the know… Sign Up for my Newsletter~

30 Days of Faves: 72 hr Kits

How Prepared are you? If you and your family had to evacuate, what would you take? If you faced a power outage, how would you eat? What would you do in a disaster situation?

Most of us are not prepared. It is just not something you think about. Unless you live in an area with hurricanes, you have probably never had to think about evacuation. You can read about my recent 'Wake up Call' to the importance of being prepared here. In the middle of Texas, we were facing a situation in which we may need to evacuate with 5 minutes notice! We were completely and totally unprepared!!

Both Fema and the Red Cross recommend you have a 72 Hour Kit.

So What is a 72 Hour Kit?

A 72 hour kits is your basic supplies and necessities for 72 hours. You need one kit or bag for every member of your family. This kit is something you can grab and go. It can be very simple,containing the bare essentials, or it can be very detailed containing all sorts of survival tools and essentials.

Here are the FEMA recommendations for the your kit:

An emergency can happen at anytime & any place!

Since you do not know where you will be when an emergency occurs, prepare supplies for home, work, and vehicles.

Home	Work	Car
Your disaster supplies kit should contain essential food, water, and supplies for at least three days.Keep this kit in a desig­nated place and have it ready in case you have to leave your home quickly. Make sure all family members know where the kit is kept.Additionally, you may want to consider having supplies for sheltering for up to two weeks.	This kit should be in one container, and ready to “grab and go” in case you are evacuated from your workplace.Make sure you have food and water in the kit. Also, be sure to have com­fortable walking shoes at your workplace in case an evacuation requires walking long distances.	In case you are strand­ed, keep a kit of emer­gency supplies in your car.This kit should contain food, water, first aid supplies, flares, jumper cables, and seasonal supplies.

 

Shelf Reliance makes being prepared easy!

Many emergencies don't allow time for people to assemble even the most basic items, which makes it all the more necessary to own the supplies your family requires. Shelf Reliance offers first aid kits and outdoor gear that you can add to your own emergency kit with our Emergency Planner. Simply enter your family's information and select a few personal settings, and the planner will provide you with a list of all the materials you need. Customize your emergency kit today using the Shelf Reliance Emergency Kit Planner.

Shelf Reliance also offers several pre-assembled emergency kits. Here are just a few of the great kits offered. You can see all the pre-assembled kits here.

 

[caption id="attachment_265" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Providence Extreme 2 Person Kit"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_264" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Vigilance Basic 72hr Kit"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_266" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Expedition Starter Kit for 4"][/caption]

 

With Shelf Reliance you are always prepared! 

Important links:

*Emergency Kit Essentials

*Fema recommended “evacuation ready” supplies

* Emergency Planner

*Purchase “pre-assembles” 72-Hour Kit

* Ready.gov – More info on being prepared

 

~ Go to TawnysThrivingHome.com to shop products and get the best deals on food storage and emergency preparation products.~

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Food Waste

Today I had planned a post on snacking with Thrive foods, but as I opened up WordPress, I was greeted by a post on food waste.

"One category stood out as being accurate and useful—the dead waste. These are not spending decisions, but rather mistakes. The parking ticket, the bank fee, and yes-the food we let rot. Almost everyone in the United States does this to one extent or another. Nobody likes it, and everyone finds themselves annoyed and a little guilty and embarrassed when it happens. So why do we do it?"

The author goes on to give reasons for food waste. You can read the rest of the article here.

This really got me to thinking.

One of the major reasons I started using Thrive foods is to save money and stop food waste.

When it comes to food waste, many of us have the best of intentions. We buy fresh fruits and veggies, hoping to use them. We buy in bulk to save a bit of cash. We save all those left-overs hoping to eat them and save a bit of cash. No one WANTS to waste food. We all feel a bit of guilt about it. After all, many people are in fact starving. And all that food is wasted money!

Here is an embarrassing bit. A sneak Peek at my fridge before Shelf Reliance and Thrive.

