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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February Thrive Life Specials: What You Need to Know
Is it just me or was January the longest month ever? I’m breathing a big sigh of relief that we’re finally on to the next month.
The February Thrive Life specials are pretty good. There are definitely a few I highly recommend. Thrive is also doing one of their case lot sales this month. Be sure to check out the 7 different foods to see if one of your favorites is included. You can snag a 6-can case of the family size.
Let’s get to it!
**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
Mushroom pieces - 40% off
Shelf Life - 25 years
YES!
Who else reaches for the mushrooms and they’re black and slimy? It feels like every time I buy fresh mushrooms, they go bad before I get the chance to use them. Because of this, I use Thrive Life’s freeze dried mushrooms in my cooking instead of fresh mushrooms. Every single time.
They are so awesome to have on hand to just toss in a sauce. You can rehydrate first or if you’re putting them in a meal with liquid in it (like soup), just toss them right in.
Super convenient for every day and an awesome option to give you some variety in your food storage meals.
Click here to add the mushroom pieces to your order.
**Freeze Dried Mushrooms have an OVERSTOCK banner on them, which means they may be 1 or 2 years into their 25-year shelf life already.
2
Green Peas - 30% off
Shelf Life - 25 years
These are pretty dang good. I actually think they’re good straight out of the can. Have you ever had a Cup O’ Noodle? You know how there are always a couple peas at the top? That’s exactly what these are: freeze dried peas.
They’re great straight from the can, they’re great cooked in a meal (like chicken pot pie), and they’re great reconstituted and heated up as a side of vegetables.
3
Onion Slices - 25% off
Shelf Life - 25 years
These taste just as good as the chopped onions and cook up just as well. I just prefer them to be smaller, so I like the chopped onions. But, if you use onions a lot, go ahead and add some of these to your cart.
They’re quick and easy and so much better than crying while you slice up a fresh onion.
If you want to see a reel where I compare chopped onions to onion slices, click here.
Click here to add freeze dried onion slices to your food storage.
4
Cheddar Cheese - 25% off
Shelf Life - 25 years
YES. Yes to all the cheese.
This is 100% cheddar cheese. It’s a weird phenomenon eating dry, somewhat crunchy cheese from a can, but it’s crazy how the taste is 100% there, even before reconstituting it.
After reconstituting it, you have totally normal, functional cheese. It even melts like regular cheese!
Can you imagine life without cheese? Especially life where you are already limited on certain foods, so you’re having to improvise a little (or a lot)? Cheese just makes everything go down a little bit easier, amiright?
Don’t be sad. Add freeze dried cheddar cheese to your order.
5
Grilled Diced Chicken - 25% off
Shelf Life - 25 years
By now, I think I’ve made it clear that I am not a fan of anything other than freshly cooked chicken. This tastes like microwaved chicken to me when I reconstitute it. It makes sense – it’s not Thrive’s fault. It’s just the nature of cooking meat and then reheating it later. I don’t fault Thrive – just my picky taste buds.
BUT, most people think this tastes totally fine. So unless you’re a chicken snob like me, this would be a good addition to your food storage.
6
Diced Beef - 35% off
Shelf Life - 25 years
This is pretty darn good! I will say, it has a bit of a reheated taste – I can definitely tell it’s not fresh meat, but the rest of my family can’t. It really depends on your sensitivity to meat.
As with all meats, I highly recommend browning this real quick in a pan (after reconstituting it, but before adding it to your recipe).
My favorite way to use this is to reconstitute it and throw it in a pot with some gravy that I make from a seasoning packet, and then I serve the gravy and meat over rice.
You can purchase diced beef to add to your food storage HERE.
**Diced Beef has an OVERSTOCK banner on it, which means it may be 1 or 2 years into its 25-year shelf life already.
7
Instant Refried Beans - 25% off
Shelf Life - 25 years
I have tried these and they’re totally fine; it’s hard to mess up refried beans.
So the reason I don’t store these isn’t because they’re gross. It’s just because it’s not an economical way to store refried beans.
Without boring you too terribly much with all the ins and outs of short-term food storage, I will just say this: A can of refried beans from the store is about $1, maybe $2. Let’s be generous and say one pantry can of these refried beans is equivalent to 3 store-bought cans of refried beans. That’s $3-$6 worth of beans (that are ready to dump out of the can – no prep needed), and you’ll pay $11.35 for it from Thrive. That’s anywhere from double to quadruple the price.
So it all comes down to shelf life. These Instant Refried Beans do have a shelf life of 25 years, which is pretty awesome. But cans of refried beans that come from the grocery store usually have about a year-ish shelf life. So I’d rather store a year’s supply of cans from the grocery store than a year’s supply from Thrive.
The catch is, I have to rotate my store-bought cans. All the time.
With Thrive, I can set them and forget them (for 25 years).
I have a can rotator, and I am used to using this method with all the canned foods I use on a regular basis, so this is a no-brainer for me.
