Trim Healthy Breakfast

Well I'm smiling over here with 31 lbs. lost so far with Trim Healthy Mama and I thought I'd share my breakfast this morning.

I love having a couple of eggs in a Low Carb Mama Lupe wrap with some salsa, but my Wal-Mart quit carrying them. To improvise this morning I made Homemade Gluten-free Low Carb wraps from this Blog (Sheri Graham). While they may not take the place of Mama Lupe's they were still very yummo with cheesy eggs, turkey bacon, and salsa.

I like to bake my bacon, hey that's fun to say. Bake my bacon.....okay moving right along. I bake it at 350 for 14 minutes. I think the trick to yummolicious turkey bacon is to cook it until it's VERY crispy, tastes more like real bacon. My brother says it tastes like Dog treats......(Hmmm, how would he know?) anyways I beg to differ.

When I scramble my eggs I add 1 slice of cheddar cheese torn in bits while they are cooking, and lots of pepper!!

Yes that is a bulletproof coffee above! On the Trim Healthy Mama facebook group I saw Pearl mention if you have a Heavy S breakfast keep the butter and coconut oil to 1 tsp. per cup of coffee. 

Hope your day is fab!!!

~Marie

On my way to becoming a Trim Healthy Mama

Or as my husband likes to call it "Trim Hot Mama"

I am so excited about my new lifestyle I could just skip through the living room, oh yeah I've been doing that. :) That burns calories, which means I'll lose even more weight, it's a win-win situation.

I ate so good on my pregnancy with my 4th child, lots of protein and good foods and I had very minimal weight gain, after I had her I went back down to my then pre-pregnancy weight. Where I was still in a size 18.

I let all those bad foods back into my life and crept back up to a little over the 200 lb mark and I was not so thrilled with myself. I made 5-6 attempts to lose the weight trying the 30 day shred, cutting back, walking more.......none of it lasted over a week.

I had noticed when the Trim Healthy Mama book came out several months ago but I just did not have the funds at the time, knowing what I know now, I should have made it happen then. Talk about a life-changer.

When it came up in my facebook newsfeed again I read Gwen's testimony and after I read her testimony I couldn't buy the book fast enough. You can find the book here: Trim Healthy Mama. Trust me it's worth EVERY penny!!!

I devoured that book for an entire day, kept notes in a journal, made out a food list, got the groceries that night and started the next day on July 6th. NO. TURNING. BACK.....EVER. I say that because of the way I feel, I feel awesome. After just a few weeks of being on "the plan" my 7 year old niece looked at me said, "Aunt Phallin, you look  younger". This 31 year old will take that!!!

The way I felt before was like I lived in a fog, tired, fatigued and miserable about how I looked. While I still have 30-40 lbs. to lose I'm pretty excited about the size 14 that I'm sporting.

These kind of pictures are always so humiliating, but they truly show the progress. The second picture was just a week of being on the Trim Healthy Mama plan and I was amazed at the swelling that had went down in my neck and face. The science of this eating plan will transform your life, truly. 

I haven't been in a size 14 for a few years so I am super thrilled about that. I haven't been in a size 10 since my wedding day and I'm tellin' ya that size is right around the corner! YEE-HAW! 

Can I get an Amen? :)

If your like me and you've made several attempts to lose weight with  no luck you owe it to yourself to see what's so amazing within the pages of  Trim Healthy Mama. 

So far I have two friends that have started and both have only been at it for a week to two weeks and together have lost around 17 lbs. WOW!

Oh yes let me just mention some of the added benefits I've been experiencing on this eating plan. Some of those benefits include, amazing almost baby-soft skin, like WOW!, more energy, hair and nails that are growing at an incredible rate of speed,  and a hubby that can't keep his eyes off of me (I'll take that)!

If you buy the book and decide to get started I've included some products below that I use faithfully on this eating plan and wouldn't want to go without.

This stuff thickens food and helps you feel full!

Wonderful basic protein powder without all that extra nasty stuff inlcuded.

I love xylitol because there is no after-taste like there is with stevia.

There are some amazing muffin recipes in the book that use this flax seed meal. So yummy!!!

STOP! and let me tell you what the Lord has done for me....

I feel like the title of a sweet little Children's Bible song is appropriate for my blog post today. Because when God does something awesome for you it's pretty hard to keep it quiet. 

