Made in The USA

In today's age of 'out sourcing', almost every product we buy has 'made in china' or a similar country attached. When we pick up our phone to make a customer service call, our calls are often transferred over seas. In this day and age 'made in America' has become something rather rare.

According to the ABC News, if every American bought $3.33 worth of American made goods every week we could create 10,000 jobs.

In many areas of the country, we know just how bad those jobs are needed. It's basic economics. Spend money on goods made in your area, this creates jobs in your area, and stimulates the economy and helps it grow in your area.

We love our country! We have the best country in the world! So, lets show out support for our country! If spending just $3.33 on American Goods creates 10,000 jobs imagine what $9.99 would do!

We have strong work ethic standards in this country. When we buy American made goods, we know the workers received fair wages and fair conditions. When we buy American goods we know the goods meet health and other standards and regulations we have in this country to ensure quality.

So, take some time. Turn over the products on the shelf. Look for Made in The USA.

Many companies are opening, building, or reestablishing factories here in the USA. So, you will be seeing more made in the USA!

Love Chocolate? Mars Chocolate announced it's building its first new chocolate factory in the U.S. in 35 years!

Another great way to ensure you are getting American Made goods, Shop With Shelf Reliance & Thrive.

Shelf Reliance is an American Based Business. Your personal consultant in someone you know and trust. By shopping with Shelf Reliance, you are stimulating your local economy, buying US goods, and buying delicious high quality foods.

So hop on over to My Online Store and spend your $3.33 toward the cause!

Made In America. Buy with pride in your country & your community.

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

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Welcome to Shelf Reliance

This is a great video telling a bit about Shelf Reliance and Thrive foods featuring Kelsey Nixon. Enjoy!

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

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Giveaway!

Happy Saturday!

Smockity Frocks has been kind enough to let me do a giveaway on her blog! 3 Chances to win! Hop on over & check it out! She has some great articles about frugal living & yummy recipes, so subscribe to her blog while you are there!

That is why I love the idea of “Shelf Reliance”. Having foods in your pantry that will be “shelf stable” for years can help prepare for whatever may happen

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

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Recipe: Granola Bars

Jaime at Thriving Food Storage, Posted this delicious granola bar recipe. I thought you might enjoy it!

Granola Bars

A few days ago my sister who has helped me with the design of my blog sent me a txt asking when I changed my blog.  I had no idea what she was talking about as I had not changed anything on it.  After a minute she realized she was at the wrong blog.  She went to self reliance by Jamie.I can see how she would get that confused with mine.  We have the same name and I sell Shelf reliance products.  Anyways I asked her to send me the link to the blog so I could take a look.  I was very impressed with what I was seeing.  I looked through her blog and found some yummy sounding recipes and great info.  I love a good food storage/emergency preparedness blog and another I have found.I am all about making homemade when I can.  I have been trying for about a year now to find a good granola bar recipe.  I have tried several different recipes and they have all tasted good. BUT when I go to cut them into bars they either crumble or fall apart when I pick them up.  My other problem is I compare them to store bought granola bars.  With these I need to remember that the homemade bars are not going to be like the store bought bars.  Anyways Jamie at self reliance by Jamie  about a year ago posted a recipe for granola bars.  They looked and sounded good so I tried her recipe yesterday.  Oh my goodness....I found my granola bar recipe.  Thanks Jamie!  These not only taste good but I was able to cut them into bars and they held up!!!Granola Bars

4 1/2 c rolled oats (regular, not quick)

1 c flour ( I like to use whole wheat flour)

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp vanilla

2/3 c butter, melted

1/2 c honey

1/3 c brown sugar, packed

1/2 c mini chocolate chips (raisins, craisins, other dried fruit, whatever you like!)

Combine all ingredients but the chocolate chips (or whatever you are putting in). Mix and then add the chocolate chips in and mix again. Press into a greased pan. Bake at 325 degrees for 18-22 minutes. Enjoy!!

**this is a basic recipe. . . if you like other things, try putting them in and make it your own recipe! Nuts, seeds, coconut, peanut butter. . . the options are endless!**

Don't these look yummy!! I can't wait to make them for my family!!

What is your favorite granola recipe? Share your link in a comment below!

~ 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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What If

WHAT IF…

* What if there was an easy way to create your own “Home Store”, so that you didn’t have to run to town just because you ran out of milk or eggs.

* What if your store carried fruits and vegetables that were already washed and chopped?

