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.
What you need to know about the Thrive Life Black Friday specials
Time to stock up!
I know you’re not here for a lengthy introduction, so all I’ll say is that this year the Thrive Life Black Friday specials includes some of my favorites!
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
Chopped Spinach - 50% off
I’m not much help here. Haven’t tried it since spinach isn’t in my regular meal rotation.
Click here if you want to try the chopped spinach (and let me know your thoughts if you try it).
2
Sweetened Cranberries - 50% off
These are ZINGY straight out of the can! But isn’t that what we would expect from cranberries??
Just like I wouldn’t recommend eating cranberries straight out of the bag, I wouldn’t recommend eating this right out of the can. But they ARE a wonderful option to be able to store for a time when cranberries may not be available.
Add freeze dried cranberries to your order by clicking this link.
3
Confetti Cake Bites - 45% off
I’ll be honest, these aren’t my favorite. I DO like confetti cake, but I think it’s the frosting that makes me like it. No frosting to be found with these.
I do have a friend who said her 8 year old LOVES these for a treat in her lunchbox though. So, maybe worth a try for you. They’re not overly sweet.
4
Cucumber Dices - 45% off
These are interesting – in a good way! They’re chopped SUPER teeny tiny.
They have a super fresh flavor – it’s hard to describe but it’s like the freshest cucumber I’ve ever had. These are actually really good just straight out of the can – but I also love throwing them on a salad!
*Warning: if you eat too many of them, they can chew up your mouth, kind of like Captain Crunch cereal. 😅
Click here if you’re ready to add cucumber dices to your order.
5
Green Bell Peppers - 45% off
If you like green bell peppers and use them when cooking, these are a safe bet. I think they’re actually pretty good to crunch on straight out of the can.
Click here to add freeze dried green bell peppers to your order.
6
Pepper Jack Cheese - 45% off
Haven’t tried it, but I do love the cheddar cheese and I’m sure this is similar. It’s cheese. Who doesn’t love cheese?
Click here to add freeze dried pepper jack cheese to your cart.
7
Cinnamon Apple Slices - 40% off
These are seriously SO amazing. A great snack for any day of the week!
I dare you to eat just one handful.
PS – Get the family can size here. Pantry cans disappear WAYYYYYYY too fast with something this good.
8
kale - 40% off
I have exactly one recipe that calls for kale, and I’ve never tried this in it, so I can’t speak to this either.
Click here if you would like to add freeze dried kale to your order.
9
Chicken Slices - 40% off
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.
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. 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!!!
10
Green Beans - 35% off
These are fine. Nothing to write home about – they’re 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 absolute favorite, but I definitely have some in our storage!
Click here if you’re ready to purchase green beans with a 25-year shelf life.
11
Sausage Crumbles - 35% off
This is one of my favorite meats from Thrive Life! It is DELICIOUS!
I don’t cook much with sausage, but when I do, I have no hesitation using this.
Just like ground beef, I recommend browning the sausage crumbles before adding them to a meal.
Click here if you’re ready to add these sausage crumbles to your food storage.
12
Cheese Sauce - 35% off
I’ve tried it and it’s fine.
I just don’t have any recipes that I desperately need a cheese sauce for, do I skip this in my food storage.
Note: This has a 10-year shelf life, so it’s shorter than the normal 25 year shelf life that most Thrive Life foods have.
Click here to add this convenient cheese sauce to your delivery.
13
Dragon Fruit - 30% off
This one is brand new to the Thrive Life inventory, so I’ve got nothing here.
I’m getting one can, so I can try it.
14
Blackberries - 30% off
I’m not a huge blackberry fan, but they do taste just like blackberries!
If you like blackberries, then you’ll most likely enjoy these.
15
Raspberries - 30% off
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. They’re what you would expect from freeze dried raspberries! Full of flavor and delicious!
16
Green Peas - 30% off
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.
17
Zucchini - 30% off
I’m sorry to say, I’m not a fan.
I ate it dry, straight out of the can, and that was great.
Then I rehydrated it and threw it in some pasta salad. It was a little squishy…like a foamy squishy. Sponge-y. That’s a better word for it! So a little bit of a weird texture when rehydrated. Some of that sponge-i-ness did go away when I cooked it with some spaghetti sauce.
But the real problem is the grain of sand sensation that you get when you eat it.
It literally tastes like there is a grain of sand in almost every bite. I am not sure what causes that with zucchini and not other foods, but it’s real. That’s a deal-breaker for me.
I’d much rather just sub in some broccoli, green beans, or peas, than deal with the sand.
Click here to purchase freeze-dried zucchini from Thrive Life (if you don’t mind eating sand every once in a while).
18
Instant Black Beans - 30% off
These are a stretch for me, because they cost so much more than normal cans of black beans from the grocery store. Since cans of beans typically have a shelf life of over a year from when you purchase them, it just makes sense to save the money and be vigilant about always making sure we have several cans in our pantry at any given time.
If you’d like to give these Instant Black Beans a try, click here.
19
Instant Brown Rice - 30% off
I made this and it was great!
However, just like the black beans, I can’t stomach paying this much for rice when I can get it from the store for a fraction of the price. Normal brown rice in a bag stays good for 6 months and you can make it last longer by using mylar bags or buckets. So to me, this isn’t worth the price.
**Note: This has a shelf life of 7 years, rather than the normal 25-year shelf life of most of these foods.
If you’d like to add Instant Brown Rice to your food storage, click here.
20
Butter Powder - 30% off
Have you ever thought about what you would do without butter?