I guess you could say last week for us was like a Job week. Thankfully we have our health and our children and a roof over our heads so I needn't complain but everything was going wrong. And I think just the fact of it all happening at once felt overwhelming. 

We believe the transmission on our van is going out, at first it was grinding and sometimes when we are driving up hills it doesn't seem to want to make it up.

The lawn mower we were borrowing wouldn't start after multiple times of hubby trying to get it going.

While my husband was out of town the refrigerator quit working. 

And while we are out of debt (thank you Lord) the stack of bills that week and needs just seemed unconquerable. 

A few days before all of this happened I saw in my facebook news feed the advertisement for this book: 

Overwhelmed: Hope and Help for the Financially Weary

I knew I needed that book. I prayed to the Lord, "Please let me make an ebay sell today so I can buy that book" He answered. I bought it, read it, WOW! The testimonies in those pages were amazing to say the least and absolutely the encouragement I needed for my Job week.

Makes me think of the song by the Isaacs..."Stand still and let God move".

The book really opened my eyes and helped me realize that I can't fix my problems on my own. God allows them for a reason and He'll fix them when He's ready. To Him alone be the Glory.

Back to the refrigerator.

I kept everything in a cooler for about a week and really it wasn't that difficult. I was thinking, "I can do this for awhile." I like camping. :) I continued to check craigslist for a good deal on a fridge and the cheapest I could find was a dorm fridge for $50-$75 (which I was considering). Something is better than nothing.

All that week the Holy Spirit reminded me of the Scripture in Philipians 4:19 "But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus" 

I checked craigslist for the umpteenth time and noticed a basic fridge for $35. The ad said it worked but just needed cleaned. An awesome friend with a truck agreed very last minute to take my hubby to go get it (a good hour away). 

Once they got there and loaded it hubby asks, "So what do we owe ya?" The lady replied, "Absolutely nothing, I want you to have it" He was in shock. I know it was just $35 but it was $35 we really didn't have.

When I saw the fridge and realized it was a vintage retro fridge...I just about cried......for tears of Joy. You see I love retro, and adore vintage. The inside of this fridge boasts a beautiful retro blue design and lovely chrome handles on the outside. She needs cleaned, but she's a beaut!

And that's when I was reminded of another Scripture verse in Psalms 37:4, " Delight thyself also in the Lord: and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart."

Not ONLY did he supply my need but in so doing he gave me the desire of my heart. A much smaller fridge that fits so much better in my little farmhouse kitchen.

If he knows the very number of hairs on your head there is no doubt he can replace your fridge for free with a retro one you adore. I don't deserve it, I am so very thankful, so very thankful for what the Lord has done for me.

Love them chrome handles!

Original egg holder in the door, the pretty blue door above opens up to store butter.

Look at that super cute icebox!

Cottage Farmhouse Living Room Makeover

I really felt like my living room had no rhyme or reason. And while I love eclectic decorating, it IS the epitome of me, my hubby said it was looking Eclectic hippie, and no offence to hippies, I just wanted a different style.

As much as I adored my green vintage sectional sofa it was not practical for our family of 6. It came apart so easy and my children thought it was so neat that they could split them up in two rows to make "theater seats". While I love their creativity and ideas, our living room is so small that it was a bit impractical. :)

Recently I stumbled upon The Old Painted Cottage and her blog was a HUGE motivator in my living room makeover. In fact I used her living room as my inspiration  While my makeover is nothing compared to hers, I am really satisfied with the outcome.

Last year our tax return went to paying for the new baby, new bed, you can read my article about our amazing bed here, paying off the rest of our debt, and a new (used) vehicle. This year we budgeted some of it to a new couch. 

We are not finished but I thought I would show you all my progress thus far.

