Sugar Hand Scrub

Are you ready for a super easy and cheap Mother's Day gift? Make it for yourself (please do!) and the other mama's in your life. I don't know about you but my hands get so dry and scaly. I am constantly washing my hands and no amount of moisturizing hand soap or hand lotion keeps my knuckles from cracking (ouch!). I love this sugar scrub though, because it sloughs off dead skin cells while leaving your hands nice and silky.

You Will Need:
Sugar
Dawn Dish Soap WITH Olay
A container

It's important that you get the Dawn with Olay. The most common is the pink version which smells like pomegranates. I did see a few others though, a white, and a blue or purple I believe. The dish soap costs right around 3 bucks. I did also see a Great Value version, but I stuck with the original. For my container I used a half pint mason jar, which cost about 50 cents each. And if you have a bunch of empties laying around then all the better!

Directions:

Fill your jar/container 3/4 of the way with sugar. Add the dish soap to the bottom of the rim. Mix together. Keep adding sugar and mixing until you've reached your desired consistency. You don't want it to be super runny, you only need enough soap to wash with. The main ingredient is the sugar. Some people like a lot of sugar so it's really just up to you. It should resemble a thick paste. Feel free to test it out to make sure you've reached the right consistency.

To use:
Just scoop out a small amount and scrub into hands and rinse with warm water. It feels so good (and smells good too!)

Wasn't that a cheap and easy gift? Less than $5 and 5 minutes to make. Now just make a cute label to slap on the jar and add a bow and your good to go.

How to Use Powdered Milk

Printable Recipes and Instructions

Once you start storing powdered milk at home, you wonder how you ever went without it before.  It is so wonderful never having to run to the store last minute because you are out of milk or canned milk products like sweetened condensed milk.

The great thing about powdered milk is that it provides a large variety of things we have in our regular diets which we would have a difficult time doing with out including buttermilk, sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk, cheese, yogurt, cream cheese, cottage cheese, ricotta cheese, whipped cream… you get the picture.  So, if you like one or more of the proceeding items, you might want to consider getting some milk in your “Home Store”.

Powdered milk will become more than just a comfort food if we ever had to solely rely on food storage for dietary needs.  As you think about all of the calcium it provides for strong healthy bones in growing children and adults as well as a much more flavorful option than water in recipes it becomes a no brainer to add it to your home store.

Go here to learn more about the differences in powdered milks that are on the market as well as to learn why it is an important thing to stock up on for your Home Store. Click here to learn how to make Homemade Cream of Chicken or Cream of Mushroom soups.

Basic powdered milk conversions:

To Make:   You need	Water	THRIVE Instant Milk	Non-Instant
¼ cup	¼ cup	1-½ T	1 t
½ cup	½ cup	3 T-1/4 c	1 ½ T
1 cup	1 cup	1/3 c-1/2 c	3T
1 quart	1 quart	3/4c -1 c	1/3 c
1 pint	1 pint	1 1/2 -2 c	1-1/3 c
1 gallon	1 gallon	3-4 c	2-2/3 c

In most cases (like for baking bread) double the amount of powder for instant milk. I left variance in it because I know that some people like it stronger, but it is great with the lower amount.

When I taught a powdered milk class, hands down the THRIVE won 1st place.  I get people who drink it at my house all of the time who didn't realize it was "fake milk" or whatever nonbelievers like to call it ;)  We also sell a milk alternative we call non-fat powdered milk as well as a chocolate drink mix!

Now for the recipes!

Buttermilk aka Sour Milk

View this post for full details as well as a print out.  In recipes that call for buttermilk you simply need to put a teaspoon of either lemon juice or vinegar in the bowl, then add water and powdered milk.  Let it stand for 5 minutes as the acid creates the chemical reaction, then use as needed.

Evaporated Milk

1-1/2  C Water
1/2  C + 1 T non fat dry powdered milk

Blend very well in a blender. 