* What if great tasting fruit like peaches and black berries were always in season at your store?

* What if you didn’t have to worry about salmonella making the price of eggs and spinach sky-rocket?

* What if I told you that this is all possible and much easier than you think and you can start stocking your “home store” without increasing your monthly food budget?

There is!

Welcome to the wonderful world of

&&

Welcome!! I know you will LOVE Shelf Reliance & Thrive! My family certainly does! I am excited you are here! And very excited to share Thrive & The Home Store with you and your family.

Thrive Products and your Home Store are going to save you time and money! You will spend less time shopping, preparing, and cooking foods, and More time with your family & doing the things you love. You might even say it helps achieve those “Less Martha, More Mary” goals.

Not only will your Home Store saves you time and money, but it is also you families “food insurance”. We all have car insurance because you “never know”. And you never know when prices may sky-rocket, you may experience a loss of income, or a disaster may occur. Having shelf stable foods on hand insures that your family is will prepared for what ever may come!

To Get Started:

You may notice some the search bar at the top of the page. Feel welcome to search my blog and find the answers you need. The “cloud” to the right very helpful in finding popular post topics. There is also a topic list to the right, such as food storage 101. You will notice lots of tabs and buttons. Please, feel free to click-a-way and read all you’d like, and comment and let me know what you think!!

If you have any questions, PLEASE, feel free to contact me! I’d be happy to help!

A Few Links To Get You Started:

What Is A Home Store?

Using The Q to Create Your Home Store

Why Store Food?

A Well Balanced Diet Just Got Easier

Helping Others

With the recent Tornadoes, Wildfires, and other disaster occurring around the country, many are asking the question "How Can We Help?".

One of the greatest needs during a disaster is Food.

And food banks QUICKLY become depleted or the foods they have expire. The VERY BEST thing you can donate when it comes to food is SHELF STABLE foods.

Most Thrive foods have a 25 year shelf life, making them incredibly shelf stable.

Food is one of our comforts. During a hard period, little makes us feel as well as a good home cooked meal. Thrive foods taste great and are easy to prepare.

Keeping a home store, enables you to have shelf stable foods on hand to donate to local food banks or causes. You can also purchase Thrive products directly from my website and have them sent to the families or organizations in need.

During a time of need the second most common need is Money.

Thrive donates 5% of the profit from Thrive foods to their Charity: Thriving nations.

Thrive products are very economical, allowing many families to donate both food and money. Also, by maintaining a home store, you can make tangible donations without cutting into your budget. This also allows for more giving of financial funds when possible.

Also, for many causes, if you contact me ahead of time, I happy to donate a portion of my profits of the supplies purchased from my website for donation, to your cause. This allows you to make a tangible donation of shelf stable foods that are both tasty and nutritious, and know that the purchase of the products will generate funds to be donated to the cause.

Others Ways To Help

How many times have you heard of a young mother on bed rest, or a family who lost a loved one and wanted to help? Many times you'd like to provide the family with a tasty and comforting meal. However, you don't have the meat, produce, or time to prepare the meal. And you certainly can't tap into your budget for another trip to the grocery store. With a Well stocked Home Store, you have healthy, nutritious, easy to prepare foods on stock and on hand at all times. So cooking an extra meal or two is no problem at all.

A Home Store and Thrive Foods Allow for many ministry opportunities!

You Might could say its

"Less Martha, and More Mary"

~ 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~

Food for thought

In rural america we are fairly accustomed to short power outages last a few hours to all night. But a disaster can bring with it outages that last much longer.



Due to the recent wild fires, many are without power for various reasons. Some have no idea when or for how long power will be restored. These people have no been forced to evacuate due to the wild fires, but they are facing the effects of the disaster in their own homes.

A few things to think about:

- With out power, How will you:

* Cook

* Shower

* Maintain the foods you have stores in your refrigerator and freezer

* Get water for drinking

* Get water to operate your toilet

* Get your news and weather information

* Get information on emergency survival

* Charge cell phones & other communication devices

Freeze Dried foods, such as those we have at my online store, Tawnysthrivinghome.com, are great to keep in your home for everyday use and emergency situations. They can be used by simply adding water. They require no refrigeration or freezing. They taste great and are an excellent source of nutrition. Best of all, most products have a 25 year shelf life, so they can always be kept on hand.