And here is the finished product, while there are two of my children in the before picture I would like to assure you that I did not get rid of my girls, they just so happened to not be around when I snapped the after pic. :) 

Let me tell you a little about what we did here

• New wall color is Glidden's Natural Linen (I just love the name, so soft and comfy sounding). Exactly what I wanted.
• The trim: Wal-mart's Table Linen White
• The sofa is a chaise sofa by Ashley. I really wanted a white couch (I know call me crazy, especially with four kiddos, but....I new that wasn't possible so I opted for a neutral color sofa and I purchase a $20 Queen size blanket to throw over it, this can be easily washed again and again. (I already have once) :) But not because of the children.... I do have a couple rules. No one is allowed to eat on the sofa...AT ALL and you can't sit on it if you've been playing outside, clothes must be changed. We had those rules with the vintage green sofa and it stayed very nice and I was able to sell it.
• The front door is brushed on chalk board paint, if you are considering doing this it took three coats and was done in a day. Super easy. In chalk I wrote I Corinthians 13:4 "Charity suffering long, and is kind..." When chalkboard writing be sure to dot your I's and cross your T's. I say that because I forgot to cross my T in charity and long arms hubby fixed that for me. :)
• The clock is something I adore and I'd like to thank my brother for talking me in to getting it. I bought it at the strangest of places, if you ask me. A furniture rental store. I don't shop those places but happened to be in one searching for a sofa in a small town and it was one of my only options. The bad part about those rental places is they don't like to come down on the price. So I paid full price for this very large tin clock. My brother was like, "Aren't you going to buy it?" That was just the encouragement I needed....hahaha. 
• I had the Live, Laugh, Love sign already and the home interiors mirror candle sconces, these were moved from my kitchen.
• The door was lovingly made by my Amazing husband as a Christmas/anniversary gift. Our anniversary is on the 29th of December (I know weren't we crazy, two love birds wanting to marry in between college semesters).  This door belonged to the old rock house my Daddy grew up in. Hubby inset old tin off the barn in the door and wood burned our names, childrens names and birthdays, and wrote 'Livin on Love' on it. I cried huge grateful tears with this gift. I love gifts made by hand that take time and thought. They mean so much.

So there you have it. Still a work in progress. As I thrift store and flea market shop I am hoping to find some end tables to paint black, and a bookcase or armoire. 

Are you working on any makeovers in  your home?

~Marie

Linked to Liz Marie Blog

Natural Medicine Cabinet ~ Mountain Meadow Herbs

It has been a very rough winter with flu and sickness for us. Our family enjoys a real food diet, we purchase eggs,milk, and meat from our nearby dairy/farmer and I make all of our meals from scratch, with the occasional dinner out.

We have had the flu on and off for four weeks and our immune systems really needs a boost. We drink lots of herbal teas from the Bulk Herb Store. And they really help, but I truly felt our bodies needed a BIG boost. Herbal tinctures can provide that because they are a strong condensed form of the herb. 

I had been eyeing Mountain Meadow Herbs for a while and decided to place an order for some Immune Boosting Tinctures. Here is what I purchased:

*Winters Tonic Package

This package was a great deal because it combined three of the bottles I needed at a lower price, it included Winter Immune-Booster, Infant Immune Booster, and Herbal Respiratory. It was important to me to have the Infant Immune booster for the baby and since I am nursing I would need to take the Infant Immune Booster instead of the basic Winter Booster. My hubby and older children can take the Winter Immune Booster. I really liked the fact that I can take something to boost MY immune system with no dangers to the baby while nursing. Sometimes us nursing Moms can be limited with what we can take.

*European Elder Berry

This is another wonderful natural immune booster and I threw it in my order for good measure. Those times when the sickness seems to really have us down I wanted something extra.

*Liquid Calcium

Again as a nursing Mom it is so important that I get enough calcium but over the counter calcium seems to never work and does not really absorb into your system. This liquid calcium is derrived from herbs and plants, one of the best ways to get calcium for our bodies. This is now a part of my daily regimen. 

Every Wednesday Mountain Meadow Herbs runs a special bargain, this is a great time to try out some of their Herbal Extracts.

They are also offering a free 1 oz. bottle of Liquid Calcium with their special code posted on the main page of their site. This is an amazing deal!!

If you have ever considered trying Herbal Extracts I highly recommend Mountain Meadow Herbs. They are not limited to Immune boosting extracts they offer extracts for many ailments and illnesses, they specialize in herbs for men and womens health, pregnant Mommies and children.

What do you use to boost your immune system?

I am an affiliate for Mountain Meadow Herbs, when you make a purchase through my links I earn a small referral percentage of the sale.

Those who wish to sing.....

This was one of our kittens from a few years ago and I really liked this Swedish Proverb: "Those who wish to sing, always find a song"

I hope your day is filled with singing.