My fridge was full of good intentions, crammed full left overs. Everything had its own Tupperware dish.

We have extended family living with us. It seems there is always either too much food or not enough. So with each meal, a little dish of leftovers is added to the over crowded fridge. We forget about the left overs and before you know it, we have mold soup adding to the problem of food waste.

We like to buy in bulk, and make as few trips to the grocery store as possible, so we use to buy a great deal of produce with the intention of eating healthier. With out fail, when I would reach into the fridge to get that "fresh" produce for a delicious recipe, it had spoiled. And we were adding to more food waste.

We all do it. We are all guilty. We all want to change it.

• Americans toss $75 Billion in food annually.


•  The average American family throws away 14%  of their food, that's almost $600 every year in meats, fruit, vegetables and grain products.


• Americas throw away 96 billion pounds of food annually. That's 263 million pounds a day. Eleven million pounds an hour. Three thousand pounds a second.

Food Waste is a serious problem!!

But *HOW* do we reduce food waste. Obviously 'eat your left overs' and 'plan your shopping trips' just isn't enough!

The How is Shelf Stable foods that can be measured out in usable portions.

For example, With Thrive, you only use what you need. And the rest is stored in the cupboard for up to a year until you are ready to use it again. No more throwing out freezer burned fruits and meats. No more left over veggies from dinner growing mold in the fridge. Use only what you need.

Taco TVP is a BIG hit in my house. Because of the dynamic of our house hold, sometimes its hard to know just how many will be eating dinner at home on any given night. With Thrive, I can easily reconstitute just enough Taco TVP for those I know will be eating at home. If more come in, I easily reconstitute a few more serving without any food waste. (And it only takes about 5 min! I really love that!!)

Because Thrive foods are designed to be shelf stable, you can open a can of corn today, use what you need, and go back to that can a year later and use only what you need once again!

Thrive foods are convenient, easy, fresh, shelf stable, and are truly an easy way to cut back on food waste.

What could your family do with an extra $600 a year saved just by limiting food waste?

~ Go to TawnysThrivingHome.com to shop products and get the best deals on food storage and emergency preparation products.~

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Frugal Bean Recipes

Over at Life in a Shoe, Kim is hosting a Linky for Bean recipes. Why? She, like many of us, is becoming increasingly aware of the rise in food cost. The grocery budget just doesn’t seem to go as far as it use to. And, the sad news is, food cost are NOT expected to go down anytime soon.

I didn’t start this post to complain about the economy. I just want to keep the food budget under control, and I want to do it without resorting to ramen noodles, so we’re going to eat less meat, more beans and learn to use lentils.

So, what are we to do? Learn from our grandmothers and great-grandmothers. These ladies fed a family and providing comforting meals on near nothing! Don’t believe me? Take a look at how little people had to eat during War Time Rationing. We need to remember back to a similarly less prosperous time, and learn from out history. We have to remember how to keep our family comfortable and be frugal.

One suggestion Kim made was to eat less meat and more beans. Beans are easy, nutritious, cheap, and have a LONG shelf life. Beans are one of those foods you want to know several recipes for.

I love my cowboy bean recipe. You can easily use it as you "go-to" bean recipe and change it and adjust is according to what you have on hand. I sometimes use sausage. Sometimes beef. I've been known to throw in a can of Rotel or stewed tomatoes. It's a very workable recipe.

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COWBOY BEAN RECIPE

• 1 cups dried pinto beans


• 1 cup dried red beans


• 1/2 cup dried Navy Beans


• 5 minced garlic cloves


• 1 large onion, chopped


• 3 garlic cloves, minced


• 1 cup brown sugar


• 1 cup BBQ sauce


• 1/2 cup Ketchup


• 1- 1 1/2 lb ground beef, browned


• bullion cube


• salt pork or bacon for taste


• salt to taste


• water

Method:

Quick Rinse Beans. Place onions, garlic, bullion cube, pork, and beans in crockpot. Cover with water. Cook on low for several hours (about 6-8) until beans are soft, stir occasionally and add water as needed. Once beans are cooked and soft, remove pork. Add BBQ sauce, Ketchup, brown sugar, and beef to beans. Combine ingredients well. Salt to taste. And serve.

