Short-Term Food Storage Basics: Part 1 – Getting Started
December 12, 2022
3 Comments
A beginner’s guide to short-term food storage and the differences between short-term and long-term food storage.
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March Thrive Life Food Storage Specials
Welcome to March! Anyone else feel like January was five years long and then you blinked and February was over? Okay, good. Me too.
Keep reading to get the lowdown on the March Thrive Life specials. As always, I’m sharing my opinion and these foods are in no particular order.
**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.
1
Strawberry Slices - 40% off
Shelf Life - 25 years
**Strawberry Slices have an OVERSTOCK banner on them, which means they may be 1 or 2 years into their 25-year shelf life already.
If you love strawberries, you’ll love these!
They are bursting with flavor…a fan favorite, for sure!
These are also a great thing to purchase in a pantry can size to throw in a 72-hour kit for a snack. You can’t beat not having to rotate a snack food for 25 years that your kids will happily gobble up!
Click here if you’re ready to purchase Strawberry Slices for up to 40% off! (40% off a case of #10 cans, 34% off single #10 cans)
PS – These do get soft and chewy after being open for a few weeks. So if it’s going to be a while before you get through an entire can, consider dumping the strawberries into an airtight container once you open them.
2
Chopped Onions - 35% off
Shelf Life - 25 years
**Chopped Onions have an OVERSTOCK banner on them, which means they may be 1 or 2 years into their 25-year shelf life already.
Have you ever given someone freeze dried food for a gift?
No? Well, I sure have. No lie – I give cases of these chopped onions as gifts. I’ve been told it’s life-changing.
These are THE NUMBER ONE THING I RECOMMEND FROM THRIVE LIFE!
Never cry over chopping onions again. I use these almost daily when cooking.
Click here to add freeze dried chopped onions to your delivery. And get a case! You will NOT regret this!
PS – these take a long time to get soft after opening them, just in the can they come in. So I don’t bother repackaging them once I open the can. Even if they do get a little soft (if it has taken me a few months to get through an entire can, which is rare), you can’t tell a difference in the meal, so it’s a non-issue for me.
3
Red Bell Peppers - 35% off
Shelf Life - 25 years
**Red Bell Peppers have an OVERSTOCK banner on them, which means they may be 1 or 2 years into their 25-year shelf life already.
My family doesn’t like cooked bell peppers in meals, so I can’t speak for these.
I have tried them straight from the can and they’re fine for a snack – nothing to write home about, but nothing to complain about either.
4
Blueberries - 35% off
Shelf Life - 25 years
**Blueberries have an OVERSTOCK banner on them, which means they may be 1 or 2 years into their 25-year shelf life already.
Crunchy and sweet. What’s not to love?
The only problem is, there’s no hiding the fact that you’ve been snacking on them. After a handful of these, your tongue, teeth, and lips will be a beautiful shade of deep blueish-purpleish-blackish. But don’t worry- that’s all natural color right there. Wanna know how I know?
There’s one ingredient in this can: blueberries.
No additives.
No preservatives.
Just blueberries.
25 year shelf life.
I personally get the blueberries in the pantry can size, because I like them super fresh and crisp. This is one of those fruits that does get soft and chewy after being open for a few weeks, so if you’re not going to go through an entire number 10 can within a few weeks, I recommend ordering these in the pantry can size, OR be prepared to pour them into something that is airtight once you open them. It just depends on how quickly you’ll go through them.
To add freeze dried blueberries to your food storage, click here.
5
Mozzarella Cheese - 30% off
Shelf Life - 25 years
I actually haven’t tried the mozzarella cheese, but I have tried the freeze dried cheddar cheese, and it’s awesome.
So even though I haven’t tried the mozzarella, I am going to assume it’s pretty similar to the cheddar, in that it reconstitutes and melts the same as the cheddar. I just haven’t tried it yet!
Although, I feel a lasagna trial run coming on….so stay tuned!
Click here if you want to add freeze dried Mozzarella Cheese to your next order.
6
Chicken Slices - 25% off
Shelf Life - 25 years
Most people think this tastes totally fine. Unless you’re a chicken snob like me, this would be a good addition to your food storage.
Pro Tip: I will say, freeze dried meats have become SO much more tolerable for me once I started browning them in a frying pan first. This makes all the difference to me. Don’t just stop at reconstituting the meat. Take the extra couple minutes and brown it with a little bit of oil!
7
Scrambled Egg Mix - 25% off
Shelf Life - 7 years
Cookie dough. Do I need to say more? Mix this in and no more halfway worrying about eating the dough raw.
Also, no shells. It’s a win all around!
They also cook up just like regular scrambled eggs. I definitely would not want to live life without eggs, so these are a MUST in our food storage.
8
Tomato Dices - 25% off
Shelf Life - 25 years
Haven’t tried these – my family doesn’t like cooked tomatoes, so these don’t make sense for my food storage.
9
Instant White Rice - 25% off
Shelf Life - 25 years
Cooks up just like any other instant rice and tastes great! I don’t know about your family, but we go through A LOT of rice – I would hate to be without such a popular staple.
However, I apply the same logic to rice as I do to the refried beans. Rice has a really decent shelf life, just in the packaging it comes in from the store. Minute Rice in a box is a heck of a lot cheaper than this Thrive Instant White Rice. So…I store Minute Rice in a box, and I rotate through it as I use it.
Having said that, this rice is super delicious and super fast to cook!
10
Instant Milk - 50% off
Shelf Life - 25 years
**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! 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).
This used to be the only milk I recommended storing, but now there’s a really closer runner-up. I promise honesty, so here it is: the LDS Home Storage Center has upgraded their milk and it is really good! It’s cheaper than Thrive’s milk, so I’ll link it here for ya.
The 2 biggest differences between Thrive’s and the LDS:
Thrive’s has a 25-year shelf life, where the LDS milk has a 20-year shelf life.
Thrive’s comes in #10 cans and pantry cans, where the LDS milk comes in mylar bags.
The cost per gallon of Thrive’s milk in a #10 can on this sale: $6.89
The cost per gallon of the LDS Church’s milk: $3.94
If you want to stick with Thrive’s milk, 50% off is a screamin’ deal. My kids can only tell the difference between this and fresh store bought milk if they see me mixing it up. I cannot recommend this milk enough.
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.
If you have questions:
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
Quick Ordering Reminders:
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