~Marie

Coconut Oil Oatmeal Muffins

I make these oatmeal muffins a lot. They come out of my favorite Betty Crocker that I grew up with....the 1971 version.

If your tired of your morning bowl of oatmeal this muffin is like a bowl of oatmeal on the go and tastes oh so scrumptious! My kids always gobble them right up, and I do too, not gonna lie.

When I received my jar of  Tropical Traditions Virgin coconut oil I knew I had to try it out in these. Oh mercy, I don't think I'll make them with any other oil again. Here's the recipe so you can try 'em out too.

Coconut Oil Oatmeal Muffins

1 egg

1 cup milk (I use almond or raw milk)

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1/3 cup coconut oil 

1 cup quick oats

1 cup of flour (all-purpose or wheat)

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. sea salt

1/2 tsp. baking soda

Mix all together and fill muffins cups about 2/3 full. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes. Enjoy hot or cold.

The best oil Ever!

If you order by clicking on any of my links and have never ordered from Tropical Traditions in the past, you will receive a free book on Virgin Coconut Oil, and I will receive a discount coupon for referring you

Salted Coconut Oil Brownies

Who wants brownies? 

(Raises hand as high as possible like an eager child in a classroom....) "I do I do!" Would there be any other answer if brownies were in question?

I am loving my Tropical Traditions gold label coconut oil (more like getting spoiled with it). So I decided to try making brownies with it. Oh mercy! So glad I did that!

So was hubby. 

I made these yesterday and today I got this text, "Just a reminder to let you know how awesome your brownies were yesterday"

That translates to..."Please make more brownies...TODAY!" 

:)

And of course I did.

These are SUPER easy and SUPER yummy.

Salted Coconut Oil Brownies

Original Recipe found here

Here's what you will need:

1/2 cup coconut oil, melted

(I just put it in a saucepan on the stove on med. heat for a couple min, don't over heat)

1/2 cup cocoa (I add an extra tablespoon or two for good measure)

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

2 tsp. vanilla

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 tsp. salt

Mix all these ingredients together and spread in an 8" square pan that has been greased with coconut oil. Spread the batter in the pan, then take a good pinch of sea salt and sprinkle all over the top of the batter, I do this a couple of times.

Bake at 350 for 20 min. Don't overbake, these turned out perfect at 20 min. Mmmmmm

If you order by clicking on any of my links and have never ordered from Tropical Traditions in the past, you will receive a free book on Virgin Coconut Oil, and I will receive a discount coupon for referring you.

Tropical Traditions Gold Label Coconut Oil Review & Giveaway

Oh. My. Word. I am in love, okay my hubby has no need to worry...I'm just in food love. If that makes any sense. :)

Tropical Traditions so kindly sent me a free jar of their Gold Label Virgin Coconut oil and offered to give my readers a jar too. One lucky person will get a FREE 32 oz. jar of Gold Label coconut oil in a week. Are you excited yet?

Have I ever used coconut oil before? Yes

Have I ever used Tropical Traditions Gold Label Virgin oil? No

Is there a difference? Yes

Wow! WOW! WOW!

I have to admit I was a bit leery at first, I mean I just had a hard time imagining that this oil would actually taste good in my baked goods like pancakes, muffins, and even brownies. Boy was I in for a surprise. The flavor, texture, and moisture is phenomenal. I was expecting a dryer baked good but what I got was a yummy baked treat that was absolutely amazing.

But don't take my word for it, you've got to try some of this stuff out for yourself. We've got a super easy form below by PromoSimple that makes entering very.....well, simple. 

This week I will also be sharing recipes I have been making with my coconut oil so you can try them out too.

If you are in a toot and want to go ahead and try Tropical Traditions oil there is a link on the right of my blog that will take you to their website.

Win 1 quart of Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil!

Tropical Traditions is America’s source for coconut oil. Their Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil is hand crafted in small batches by family producers, and it is the highest quality coconut oil they offer. You can read more about how virgin coconut oil is different from other coconut oils on their website: What is Virgin Coconut Oil?

You can also watch the video they produced about Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil:

Tropical Traditions also carries other varieties of affordable high quality coconut oil. Visit their website to check on current sales, to learn about the many uses of coconut oil, and to read about all the advantages of buying coconut oil online. Since the FDA does not want us to discuss the health benefits of coconut oil on a page where it is being sold or given away, here is the best website to read about the health benefits of coconut oil.