Shelf reliance also sells other emergency needs and camping products, by using the Q you can actually earn points to purchase some of these items for free. These items include portable stoves and cookware for heating foods, emergency radios, solar-powered items, an emergency radio that is solar-powered and can charge your cell phone, and water storage and purifying items, and much more. The website also offers an emergency planner to help you decide what is best for you and your family.

With a well stocked pantry and "home store" you are not only saving time and money but you are also prepared for the things that may come up along the way.

The recent fires have brought up other questions.

What about Road Blocks?


Many local roads have been blocked off as a result of the wild fires.

This can result in several different potential problems for those who do not have a well stocked pantry.

Road blocks often mean supply trucks can not get to local grocery stores to replenish stock. A stock that during a disaster is likely to need stocking more than ever. Supply trucks may also be unable to reach gas stations. You may not be able to easily get in or back out of a particular area.

When you need emergency supplies is often when they are hardest to get too.

In this case, being prepared is key. 

Keeping first aid, emergency, and food supplies on hand is essential. Wal-mart may run out of eggs and milk as customers try to "stock up" as disaster hits and supply trucks are limited. But if you have stocked your 'home store' with Thrive whole egg powder and Thrive instant milk, the shortage will not affect you and your family. In fact, you may be able to help your hungry neighbors around you, because you were prepared. What a wonderful opportunity that would provide!!

In Conclusion,

We hope disaster never hits. But in times such as this, the reality that disaster can happen at any time is all too close to home. It is times like this that help us to remember why we must prepare in order to protect and provide for our families.

Creating a well stocked pantry "home store" provides you convenience & a wonderful money-saving option. This alone makes it a worthy investment. But, in times of trouble, the home store acts as your first line of defence for your family, providing supplies and nutrients and comfort when it may not be available other wise. In this instance your home store goes from a convenient worthy investment to a life saving necessity.

~ 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~

The "Home Store" Savings

Your making dinner. Everything is going perfect. You mix your dry ingredients in your bowl for your families favorite Corn Bread. You open the fridge to find... YOUR OUT OF MILK AGAIN! How will you finish dinner? What will the wee ones drink to give them a full tummy before bed? You NEED milk!!



You or your darling husband make a mad dash to the store for the precious commodity. You can run up to the local connivence store, where the milk is not as fresh & almost a dollar more expensive. Or you can go the 10 miles to the local grocery store for your usual brand.

You loose precious time with your family && husband. Dinner is delayed making everyone cranky, especially the youngest members of your family.

You spend extra cash, not allowed in your carefully planned grocery budget.
You spend about $6.00 on extra gas (15 mpg at $3.50/gal about 20 miles round trip to the grocery store). While in the store every delicious candy bar and sweet treat catches your eye. After all, your hungry, it's just before dinner time. You pick up a soda at $1.50 and a candy bar for $1.00. You've already tacked on $8.50 to that $3.75 gal of milk!! That is quite a bit of money wasted!!

COST OF 'MILK RUN'
Fuel. $6.00
Extras. $2.50
+ Milk. $3.75
---------------------------------
$12.25 for 1 gal of milk
+priceless time with your family

What if there were another option? What if you could have delicious flavorful milk waiting for you anytime you needed it?! What if this milk was in expensive and has at 25 year shelf life??

Welcome to THRIVE && the benefits of creating and maintaining a 'home store'. All the food your family loves right there in your home' waiting for you!!



Thrive Instant milk #10 can makes over 5 gallons of milk at $19.95 (about $3.89 a gallon) and has a shelf life of 25 years! (And by hosting a party you can get this and other products at a great discount!!) Just purchasing one can gives you security that you will never have to make an expensive milk run again!! With sky rocketing fuel cost, the cost of foods, especially milk, will also keep going up and up. Why not allocate some of your grocery budget toward stocking up on Thrive milk? This gives the the insurance and security of knowing no matter how expensive milk gets, you have delicious healthy milk available for your family which you purchased for a lower cost.

Food Storage && a Home Store is a win win option for you and your family!!

~ 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~

Visit my online store to purchase THRIVE today.

The "Home Store" Savings

Your making dinner. Everything is going perfect. You mix your dry ingredients in your bowl for your families favorite Corn Bread. You open the fridge to find... YOUR OUT OF MILK AGAIN! How will you finish dinner? What will the wee ones drink to give them a full tummy before bed? You NEED milk!!