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Thrive foods carries a line of  “Instant Beans”. These beans are ready to go and can be cooked in less than 20 min!! What a time saver! Thrive also carried a full line of dried beans ready to stock up in your pantry. Beans are a great addition to the home store, especially when you are on a budget!

And when you are looking to save money on your food budget, cutting down on the amount of meat you eat is a great way to cut cost. Why not try a cost-effective vegetable protein instead? Taco TVP and beans make for a very cheap and very affordable and super healthy meal!

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 THRIVE quick Taco 'Meat' and Beans

•  1/2 c THRIVE taco TVP


• 1/2 c THRIVE instant pinto beans


• 1/2c THRIVE instant red beans


• 2tbs THRIVE Red and Green Bell peppers


• 2tbs THRIVE Chopped onion


• 1 tbs minced garlic


• salt and pepper to taste

Method:

Bring THRIVE beans to boil in 6c warm water. Add peppers, onion, and garlic. Allow to simmer for 15-20 min. Reconstitute Taco TVP by placing in a bowl and covering with water, allow to sit for 5-10min or until TVP doubles in quantity. Mix TVP into beans. Season to taste.

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A Yummy recipe from the Thrive/Shelf Reliance Website. Pioneer Stew

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Pioneer Stew

• 1 1⁄4 c dry thrive pinto beans or kidney beans


• 3 c cold water


• 1 3⁄4 t thrive iodized salt, divided


• 1 T thrive freeze dried chopped onions


• 1 T thrive red & green bell peppers


• 1 c thrive freeze dried sweet corn, reconstituted


• 1 cn (16 oz) tomatoes, undrained


• 2 t chili powder


• 1 T flour + 2 t water


• 1 c thrive ground beef, rehydrated -or- thrive beef tvp


• 1⁄2 c thrive fd cheddar cheese, rehydrated

Method

In a small bowl, cover THRIVE freeze dried ground beef or TVP with warm water. Let sit for 5-10 minutes until softened or rehydrated. Drain.Place washed and drained beans, cold water, and 1 teaspoon salt in a large saucepan. Bring to boil, then cover and simmer for 1 hour and 15 minutes.Add rehydrated ground beef, onions, bell peppers, corn, tomatoes, chili powder, and remaining salt to beans. Simmer an additional 20 minutes.Combine 1 tablespoon flour with 2 tablespoons water; stir into stew. Cook and stir until thick and bubbly.Stir in cheese and serve with any desired garnishes and toppings

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Share your favorite Bean recipes by commenting below. What role do beans play in your home store and food storage? Do you use TVP? I'd love to hear from you!

Happy cooking!

~ Go to TawnysThrivingHome.com to shop products and get the best deals on food storage and emergency preparation products.~

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Farmers Trading Tractors for Oxen

An interesting article from earlier this month in UK based Daily Mail. I am curious why US based news groups are not covering such an interesting and "sign of the times" type articles.

When farmers Danielle and Matt Boerson realised they could no longer afford to run their tractors, they took the bull by the horns - and ditched them for oxen.

Soaring petrol prices had become so high that the couple, who run an 80-acre farm near Madison, Wisconsin, were forced to get rid of their two tractors, hay baler, plough and rotavator.

So they took a course at the agricultural institute in traditional farming techniques.

Cheap: A pair of plough-ready oxen cost $3,000 (£1,800) - roughly the same as a second hand tractor

'It gave me the confidence that, yes, I could do this', Danielle told the Times. 'It just required a lot of concentration and a firm voice.'

Read More...

From experience, I can tell you, farming eats up a LOT of fuel. I have been wondering myself lately, 'How long will we be able to continue farming with these fuel prices?'.

Thankfully, Many farmers are choosing to look into alternate means. Such as these farmers and their oxen. Many may also turn to draft horses.