Our Giveaway is open up to US & Canadian residents.

Please be sure and complete the required entry of Subscribing to the email newsletter, you will need to click on the link, it will take you to the Tropical Traditions newsletter sign up page, after you sign up, check the box that says you have subscribed. You will not receive any eligible entries if you do not subscribe to their newsletter. Thank you! All other entries are bonus entries to increase your chance of winning. Have fun and tell your friends.

Disclaimer:  Tropical Traditions provided me with a free sample of this product to review, 
and I was under no obligation to review it if I so chose.  Nor was I under any 
obligation to write a positive review or sponsor a product giveaway in return 
for the free product.

Chalkboard Farm Door

My hubby cleans houses part time. We have a house cleaning business and he's always coming home with unique decorating ideas he discovers in clients homes.

One just so happened to be a chalkboard door. When he told me I knew the Perfect spot for my chalkboard door, and then I came up with a couple about 20 others. I'll be scribbling chalk art everywhere in this house. :)

The chalkboard door he saw boasted a family's 'Bucket List' for that year. It included events and activities they wanted to make happen in 2013.

I love the fact that I can change what's on my door anytime my little ol' heart desires.

My facebook friend posted this little poem and I knew this is what I wanted to write on my back door. This old back door that leads into our laundry room certainly needed some sort of makeover and chalkboard paint just so happened to be the answer.

I went ahead and painted a little spot on the bottom for the girls to draw pictures and create their own art as they fancied. They were tickled pink. Pink chalk that is, and blue, yellow and green....

BECAUSE

we couldn't find white chalk...ANYWHERE! Yes I'm yelling, I was a bit frustrated that it was sold out at every wal-mart. We were also told that Wal-Mart no longer carries chalkboard paint but luckily we found some at Lowe's. That stuff is a bit pricey, but the good part...a little bit goes a long way, so a quart will do you good for a while, depending on how many projects you have.

We also painted a door in the living room but I won't be showing that to you until our big reveal of our Living Room makeover, which could take a few months, but I'm excited to share it with you.

Have a blessed day ya'll!

~Marie

Check out this adorable Melissa & Doug Chalk Bundle!

To view the Melissa and Dough Chalk Bundle click here: Melissa & Doug Eraser and Chalk Bundle

Inspirational Quote

I was going through some old photos I took a few years ago and decided to add an inspirational quote to my chippy paint mossy doors print.

I pray your day is Awesome and Blessed!

~Marie

3 Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies

I love making these 3 ingredient peanut butter cookies as a quick after school snack for the girls. They are so simple that this is the first recipe I taught my oldest daughter, she can whip out a batch in no time too.

3 Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies

You will need:

1 cup white sugar

1 cup peanut butter (crunchy or creamy)

1 egg

Mix all ingredients together and drop by teaspoonfuls onto ungreased baking sheet. Use a fork to make a criss-cross on the top. Bake at 350 for 9-10 minutes.

If your feeling ambitious you can make 4 ingredient cookies by adding 1 tsp. of vanilla. If your feeling extra fancy you can make 5 ingredient cookies and add a small handful of chocolate chip cookies. 

But rest assured if you are not feeling ambitious or extra fancy these will taste awesome with those three lonely ingredients.

If you don't have white sugar use a cup of packed brown sugar, still tastes awesome!

Don't forget to use some great tasting peanut butter.

To view Laura Scudder's Organic Peanut butter click here: Laura Scudder's Organic Smooth Peanut Butter, 16-Ounce  (Pack of 4)

Welcome to my Virtual Shelf Reliance Thrive Party

It’s A Virtual Shelf Reliance THRIVE Party!

Welcome to Cottage Homestead's THRIVE party!

I’m Kendra, an independent consultant for Shelf Reliance, and I’m here to tell you all of the great reasons that you should have THRIVE foods in your home.


I want to start off by thanking ­­Marie with Cottage Homestead for allowing me to join you here today! In return for hosting this party, Marie is going to receive 10% of all party sales in FREE products, as well as earning Half-Off products! Yay!!   If any of you are interested in earning FREE and Half-Off foods, you’re invited to host a virtual party as well! Just let me know you’re interested and I’ll get you all set up. Now, on with the party… If you’ve never heard of THRIVE, you’re probably wondering what it’s all about. Well, THRIVE is a line of top quality freeze dried foods by Shelf Reliance.