Evaporated Milk was created back in the 1920′s and 30's as a way to replace expensive cream and whole milk in recipes. It is whole milk with more than half the water removed before it is homogenized. DO NOT USE IT AS A SUBSTITUTE FOR SWEETENED CONDENSED MILK. However, you can use it to substitute for half and half. Isn’t that great?! I know I don’t keep half and half stocked in my fridge. Use Evaporated Milk, made from your food storage, in any recipe by doubling the amount of the dry powdered milk and leaving the water the same. As a good rule of thumb to go by, for normal milk made from your powdered milk it is 3 T. dry powdered milk per 1 C. water and don’t forget there are 16 T. in a cup.

Sweetened Condensed Milk

½ c hot water              2T melted margarine or butter

1 c sugar                       1 c non fat dry powdered milk
1 t vanilla

Mix all ingredients in a blender or food processor. If lacking electricity you can boil the water beforehand and mix quickly with a whisk but it will not be as smooth.  Mix on high for one full minute. The mixture will be kind of thin, but will thicken up after standing for about an hour. This recipe makes about 1 ½ cups, or the equivalent of one can of condensed milk. This mixture stores in the fridge for a week, or for longer storage, freeze it for a few months, and then just thaw before using. The cans of Sweetened Condensed Milk cost about $1.50 in the store so this is a great deal with very little effort involved in the process!

Shop now!  

My New Favorite Shortcut for Beans

Welcome back to our 30 Days of THRIVE Tuesday!

Today we have another side recipe that can easily be turned into an economical main meal with the addition of homemade tortillas to our recipes.

Double Decker Mexican Pizza made with Shortcut Refired Bean Recipe.

I was excited to see that the THRIVE Black Beans were on sale this month because there is a new trick I've been dying to share with everyone this month.

I know in the past we've already discussed how I like to substitute beans for butter in my desserts.  I bring them to events and get asked for recipes and no one is the wiser until I let them in on the little secret.  (In fact, I have another fantastic one coming again soon :) People either think its genius or disgusting.  Make sure to tell me what you think by commenting below.

Well, I think this next trick I am going to share with you will be considered genius across the board.  I love beans and really love the simplicity and ease of bean burritos.  I do often think about how nice it would be if less electricity and time were used to make them.  It would bring me so much joy to cook up some tasty burritos in the blink of an eye without having to have soaked them the night before and cooked them all day in my crockpot.

Enter bean flour...
Some of you may be saying what the heck is that.

This is bean flour... white bean flour.  It amazes me how similar it looks to well, flour.

It has totally changed things for me and I am excited to share a bean recipe that will now only take you a few minutes so you really can have that "instant" bean fix at any time.

I love my Blendtec Kitchen Mill Grinder since I can use it on SO many things (post coming about that on Saturday), so I would highly recommend getting one because they truly pay for themselves  once you take the time to mill your own products.  However, if you don't have the money to buy one right now, you can even do this in a blender.  Make sure that you only blend small amounts of beans at a time so it can grind everything to an even powder.

The first time I ground my beans into powder, lets just say breathing was not easy and I wasn't sure what I had done wrong.  Thankfully, I found out that this is a common thing for people so here are some tips for success.

When using the Kitchen Mill Grinder, here are some tips for success:
- Set Kitchen Mill in a DRY, empty kitchen sink, fill hopper with beans, cover with a towel before turning on, then start the machine.  This will trap a lot of dust that may have seeped out.
- Be sure to clean your "F" shaped filter out with each hopper load of beans.  You can just scrape the edges of this into the hopper before loading your next batch of beans so the flour isn't wasted.  (It holds alot!)
- Clean your "F" filter with soap and water and allow to completely air dry before next batch so it will be ready for the nest use.

Now for the recipe.  Although when I make refried beans, typically I just season them the way I like depending on the mood I am in, I got this one off of allrecipes.com because it specifically calls for BEAN FLOUR to make the recipe super speedy.  Now I know that is calls for Salsa and if you are using this as a THRIVE only (plus spices) recipe then you may not have salsa on hand, but you can simply add a little more seasoning, Tomato Powder FD Green Chile and you're in business.... or if you'd prefer, you can decrease the water to 2 c and and add in my Homemade El Pato Recipe.