With this change in farming practices, we can expect to see a shift in the ways our food is supplied. Foods will need to be farmed on a smaller scale and more locally. This may mean more eating "in season". This also means a great flux in prices based on supply and demand. For example, during a dryer year, their will be less of certain crops, driving up the price. And off-season crops will be near impossible to come by.

The other alternative, is to continue with larger scale farming practices using fossil fuels. With this option, as the price of fuel goes up, so will the price of foods. great amounts of fuel is uses in the production and shipping of products that are not grown locally or in-season.

In any case, now is the opportune time to be investing in food. Our world is changing. We need to be prepared. It is time to start becoming more self-reliant. What will your family do if the leading national supplier of tomatoes stopped producing nationally and only supplied on a small scale to their local areas? What if the price of tomatoes sky rocketed and you could no longer get tomato paste for all your quick recipes? What if winter brought a spike in egg prices making them hard to come by? What if milk became a luxury your family couldn't afford? Invest in these foods now, and you will have them later.

We all have a tendency to take our food supply for granted. None of us remember a time our grandparents knew, when food was hard to come by.

Now is the time to prepare for your family. Stock up on shelf stable foods. Have emergency supplies on hand. Use coupons to allow you to stock up on necessities like toothpaste, toilet paper, and first-aid supplies. Become familiar with recipes that can be cooked using shelf stable ingredients. Start a "Home Store Binder" and include everything you need to prepare your family. Keep check list of what is in your home store, supplies you need, emergency information, survival articles, recipes, canning guides, and more in your binder for easy reference.

Become Prepared.

As my dear friend always says "If my kids have to stand in line to get food from the government, I feel like I have failed them."

~ Go to TawnysThrivingHome.com to shop products and get the best deals on food storage and emergency preparation products.~

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A Well-Balanced Diet Just got Easier

And a Well-Balanced Diet

Gone are the days of the old food pyramid and the 4 Basic food groups.

 The New Food Pyramid is a tool to educate people to eat a more balanced diet from a greater variety of food portions without counting calories. The USDA has now expanded the four food groups to six groups and expanded the number of servings to meet the calorie needs of most people.

The New Pyramid, or MyPyramid, is color coded. Orange for grains, Green for Vegetables, Red for fruits, blue for dairy, purple for meats and beans, And yellow for fats,oil,sugars, and basics.

 Thrive has incorporated these colors on each label of their products. All your grains are easily recognized by their orange labeling, and your veggie by their green label, your fruits by their red label and so forth.

 Our color coded cans keep your food conveniently organized while ensuring your diet contains the proper amount of balance and variety. When used in conjunction with our Food Rotation Systems, THRIVE foods are continually rotated, guaranteeing your family receives the freshest food possible.

Thrive has made planning, preparing, and storing healthy & nutritious meals for your family more simple than ever before!!

~ Go to TawnysThrivingHome.com to shop products and get the best deals on food storage and emergency preparation products.~

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Using The Q to Create Your Home Store

Using the Q is a great way to create your Home Store. It is pay as you go food storage!

We know you are busy! At Shelf Reliance we know you don't have time for last-minute trips to the grocery store. By creating your Home Store you will always have the freshest ingredients when you need them! Your onions will already be chopped. Your hamburger meat will already be browned and ready to go! And you will never run out of milk or eggs again!

The Q is invaluable when setting up and maintaining your Home Store. Setting up your Q takes just a few simple steps!

Use The Thrive Planner

With the Thrive Planner all the stress is taken out of food storage. You want to be using the food in your Home Store, and you need to replenish this stock. With the Planner this is an easy task! Just enter in your families specific information. You input the "duration" of food you'd like to store in your family's Home Store (For Example: 3 months, or 1 year). Next you simply input the age and gender of your family members. Using this information the planner assesses daily calorie needs. The planner also uses the USDA Food pyramid to determine proper food portions. This allows the Thrive Planner to  help you store the proper amounts of dairy, grains, fruits, vegetables, and other foods in your Home Store.