Freeze dried foods are not the same as dehydrated foods. Instead of using high heat, as the dehydration process requires, freeze dried products are processed at temperatures down to -50 degrees F. Approximately 98% of the product’s moisture content is removed by vaporization, leaving the foods with their full nutritional components, tastes, colors, and freshness in tact. 

The benefit of doing this is the extended shelf life freeze dried foods offer, without the use of any additives or preservatives. Most THRIVE products have a shelf life of 25-30 years when unopened, and 1-2 years even after being opened! There are so many benefits to having THRIVE foods in your home, not only for long term food storage, but for every day use as well! 

Let me share with you how these products are saving me time and money in the kitchen. But first… why’d I decide to become a consultant for Shelf Reliance? Well, over the past few years, I have come to really strive toward four major goals that pertain to my family’s eating habits:

• Eating More Nutritiously
• Saving Money on Groceries
• Spending Less Time Preparing Meals
• Becoming Less Reliant on the Grocery Store

So, when I discovered a product that can actually help me achieve my goals in EVERY SINGLE one of these areas… I was in love. I was so excited that I couldn’t wait to tell everybody I knew about it. And hey, if I could make money while sharing my new-found love, why not?! I must admit though… it wasn’t love at first sight. In all honesty, when I first heard about “freeze dried foods” I was quite skeptical. For some reason I was somewhat put-off by the sound of it… as if the foods would be stale, and tasteless. 

How do you cook with freeze dried foods, anyways? But when I got my hands on a bunch of THRIVE samples and had an opportunity to try them for myself, every misconception I had previously held to was immediately wiped away. They were SO GOOD!! And when my husband and kids loved it just as much as I did, I knew these foods were going to become a main staple in our home. (You can read my thorough product review with close-ups of the foods, and even watch a video of my kids taste testing THRIVE for the first time, HERE.)

THRIVE Can Help You Eat More Nutritiously & Save You Time What is one of the major reasons why people don’t eat more nutritiously? We have all the fresh foods we could need available to us, so why do we still opt for fast food and boxed dinners? Time. It’s all about time, isn’t it? The fast paced lives we lead today are often the reason we just don’t have time to prepare nutritious snacks and meals at home every single day. Chopping fresh produce and meat takes a lot of time. But there are those days when we just need something fast, which usually means a swing through the drive thru, or feeding our family unhealthy processed foods. THRIVE has the solution to this ongoing dilemma!

One of the great things about freeze dried foods is that they are already prepared for you. The produce and meat are washed, chopped, and ready to be added to any of your favorite dishes. The fruits in particular are delicious eaten straight out of the can for a quick and healthy snack (which is a fantastic way to get your kids to munch on something that is actually good for them!). The only prep work it takes to cook with THRIVE is allowing the food to reconstitute in a little bit of water for just a couple of minutes, then they’re as good as fresh!

 Another thing I love about THRIVE freeze dried foods is that you won’t find any additives or preservatives in the majority of their products. Green beans are green beans. Strawberries are strawberries. Period. No salt, no high fructose corn syrup or sugar… nothing. So you can be confident that you are feeding your family pure goodness when you use these items in your every day cooking. With THRIVE veggies and meats already chopped and prepared, there’s no reason you can’t have a quick, nutritious meal on the table in 30 minutes or less. Okay, we’ve talked a little about how THRIVE can help you eat healthier and save time, but now I’d like to share how THRIVE can also save you money!

Save with THRIVE! What’s the most expensive item in your fridge? 

Organic produce? Meat? Wrong! It’s actually the stuff you throw away!! Think of all of the produce and freezer burned stuff you toss every month. Spoiled grapes or berries, slimy onions, shriveled carrots or celery, sprouting potatoes and moldy mushrooms… so much of what comes out of the produce drawer in our fridge ends up being tossed straight into the garbage, doesn’t it? On average, Americans throw away over 25% of their groceries every single month. That’s HUGE! When you add up how much of your money is thrown straight into the garbage monthly, it can really add up to a significant loss. For instance, let’s say your monthly grocery budget is $500, if you are like the average American household you probably throw away around $125 in spoiled food every month. And I’m betting that’s money you could really use! Why not reallocate that portion of your monthly grocery budget toward foods that won't spoil?