You or your darling husband make a mad dash to the store for the precious commodity. You can run up to the local connivence store, where the milk is not as fresh & almost a dollar more expensive. Or you can go the 10 miles to the local grocery store for your usual brand.

You loose precious time with your family && husband. Dinner is delayed making everyone cranky, especially the youngest members of your family.

You spend extra cash, not allowed in your carefully planned grocery budget.
You spend about $6.00 on extra gas (15 mpg at $3.50/gal about 20 miles round trip to the grocery store). While in the store every delicious candy bar and sweet treat catches your eye. After all, your hungry, it's just before dinner time. You pick up a soda at $1.50 and a candy bar for $1.00. You've already tacked on $8.50 to that $3.75 gal of milk!! That is quite a bit of money wasted!!

COST OF 'MILK RUN'
Fuel. $6.00
Extras. $2.50
+ Milk. $3.75
---------------------------------
$12.25 for 1 gal of milk
+priceless time with your family


What if there were another option? What if you could have delicious flavorful milk waiting for you anytime you needed it?! What is this milk was in expensive and has at 25 year shelf life??

Welcome to THRIVE && the benefits of creating and maintaining a 'home store'. All the food your family loves right there in your home' waiting for you!!




Thrive Instant milk #10 can makes over 5 gallons of milk at $19.95 (about $3.89 a gallon) and has a shelf life of 25 years! Just purchasing one can gives you security that you will never have to make an expensive milk run again!! With sky rocketing fuel cost, the cost of foods, especially milk, will also keep going up and up. Why not allocate some of your grocery budget toward stocking up on Thrive milk? This gives the the insurance and security of knowing no matter how expensive milk gets, you have delicious healthy milk available for your family which you purchased for a lower cost.

Food Storage && a Home Store is a win win option for you and your family!!

My new Favorite Thing: Thrive

You may recall my desperate attempts at finding powdered eggs while attempting the WWII Ration diet. My search for powdered eggs quickly launched me into several “survivalist” & “preppers” websites. At the time, I didn’t think much of it. But after further research, being prepared and food storage was an avenue I had been looking for without even knowing!! After all, I am a BIG fan of homesteading, self sufficiency, going off grid, ect. I wanted some security and convenience to our food. I want a modern-day Victory Garden, Yes, and a small flock of poultry, a calf, and a few goats. But in unpredictable Texas weather, you need a food & survival “insurance policy”. Some of my friends thought I was crazy. Others thought it Typical Tawny.

One BIG selling point to our home is the large walk in pantry. I adore it. As you know I always love buying in bulk. I love to walk into a well-organized fully stocked pantry. It is like having the grocery store right next to your kitchen. I like to plan & prepare meals, I despise last minute trips to the grocery store!! Without a well planned list, my grocery budget is attacked and seems to never recover. 

For about a week after my “once-a-month” grocery trips, we would eat all the yummy fresh produce I had purchased. We wanted to gobble it all up, because, it spoils, after all. Then for 3 weeks we were back to canned goods, frozen foods, and whatever was left in my pantry.

This system just wasnt working. We needed to find a way to 1. Keep the pantry stocked. & 2. Make the fresh produce last longer.

Then like magic THRIVE!!



Well, not magic. But you get the picture. A friend of mine recommended the blog of one of her friends. She said this blogger was very crazy & like minded to me. And, My neighbor!! So, I clicked link to her blog, and WOW! I knew this neighbor would quickly become my friend. We just had too much in common!!

She was a consultant for a new company called Shelf Reliance/Thrive. It was the thing I had been looking for!!! A food rotation system. A Q to help you create a “Home Store”. Best of all: Freeze Dried Produce!!!

Finally! A way to meet my needs!! And a way to feed my family healthy, fresh, produce! With out all the waste!! Produce that would last all month (and then some!!)!

Then I got worried. What if this freeze dried stuff taste terrible??? Today, while visiting with my new friend, I had a chance to try and taste many of the products. I even brought some fruit and eggs home for the Mr to try! I must say, terrible this food is NOT!! I am absolutely addicted to the yummy raspberries! The tasty pineapples!! The flavorful Strawberries!! And the yogurt bites! SO TASTY! And best of all: A tasty, easy, healthy snack!! I can not say enough about how excited I am about these products!!

If you have never tried freeze dried foods, or have been less than happy with them, PLEASE try these products. They will have you hooked!

I’m so excited, I signed up as a consultant!! I'm the newest member of the Shelf Reliance Team!!

Check out my online store.

~Tawny~