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.
June Thrive Life Food Storage Specials
Are you as ready for summer as I am?! One word keeps running through my head – FINALLY!
This would be a great time to catch up on adding to your food storage (if you’re like me, May was a bit crazy). The June Thrive Life delivery specials will not disappoint. There are some fruity favorites and some good protein options to add to your long-term food storage.
**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.
Note: Thrive Life is doing something new!
You must type in the coupon code SAVE in order to get the special prices!!
Everything on sale this month is 25% off with the code SALE, and 30% off if you purchase 6 or more of the same product, same size.
1
MASHED POTATOES
Shelf Life - 5 years
These are gross if you make them with water. They taste like cardboard.
However, if you make them with butter and milk, they are superb! Ha!!!
One thing to note: these have a 5-year shelf life.
I also think the potatoes from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are just as good (as long as they are prepared with milk and butter), FYI!
To add Thrive Life’s mashed potatoes to your food storage, click here.
2
STRAWBERRY SLICes
Shelf Life - 25 years
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!
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.
3
Sweet Corn
Shelf Life - 25 years
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.
4
Diced Beef
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.
5
Diced Chicken
Shelf Life - 25 years
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.
6
Green Beans
Shelf Life - 25 years
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.
7
Instant Refried Beans
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
Chopped Onions
Shelf Life - 25 years
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.
9
Mozzarella Cheese
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.
10
Chopped Spinach
Shelf Life - 25 years
No clue – I literally have one recipe that uses spinach, and it’s for spinach artichoke dip, which just isn’t a priority for me, so we don’t store this. We’re just not a spinach family.
Click here if you’d like to add chopped spinach to your food storage.
Quick Ordering Reminders:
Note: Thrive Life is doing something new!
You must type in the coupon code SAVE in order to get the special prices!!
Everything on sale this month is 25% off with the code SALE, and 30% off if you purchase 6 or more of the same product, same size.
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
Related Posts:
Long Term Food Storage Basics: What you need to Know to Get Started
November 21, 2022
6 Comments
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.