 Having THRIVE’s freeze dried foods in place of the produce that typically goes bad in your home will save you big bucks every month. You’d never have to worry about mold growing in your berries, or your veggies spoiling because you didn’t use them in time. Imagine that… no waste!! Okay, so how else do we blow money on food? Eating out, right? How often do you eat out during the week? Again, it comes down to time, doesn’t it? Some days we just don’t have time to get a meal together at the last minute. THRIVE can help you on those nights when the family is starving and you have no time to put anything together. Instead of blowing a bunch of money to pay for somebody else to make your food for you, have several THRIVE Express meals on hand! Almost all of these hearty, complete dishes are table ready in 10-15 minutes, and can feed your family for less than the cost of what one person would spend eating out! Just dump it into a pot, add water, and heat. It’s super easy, and even my picky kiddos love these soups. (Just a head’s up, THRIVE Express meals are actually on SALE this month, and can be picked up for less than $6 per pack. A pack generously feeds four adults, and would be a real money saver compared to eating away from home.)

 Take a minute to check out the selection of THRIVE Express meals that Shelf Reliance has to offer, and then make a note to have a few of these on hand for quick and healthy backup meals. And how much of our money do we spend on impulse buys? How many times have you realized that you were missing a key ingredient in the middle of cooking something? I know I’ve done it plenty of times! And it always meant a quick trip to the store to pick up the item I needed. But running to the store for just one or two things isn’t a good use of time or money. You can’t forget to factor in the cost of your gas to get to the store and back. The pack of eggs you needed to run and get might cost you $1.50, but how much did the gas to get it add to that expense? Probably at least another $3.00.

When it really comes down to it, that’s an expensive pack of eggs! Not only that, but grocery stores know how to enlist those impulse buys. They’ve strategically placed tempting treats throughout the store, in hopes of catching your eye and begging you to grab just a couple of other things before heading to the checkout lane. I’m sure you’re guilty… we’ve all done it! So, that one missing ingredient that you ran to the store to get can end up costing much more than you’d anticipated shelling out. Doesn’t it just seem wiser to have backup ingredients on hand for just such emergencies?! Lucky for us, THRIVE carries just about every basic staple you would ever need. Powdered milk, powdered eggs, powdered butter, powdered shortening, even powdered sour cream … think of the things that you typically run out of in the middle of a recipe; you name it, it’s there. Add a little water and voila, you’re good to go. As a side note, the powdered eggs aren't only easy to use, and are fantastic to bake with, they're actually cheaper to use than store bought eggs! With over 200 whole eggs per #10 can, using powdered eggs for all of your baking can save you a little bit of money as well. Not only that, but you can actually eat the cookie dough without any fear of salmonella!! That's enough reason to have some on hand, right there!

 Another way you can curb your impulse buys is by signing up for Shelf Reliance’s “Q”. The Q has been best described as Netflix for food, and is a place where you can do your monthly shopping online without the distractions and temptations of a traditional grocery store. Every month, you choose what you’d like to put in your shopping cart, and they’ll ship it straight to your door. It couldn’t be easier. But, more about the Q in a moment.

THRIVE Helps You To Be Less Reliant On The Store A recent survey found that the average American household has enough food to sustain themselves for three days. THREE DAYS! But what if bad weather hits, like the recent derechos that caused thousands and thousands of people to lose power for a week, and stores are without power and unable to help customers? What if gas prices surge and truck drivers can’t make deliveries to grocery stores? What if inflation sets in and we can’t afford many groceries anymore? Or, what if you experience the loss of a job and have to live on an extremely limited budget? There are so many variables that our food supply depends on, and a problem with any one of them can disrupt the entire assembly line. It is foolish to think that we will always be able to get what we need from the grocery store when we need it. Having food storage, or a Home Store, that you can “shop” when times are tough is not only wise, it can be life saving.

 I’ll share a little personal story with you. In 2009, the Lord started pressing upon me and my husband to start storing up food. We’d never in our lives heard of people doing such a thing, but with the slowed economy and all we thought it would be a wise use of our money. Turns out, it was. In March of 2010, my husband was laid off. Work was slow, and they just couldn’t afford to keep him on any longer. It took six months before he found another full-time job (which he was also laid off from less than a year later!). 