Printable Recipe
Shortcut Refried Beans 30 Days of THRIVE Recipe:
3/4 c THRIVE Black Beans (Equals about 1 c bean flour)*
1 1/2  t THRIVE Salt
2 T THRIVE FD Onions
1/4 t garlic powder (optional)
1/2 t ground cumin
1/4 t chili powder
3 c warm water
2 T THRIVE FD Green Chile
2 t THRIVE Tomato Powder

1. Grind beans in a blender or grinder.  Set aside.
2. Combine water, FD Green Chile, Tomato Powder and seasonings in a medium sized pot.
3. Whisk in Black Bean Powder.  Bring to a boil and let simmer for about 15 minutes or until thickened. Serve warm.

*To make mixture thicker for bean burritos, increase to 1 c dried beans.  You can also use Pinto Beans instead of Black Beans if you'd prefer and it will work great.\

Original Recipe:
3/4 c dried bean
1/2 t salt
1/2 t ground cumin
1/2 t chili powder
2 1/2 c warm water
1/2 c salsa

1. Grind beans until fine using blender or food grinder.  Place in a saucepan and whisk in salt, cumin, chili powder and water.  Boil for 15 minutes.

2. When the mixture has thickened stir and cook another 4 minutes.  Remove from heat and stir in salsa.  Use as dip or for burrito filling.

MM - Baby Days! Snackage.....

Happy Monday everyone!!!

I don't know about all of you, but snacks make the world go 'round in our household. Once Noah could eat solids, snacks were gold, in fact, this is still the case! My little guy is a super eater and loves meal time. Most of the time we are super busy and snacks fill the gaps for us. So today I thought that I would give you some "food for thought"!

Has anyone tried those yogurt bites that they have in the baby isle? Either the gerber brand or the store brand, to me they taste so weird. Now, have you tried the THRIVE yogurt bites? AMAZING!!!! In my humble opinion, the THRIVE yogurt bites melt easier in the little ones mouth, taste WAY better, and kiddos love them!! Not to mention that they are a ton cheaper! Noah's fav is Strawberry!

The thing I love most about THRIVE foods is that they make the perfect snack right out of the can! The fruits and veggies are awesome for when your little one starts to feed themselves! Try the peas, corn, strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, mangos, and pears! They are great starter foods and they love the crunch! Noah absolutlely loves the fruits and veggies especially while he is teethin!! The applesauce is also amazing!



What about when they get a little older and goldfish are the bomb.com? Well, I was perusing the THRIVE cookbook the other day and I found this little gem! AMAZING!!! We made a batch this weekend and they were devoured!!!

***I have to add a disclaimer. I don't have an actual picture of the ones that we made this weekend. They were gobbled up rather quickly and I forgot to take a picture in the craziness that happened this weekend. Me and Noah got some burns on saturday as i was cooking. Some hot oil splashed on the both of us. Things have been just a little out of whack ever since then. ***


Photo courtesy of THRIVE Cookbook

Here is what you will need:
1 1/4 Cups TRIVE Flour (Whole wheat or white)
1/2 Cup THRIVE Cheese Blend
1/8 teaspoon THRIVE Baking Soda
1/4 teaspoon THRIVE Salt
3 Tablespoons Oil (I use coconut oil)
1/2 Cup Water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine all your dry ingredients. Slowly add oil until the mixture is crumbly. SLOWLY add water until you form a tight dough.
Roll out you dough very thin (they will puff up when they bake) about 1/8 of an inch. Cut into squares or your favorite shape. Poke a hole in the top of them and transfer onto a greased cookie sheet. Sprinkle with salt.
Bake for 10-15 minutes or until golden. Cool completely before removing them from the pan.
Happy Snackin!

What are YOU doing to create a Peace of Mind?

I get asked pretty frequently so what do YOU buy?  What do YOU do to prepare?  I try to write mini posts from time to time on my favorite products, but I thought it might be more helpful to have a post each month where you can see my goals for the month and keep me accountable.  I in turn would also love to hear what you are doing to bring your home more peace of mind.