Add & Edit

After you use the Planner to create a well-rounded Home Store Plan, you simply add it to your Q. You can easily add products to your Q, or delete those you know you will not use. It is completely customizable. Keep in mind your family's taste. What are your favorite recipes? Do you frequently run out of milk? Do you use lots on onions? If no one in your family eats olives, you may consider removing them from your Q. Here in the Crawford Home we eat LOTS of Strawberries. I fear one day I will wake up to a house full of family members who have turned into big plump red berries!! So, I have Strawberries as a top priority on my Q. This is your Q, to create your family's Home Store. Customise it any way you would like!! If you have any questions, send me a message! I will be happy to help you create/edit a Q that is perfect for your family!

Set a Budget

Set your monthly budget. Think about how much of your food dollars you would like to reallocate to Thrive. Are you planning on using mostly Thrive meats? Will you be purchasing lots of produce or mostly using the fresh freeze dried produce in your Home Store? Remember, you can adjust your Q budget is needed, or even pause shipments.

Sit Back & Relax

Shelf Reliance will send your products right to your front door, on the day of your choose each month. No need to coupon or compare prices. No waiting in long lines at the grocery store. No last second dashes to the store for forgotten bread or milk. You just sit back, relax, and the food comes to your door! No hassle! And, as an added bonus, with the Q you can earn great rewards for FREE stuff!!

To get started with the Q, pop on over to my website Tawny's Thriving Home and get started. If you have any questions along the way, I am here for ya!

~ Go to TawnysThrivingHome.com to shop products and get the best deals on food storage and emergency preparation products.~

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What is a "Home Store"

Imagine walking into your pantry to find your own grocery store, stocked with all of your families favorite foods. Everything is fresh, ready to use, washed & chopped. All the food in this grocery store is free. You just grab and use what you need to prepare your families favorite meals. You have everything at your finger tips. Convenient and ready. All in your home.

This is your home store.

A Home Store is your essentially your grocery store in your pantry. It is your food insurance. In your home store you have stored all the foods your family uses and loves. Your Home store is the solutions to all the "What If" Questions.

With your home store you will never run out of milk or eggs.

In your home store you will have fresh fruits and vegetables always in season and already washed and chopped.

With your home store you never have to worry about sky rocketing food cost.

With your home store you are able to more easily minister to others, because you have food readily available.

With your home store there is Less Martha and More Mary, you are able to spend more time with your family and loved ones because your shopping, planning, and preparing are done.

With your home store, you have food insurance. No matter what happens, Job loss, a recessions, disability, or illness you will have nutritious food for your family.

Your home store contains lots of freeze-dried foods with a long shelf life. Your food store contains canned goods and quick meals you've stocked up on either through THRIVE or couponing.

The easiest way to build up your home store is using the Q. The Q is pay as you go Food Storage. Shelf Reliance helps you determine what and how much of each food you need. The Food Rotation system helps you ensure your foods are easily and properly rotated.

With the Q, everything comes to your door step! No crazy dashes around town for the best prices. No running into your ex at the grocery store. Just sit back and relax and let the food show up on your door step.

Who Stores food & Uses a Home Store?

Probably the most famous example is The Duggar family of 19 Kids and Counting.

Now, If only we could introduce the Duggar's to THRIVE && The Shelf Reliance Food Rotation System!!

You may not be a Duggar, and you may not have 20 in your family to feed. Even the most "average" family with 2.5 Kids in the suburbs can benefit from a home store. It is a great way to save money, save time, & be prepared. Best of all a home store works for everyone & every living situation. From the College Student in the dorm apartment to the busy mom of many in the country. We all need to eat. And we could all benefit from healthier foods that are quick and easy to prepare.

More Home Store Examples:

Ready to Get Started on your Home Store?? The Q is the simplest way!! Read more Here.

~ Go to TawnysThrivingHome.com to shop products and get the best deals on food storage and emergency preparation products.~

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