Shelf Reliance has released a slew of new products over the last couple months. Although I had tried many of them, I had not yet tried them all...until recently. My fabulous Upline hosted a team tasting at which we tried all the new products released last November and this year. I have to give Shelf Reliance a huge "thumbs up" on the fantastic new THRIVE foods! Here's the run-down:
Freeze Dried (FD) Seasoned Chicken Slices
-Cooked chicken seasoned with salt and sliced
-Great for salads, wraps, fajitas and more
-I love the texture of this chicken and will definitely be adding it to my Home Store!
(FD) Beef Dices
-Large chunks of cooked beef
-Also perfect for fajitas
-I love our Roast Beef, but will be adding the Beef Dices for recipes when I want larger chunks of meat. It has a fantastic texture and is more tender than the Roast Beef.
(FD) Tomato Dices
-Tomato Dices will be a great addition to any Home Store. If you find yourself wanting tomatoes for a recipe and don't want to head to the store, these are a must-have!
(FD) Green Chili Peppers
-I have been using the Chili Peppers for a month now and LOVE them! I don't often purchase canned green chiles, because I find myself wasting half a can for recipes that would be too spicy for my children. With the THRIVE Chiles, I simply rehydrate what I want.
-THRIVE Green Chili Peppers are cheaper than canned green chiles at
the supermarket.
-THRIVE Green Chili Peppers are spicier than canned green chiles, so
alter the amount you use in your recipes to fit your family's tastes.
(FD) Red Bell Peppers
-The Red Bell Peppers are large dices. You may want to break the chunks into smaller pieces for those with finicky tastes.
-These peppers have a very sweet taste to them and reconstitute well. I tried them in fajitas and they were delicious.
-The freeze dried peppers do not have seeds in the can like the Mixed Bell Peppers do.
(FD) Green Bell Peppers
-The Green Peppers are large dices. You may want to break the chunks into smaller pieces for those with finicky tastes.
-These peppers have a very potent bell pepper taste. These were also in the fajitas I tried and were very tasty.
(FD) Zucchini
-I have been using the zucchini for a couple months now and they, like the chili peppers, are one of my new favorites.
-I tried sauteing the zucchini with my Ham Fried Rice recipe with fantastic results. If you're careful not to over-cook the zucchini it comes out incredibly close to the same texture of fresh zucchini when sauteed.
-THRIVE Zucchini is not nearly as cheap as growing your own in a
garden, but an awesome way to get zucchini in your diet during the
winter time when zucchini is so expensive at the supermarket.
(FD) Whole Strawberries
-Maybe I'm a weirdo, but I thought the Whole Strawberries were sweeter than our Strawberry Slices. It could just be the difference in berries (you know how some are always sweeter than others.
-The consensus at the tasting was that we are not sure what the benefits would be of having whole strawberries in your storage over
strawberry slices, but the whole strawberries are less expensive, so
I'll buy them!
(FD) Sweet Cherry Halves
-Love, love, love the cherries! These have a delicious flavor and texture.
-Heather at Cooking with My Food Storage came up with the most fantastic recipe for Cherry Chocolate Cookies that you absolutely must try!
-These cherries are a little pricey at $4.69/cup, but to me, are worth
having in your Home Store. If we happened to have a cherry crop
failure, I'll sure be grateful to have some stored!
Apple Sauce
-This product has me a little lost. The texture is about the size of millet, so not the smooth applesauce I'm used to (I make my own). I was not a huge fan of the taste, but will store some so that if in the case of an earthquake I lose all my home-canned applesauce, I will still have some for baking.
-The apple sauce is not sweetened, so it would be good as baby food
or to use in baking.
-As a heads up, you can replace unsweetened apple sauce for oil
called for in baking, cup for cup. This will greatly reduce the amount
of fat in your baked goods and make them more moist.
-Some of the other consultants at the tasting suggested sprinkling it
dry on granola, yogurt and oatmeal.
-Some of the other consultants at the tasting suggested sprinkling it
dry on granola, yogurt and oatmeal.
(FD) Red Seedless Grapes
-My children and I love the grapes. I love the flavor and texture and the grapes themselves are huge. We have been using them as a snack in our home.
-Some of the consultants at the tasting suggesting reconstituting them and using them in chicken salad and jellos. I take THRIVE Chicken Salad (see recipe below) to classes and it's always a huge hit. I think
I'll try it with grapes next time.
I'll try it with grapes next time.
-I'm finding that people either like the grapes or don't. I think it's
mostly a texture thing.
THRIVE Chicken Salad
1 c. THRIVE FD Chicken Dices
1/3 c. THRIVE FD Celery
1/4 c. THRIVE FD Onions
8 THRIVE FD Grapes, smashed with a rolling pin
Place above ingredients in a medium saucepan. Add three cups water and half a teaspoon salt. Bring to a boil; boil 3 minutes (I think the boiling makes the chicken more tender). Drain very well-the chicken tends to hold water and will make the salad runny if you don't drain it well enough. Place the salad mixture in a bowl; add Mayo, salt and pepper to taste. That's it! Chicken salad in less than 10 minutes!
(FD) Fuji Apple Slices
-We really enjoy the fuji apple slices as a snack at our house. These slices have the skin on, so you're getting all that added nutrition.
-Because these are freeze dried, they have a much crisper texture than the dehydrated apples we carry.
(FD) Granny Smith Apple Slices
-These apples are skinless and are very fluffy, almost to the point of dissolving in your mouth.
-Very tart apple taste. If you like granny smith apples, you'll love them freeze dried.
-I will be experimenting with using these apples in turnovers and
tarts to see how they hold up in baking.
Cherry Yogurt Bites
-My favorite yogurt bites are the strawberry and vanilla because of their creamy texture. The Cherry Yogurt Bites have the most crunchy texture of any of the yogurts so far.
-Many other people have told me they think they have a great cherry taste. To me they taste sweet, but without a distinct cherry flavor.Overall I think Shelf Reliance really hit the mark with the new products. I am looking forward to adding them to my family's Home Store.
Is there a product you're interested in having me do a review of? Leave a comment letting me know.
Autumn Christiansen
Independent Consultant-Shelf Reliance
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