If you know you are not going to be good at always keeping a bunch of cans of refried beans from the grocery store in the pantry, and/or you’re going to be horrible at rotating them, then by all means, get the refried beans from Thrive!
I just wanted to be transparent about why I’m going to pass on the beans.
Click here if you want to give Thrive Life’s instant refried beans a try.
8
Banana Slices - 35% off
Shelf Life - 25 years
These are super flavorful. I don’t love them, but I don’t hate them. It really will depend on how ripe you like your bananas – I prefer a banana with some green still, so these are a bit too ripe for me.
My daughter, on the other hand, can’t get enough of these! So it really just depends on your preference.
One more thing to note, these are not chip crunchy. You’ll still get a bit of crisp, but it’s more airy. The classic banana chips that you’re probably thinking of are dehydrated – these are freeze dried!
If you want to order freeze dried bananas, click here.
**Freeze Dried Banana Slices have an OVERSTOCK banner on them, which means they may be 1 or 2 years into their 25-year shelf life already.
9
Raspberries - 35% off
Shelf Life - 25 years
These pack a punch for sure, so get ready to pucker up!
These are really tasty, but I prefer eating them WITH something else, to tone down the tartness.
But they really are what you would expect from freeze dried raspberries! Full of flavor and delicious!
Click here to order freeze dried raspberries.
**Freeze Dried Raspberries have an OVERSTOCK banner on them, which means they may be 1 or 2 years into their 25-year shelf life already.
10
Instant Milk - 50% off
Shelf Life - 25 years
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.
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.
**Instant Milk has an OVERSTOCK banner on it, which means it may be 1 or 2 years into its 25-year shelf life already.
11
Sweetened Cranberries case lot- 50% off
Shelf Life - 25 years
To me, cranberries are for holiday cooking and baking. I’d maybe keep ONE can, but not a whole case.
That being said, these taste just like you think cranberries would and if you like them, I think you’ll be happy to have them in your food storage.
Click here to add a case of freeze dried cranberries to your order.
**Freeze Dried Cranberries have an OVERSTOCK banner on them, which means they may be 1 or 2 years into their 25-year shelf life already.
12
Cucumber Dices Case Lot - 45% off
Shelf Life - 25 years
Thrive’s cucumbers are fine, but I do think a #10 can is a bit much. Let alone 6 #10 cans. That’s a whole lotta cucumbers! But, maybe you really really love and use cucumbers a lot.
Click here to add freeze dried cucumbers to your delivery this month.
**Freeze Dried Cucumber Dices have an OVERSTOCK banner on them, which means they may be 1 or 2 years into their 25-year shelf life already.
13
Granny Smith Apples case lot - 35% off
Shelf Life - 25 years
These are great. I prefer the cinnamon apple slices, but it’s good to have variety so I’d definitely recommend these apple slices.
To add freeze dried granny smith apple slices to your order, click here.
**Freeze Dried Granny Smith Apples have an OVERSTOCK banner on them, which means they may be 1 or 2 years into their 25-year shelf life already.
14
Blackberries Case Lot - 35% off
Shelf Life - 25 years
Blackberries aren’t my favorite fruit, but if you do love them, these will do the trick and you’ll be so happy to have them in your long-term food storage. They taste just as you would expect!
Click here to add a case of freeze dried blackberries to your delivery this month.
**Freeze Dried Blackberries have an OVERSTOCK banner on them, which means they may be 1 or 2 years into their 25-year shelf life already.
15
Zucchini case lot - 35% off
Shelf Life - 25 years
Honestly, it’s fine. Don’t love it, don’t hate it.
I do feel like it tastes like there is a grain of sand in every bite, which is less than appealing. Not sure if it was just that one can, or if that’s just something that happens to zucchini when you freeze dry it.
Regardless, I won’t be getting any more of this.
Click here to add a case of freeze dried zucchini to your order.
**Zucchini has an OVERSTOCK banner on it, which means it may be 1 or 2 years into its 25-year shelf life already.
16
Mangoes Case Lot - 35% off
Shelf Life - 25 years
These mangoes taste good, I just prefer the pantry cans because we don’t go through a #10 can very quickly. If you have big mango fans in your house however, you’d be fine.
One thing to be aware of is that these do get soft and chewy, so make sure you repackage them in an airtight container if you won’t be going through an entire can within a couple weeks.
You can also check out this Instagram reel where I compare a 6-week old mango to a fresh one.
Click here to add a case of mangoes to your order.
**Freeze Dried Mangoes have an OVERSTOCK banner on them, which means they may be 1 or 2 years into their 25-year shelf life already.
17
Applesauce case lot - 25% off
Shelf Life - 25 years
This stuff is really good!
Just be aware that you do need a blender to make it, so it might not be a good option for your power outage stash.
Click here to add a case of dehydrated applesauce to your order.
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:
Related Posts:
Long Term Food Storage Basics: What you need to Know to Get Started
November 21, 2022
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Answers to some of your most asked questions about long-term food storage, including the difference between dehydrated and freeze dried food.
My top 12 Freeze Dried Foods from Thrive Life
August 15, 2022
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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.