If you’ve got Mac n Cheese in your short-term food storage, you’re gonna want butter. Do you like butter on your bread? How about your toast? Think of all the recipes that call for butter.
Don’t get me wrong – you can totally freeze butter. I recommend doing both if possible. Freeze a few packs, but I also feel a lot better having a few cans of this in my back pocket.
**Note the shelf life on Butter Powder is 5 years … This is one of the products that has a shorter shelf life than most, so keep that in mind and don’t go crazy. You’ll want to rotate through this quicker than the other freeze dried stuff.
This is not available year-round, so I recommend prioritizing this on your list of things to get this month!
Click here if you want to add butter powder to your food storage.
21
Fuji Apples - 30% off
These truly make a great snack for any time. Super convenient to toss in a lunch box or just munch straight out of the can standing in your kitchen.
Just beware, if you’re not going to eat them pretty quick (like within a couple to a few weeks) or if the lid isn’t secure, they will get kind of chewy.
In fact, I like these apple slices so much they earned a spot on my top 12 freeze dried favorites list.
However, I will say…I think I like the cinnamon apple slices even better! It’s a toss up…
22
Granny Smith Apples - 30% off
These are awesome. Just like the Fuji Apple slices, these make an awesome snack. They are tart, just like you’d expect, and they disappear fast!
23
Applesauce - 25% off
This is another one of Thrive Life’s products that isn’t always hanging around, so if you are wanting to try it I’d go ahead and add to cart.
While I could definitely live without applesauce, my family is used to dipping our pork chops in applesauce. Since I store pulled pork as one of our proteins in our long-term food storage, I want to make sure I have a way to make applesauce!
**Note: you do need a blender to make this applesauce, so this is not a good option during a power outage.
Click here to add dehydrated applesauce to your food storage.
24
Mangoes - 30% off
These are exactly what you’d expect and full of flavor! They aren’t chewy like the dried ones you get at the grocery store. You know the ones – covered in sugar and chew, chew, chew.
These are light, airy, and crunchy – great fruit snack.
25
Broccoli - 30% off
Really awesome veggie straight out of the can or reconstituted and cooked!
If I am wanting some warm fresh broccoli with dinner, I just throw some of this in a pot with some water and bring it to a boil and cook it for a couple minutes, just like I would do with a frozen veggie. It is SO nice to always have fresh veggies available. And can you imagine how amazing it would be to have this if you didn’t have access to fresh produce?!?!
Get your broccoli with a 25-year shelf life for your food storage here.
26
Onion Slices - 30% off
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.
27
Mashed Potatoes - 25% off
Honestly, these aren’t my favorite. There. I said it. They kind of taste like cardboard. And their shelf life is only 5 years.
If you want to try Thrive Life’s mashed potatoes, click here.
28
Diced Chicken - 25% off
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.
29
Scrambled Egg Mix - 25% off
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.
**Note: Shelf life on the eggs is 7 years.
30
Pulled Pork - 30% off
GET.THIS.
This is such a great way to add some protein to your food storage and it is a definite crowd pleaser. Tastes great and is so quick and easy. My entire family loves this.
31
Mozzarella Cheese - 25% off
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.
32
Pomegranate Yogurt Bites - 25% off
Just.Do.It.
These are so so good. Perfect for 72-hour kits. I’ve even gifted a case of this deliciousness to friends.
33
Strawberry Yogurt Bites - 25% off
Same melt-in-your-mouth crunchy when chewed, creamy as the experience goes on, as the other yogurt bites.
If you prefer a strawberry flavor, these are for you.
34
Vanilla Yogurt Bites - 25% off
A third flavor option.
They’re just so good.
Have I mentioned they have a 25-year shelf life, and are available in pantry can size?!!?
If you have 72-hour kits, please take my advice and get some of these for a snack/comfort food.
And then thank me every 6 months for the next 25 years that you aren’t having to rotate them.
35
Classic Tomato Sauce - 25% off
I haven’t tried this – I have only tried the tomato powder. This is a different item.
**Note: 10-year shelf life.
Click here if you’re ready to add classic tomato sauce to your order.
36
Instant White Rice - 25% off
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!
**Note: the shelf life on this is 30 years. Yes, 3-0. Just thought I’d give you some good news on a longer shelf life, rather than shorter.
37
Country White Dough Mix - 25% off
It’s a high price to pay for a loaf of bread, but it’s good!!!
I made a loaf of bread on a Sunday afternoon, turned around, and it was gone.
**Note: shelf life on this is only 3 years. So you’ll need to rotate through this fairly frequently if this is your bread plan.
38
Honey Crystals - 25% off
I’ve made it.
It works.
Honey from the store sure is more convenient. I know it says it has an expiration date, but if it’s crystalized or hardened, you can stick it in the microwave for a few seconds and it usually thins right out.
I’ve honestly stopped ordering this, because it’s kind of a pain and it tastes a little different.
Great in a pinch, but I’d rather keep well-stocked with stuff from the store.
39
Coconut Bites - 25% off
These were so popular in the Snackie size that Thrive recently made them available in the pantry can size, with a 25-year shelf life!
These are a DELICIOUS snack if you like coconut.
- Throw it in a trail mix
- Sprinkle it on top of your cereal
- Eat it straight out of the can
40
Garlic - 35% off
This is another item that’s not around all the time. So, if you’re interested in trying it, now is the time to grab some.
I personally store the garlic in a jar, and always have a couple in my backstock, so I’m not worried about storing freeze dried garlic.
But it wouldn’t be a bad idea either…this is very similar to onions.
Skip the smelly hands and the mess and just throw this in instead of using fresh garlic!
RECAP
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
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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.