During that time, we used what money we were able to bring in to pay our mortgage and other bills. And because we had food stored up, we ate just fine through the whole ordeal. Now that we have experienced first hand how incredibly important it is to have what we would need to feed ourselves and our children when tough times hit, we will never again go without at least a year’s worth of food stored in our home. 

Think of it as food insurance. We have car insurance, and home owners insurance to help us if we ever run into trouble, right? But what I hate about those kinds of insurances is that you pay the bill, hoping you’ll never need to use it, though if you don’t use it then you’re out all of that money you spent! Let me just ask you, what’s more important… having a car, or having food? So, why don’t you have food insurance? Reallocating a little bit of your grocery budget every month toward building up your home store is an incredibly important thing to do for your family. And the best part is that you’ll be using every bit of what you buy!! Shelf Reliance has made building your home store as easy as 123...

The “Q” If you don’t know where to start with food storage, The “Q” that we spoke about earlier makes it super easy to build your home store on a budget. I can even help you set it up. First, you would enter how many people are in your household, whether they are children or adults, and the Planner determines their caloric needs. Then you specify how many months of food you’d like to build up, anywhere from 3 months to several years! Next, you tell the “Q” what you’d like to set your monthly budget at, and The Planner automatically puts items in your cart that would fit your family’s needs. 

 The Q is completely customizable. If your family has special dietary requirements, or just doesn’t particularly like bananas per se, you can exchange that item from your cart for something else that you’d rather have. Every month you’ll get a shipment of food sent straight to your door, and your home store will soon be stocked with everything your family would need for your specified amount of time.

  Help Feed The Hungry When You Place An Order As if THRIVE foods weren’t awesome enough, the founders of Shelf Reliance have created their corporate charity, Thriving Nations, which donates 5% of all THRIVE profits to helping impoverished people in third world countries to become more self reliant by teaching them essential agricultural techniques and economic principles. You can feel good knowing that every THRIVE purchase you make is used to bless the less fortunate around the globe. Now do you see why I love this stuff so much?! 

Here’s Even More Great News! As a special perk for “attending” this THRIVE party, every one of you is eligible to receive an exclusive discount of up to 30% off retail prices on Shelf Reliance’s webstore! That means that you can get everything you would need to help save your family money, eat more nutritiously, and grow your home store for cheaper than ever! All you need to do is contact me at newlifeonahomestead@gmail.com, let me know that you were a guest at Marie’s virtual THRIVE party, and I’ll add you to my customer list. You will receive an email with a password that you will use to log in at Shelf Reliance. Once you’re in, you will always see the discounted price reflected on the screen, and you will get that discount on every order you place. 

 But the BIGGEST discounts will be given for “Q” customers who set up a Q budget of $100 or more. Not only will you see the absolute best prices available on the web, you’ll also get specials including occasional shipping discounts, monthly “Q-pons” which you can use for even deeper discounts on your favorite products, and points rewards you can earn for free products.

  Alright Kendra, I’m ready to place an order. What do I need to do? Your Six Steps To THRIVE Success…

 1. Make a list of everything you can think of that typically goes bad in your fridge, then make a plan to order the freeze dried form of these items so you never throw away spoiled produce (and money) again.

 2. Make a list of the basic baking essentials that you tend to run out of in the middle of cooking, then make a plan to order their powdered forms so you never have to run to the store at the last minute again.

 3. Make a list of the foods that you hate taking the time to prepare. Hate chopping onions? Get them freeze dried, they’re delicious!

 4. Decide if building a Home Store sounds like a wise idea for your family. Then determine how long you’d like your Home Store to sustain you, and how much money you can afford to spend every month on your “Q”.

 5. Email me to let me know that you’d like to be added as Marie’s exclusive party customer. I’ll get you all set up.

 6. Log in to Shelf Reliance with the password you’ll receive in an email, and start using your discount! You can place a one time bulk order for everything on your lists, or you can set up a monthly “Q” and get all of your family’s needs on a budget. Please remember to place your order before the party's closing date on February 4th 2013 .

If you have any questions or need help getting started, please don’t hesitate to ask. I’ll be more than happy to help you with anything you need. Thanks so much for joining Marie and I today!! It’s been a pleasure sharing THRIVE with you.