Short-Term Food Storage Basics: Part 1 – Getting Started
A beginner’s guide to short-term food storage and the differences between short-term and long-term food storage.
With the start of a new year, perhaps you’re focusing on some new goals. Or maybe re-starting some ones you left behind in previous years. If adding to your food storage is one of those goals (which is a really good idea), then I’ve got you covered. The January Thrive Life specials are a great place to start.
Some of my freeze dried favorites are up to 50% off this month. Keep reading and I’ll tell you which items are on sale, the discount percentage, and what I think about each food.
**This post contains affiliate links, which means if you click on a link and make a purchase, I may make a small commission at no extra cost to you.
This freeze dried broccoli is really good – straight out of the can or reconstituted and cooked.
It is SO nice to always have a fresh veggie option on hand. Plus, if there was no access to fresh produce at some point, you’re probably going to start craving a vegetable and be so glad you have this stashed away.
Nothing to shout from the rooftops about, but these are totally fine. They just taste like green beans. I will say that the stringy little side seam that is on green beans feels a little amplified in these sometimes, but it just depends.
Not my favorite veggie, no matter what form they come in, but I definitely keep some in our long term food storage.
Click here to add green beans with a 25-year shelf life to your food storage.
I LOVE this crunchy goodness. It’s honestly one of my favorite things to snack on and I think you’ll love it too.
In fact, it’s so good that it made the list of my top 12 favorite Thrive Life foods.
If you want to know all the details about this freeze dried corn, be sure to check out this post where I break down serving size, cost per serving and how I use it.
I haven’t tried this yet, so I can’t vouch for this specific freeze dried cheese. BUT, I have tried the cheddar cheese and it’s amazing.
Reconstitutes, and even melts, just like fresh cheese. So I’m going to assume this is the same, just pepper jack.
Click here to add pepper jack cheese to your food storage this month.
Most people like this.
I don’t. I’m super picky when it comes to chicken, so this tastes like microwaved chicken to me.
If you’re not a chicken snob like me, then this makes a great protein to have in your long-term food storage.
Click here if you want to add this freeze dried diced chicken to your order.
Meat with a 25-year shelf life? No joking here. And it’s actually pretty good!
Use it just like you would in any recipe you’d normally put ground beef in. Cool, huh?
Its appearance does resemble dog food, I’m not gonna lie. But once you have it cooked up and browned and in a meal, your kids won’t know what it looked like coming out of the can, I promise.
As far as taste: I can tell a difference from fresh meat. I am hyper-sensitive to reheated or precooked meat, so that makes sense that I can taste the difference when I use this. It has the same vibe as hamburger that you’ve cooked and either frozen or refrigerated, and then reheated. Which makes sense; afterall, this hamburger is COOKED! (Which means, yes! You can eat it right out of the can for some protein if that’s your style – nothin’ raw about it!)
Pro Tip: I have found that browning the hamburger after reconstituting it makes a HUGE difference in the taste and makes it taste a lot fresher to me, so I would highly recommend throwing it in a pan and browning it before throwing it into a meal. After finding this out, I honestly can’t tell a difference between this and fresh ground beef most of the time.
**Fuji Apple Slices have an OVERSTOCK banner on them, which means they may be 1 or 2 years into their 25-year shelf life already.
These freeze dried apple slices are a really good snack! My family loves to toss them in lunch boxes for every day use. Just be aware that you need to eat them within in a couple weeks because they do start to get kinda chewy after awhile.
They’re crunchy and full of flavor and earned their way to a spot on my top 12 freeze dried favorites list.
If you’re ready to add these Fuji Apples to your food storage, click here.
**Freeze Dried Pineapple has an OVERSTOCK banner on it, which means it may be 1 or 2 years into its 25-year shelf life already.
This is such an amazing sweet snack and perfect for your 72-hour kits (in the pantry can size, of course). Seriously, SO good.
I love this pineapple so much that it made the cut for my top 12 items I keep in my food storage.
Check out this post if you’re looking for the breakdown on shelf life, quantity and more.
To add freeze dried pineapple to your food storage, click here.
I have only ever used canned black beans, so the consistency of these seemed a bit mushy to me.
Truthfully, I think it’s more cost effective to just buy cans of black beans at your local grocery store or grab a case from Costco. Especially if they’re on regular rotation in your house.
If you’d like to give these Instant Black Beans a try, click here.
**Instant Milk has an OVERSTOCK banner on it, which means it may be 1 or 2 years into its 25-year shelf life already.
This stuff is GREAT!
I think this is one of the items that sets Thrive Life apart from other food storage companies. Their milk is really really good. Unless my kids see me mixing it up, they can’t tell the difference.
I definitely think this is one staple everyone should have in their food storage. (Well, I guess if your family is dairy-free it wouldn’t make sense. But, everyone else should have some.) Even if no one drinks it by the glass in your household, I bet you have a handful of recipes that call for milk (like mac & cheese).
If you want to know more about this milk, including cost per serving, go read this post.
If you’re ready to add this instant milk to your order, click here.
PLEASE send me an email! Don’t delay getting started on your food storage just because something is confusing. I am here to help. If something is confusing to you, or even if you have questions about a previous order, PLEASE ASK!
melanie@planforawesome.com
There are 6 family (#10) cans per case OR 10 pantry cans per case
Make sure you are adding items to your DELIVERY ORDER (the little truck in the upper right corner); not the retail shopping cart
During the checkout process, be sure to check the box when it is offered to you to sign up for the Monthly Delivery Service. That is what gets you these great deals!
Check out this post for everything you need to know about how to sign up as a consultant
PLEASE email me at: melanie@planforawesome.com
A beginner’s guide to short-term food storage and the differences between short-term and long-term food storage.
Answers to some of your most asked questions about long-term food storage, including the difference between dehydrated and freeze dried food.
While every family’s food storage needs are a little different, every family needs food storage. These 12 items are my top favorites – most of them I even use on a regular basis when I’m out of the grocery store version.