I am a very goal oriented, list making person.  It’s pretty silly but I’m even the type that if I’ve accomplished something that wasn’t on the list, I write in on the list and mark it off.  It helps me recognize all of my accomplishments and stay focused on long term goals.  I figure the beginning of the month when I am already planning my financial budget, monthly Q and purchases, and posting sales for the month would also be a good reminder for me to make a list of priorities on the blog.

Things I accomplished during April

-  I bought my Kindle Cook Kit and extra Flameless Pouches!

THRIVE Life just released the Kindle at Convention this year and I am particularly excited about this product because I think it will be perfect to add to my 72 hour kits.  Because it is a flameless heating source, it is something that I can even teach my 5 year old to use so if (Heaven forbid) we were to be separated for some reason, he'd be able to heat an instant entree.  (Just realized, I need to add the goal of teaching my son to use this and use his 72 hour kit to the list)

-         I bought my GP Tent.  Woohoo!

If there were a huge catastrophe, I want to be able to have a portable home for my family to live in should we be misplaced from our home.  This was something I've been waiting to get for 2 years.  I did a little happy dance 2 weekends ago when I was FINALLY able to check that off of my list of things to do.

-   Bought my Stove in a Can and Replacement Fuel

Although I hope for my Sun Oven to be my main form of cooking on a daily basis in an emergency situation and Volcano Stove to be my back up, I recognize that living in Denver means that the weather is crazy and unpredictable.  I need to start planning alternative options in case there are situations that prevent us from using our first two options. These are some of the benefits of the Stove in a Can:

     * Works well in extreme weather conditions
     * Can boil water in less than 5 minutes
     * Compact and portable (excellent for 72 hour kits)
     * Easy to set up and take down
     * Fuel source is safe and non-explosive
     * The replacement fuel is nice because each disk provides an hour of fuel.
      
-         Got more cooking oils in storage.

-         Got my Sawyer Water Filter

I love that this product is guaranteed for 1 MILLION gallons of water.  This means clean water for life.  Before this product was released, I had been most excited about my Katadyn Pocket Filter (which I still like and think will be good for on the go situations) but if we are going to be needing a filtered water source long term, I love that I won't be having to ask, gee, I wonder how many more gallons of water this filter is good for.  AMAZING!

Preparation Goals for May

***Main Goal*** I want to have a typed out Year Long Meal Plan for Food Storage.

-         Links to recipes (print outs of each)

-         Figure out amount of food I need to have to make them
-    Figure out cooking plan for these meals.  (How much charcoal would I need for my Volcano Stove if cooking on it once a week, which meals will work in the Wonder Oven, Sun Oven... etc)
          o  Get 3 bags of charcoal in storage for use with my VolcanoStove since it is cheaper during the summer.

-         Convert 2 recipes from this list to THRIVE for the blog

          o   Make at least one meal in my SunOvens (since I have 2 at my home -only one is mine-, I would like to make a main meal in one and side dishes in the other.  Check out tips here)

-         Have at least one meal that includes each of the May Q items in it.


-     Buy Food Saver so I can start dry packing meals to have on hand for easy meals or grab n go situation.

          o  Use Food Saver to pack a meal to have 1 day every other week for a year. (26 jars) 

          o  Use Food Saver to pack a cookie recipe to have 1 day a month for a year. (12 jars) 

-         Try one bread in a jar recipe from www.thatsmyhome.com

          o  Use Food Saver to pack a bread in a jar recipe for each day for 2 weeks. (14 jars)

-     Buy my cylinder stove for my tent.

-     Print out Emergency Grab n Go Binder from Misty’s Site

-     Teach son and nephew how to use the Kindle Cook.  

-     Update clothing in 72 hour kits since baby will be coming soon.

Blueberry Strawberry Pancakes

If you asked me what my favorite food was you might see a puzzled look cross my face. I can never answer that question. How do you pick just one?! Pancakes, however, would be at the very top of the list.

There is just something about a pancake that makes everything in the world right. Eating a good pancake is like coming home after a long trip. When I was younger and lived with my childhood friend we would have "midnight pancakes". Every once in a while we would bust out the skillet and bisquick and gorge ourselves on pancakes oozing with syrup in the middle of the night.

Now that I am older and have my own kitchen I love trying new pancake recipes, with new ingredients.

So this month because I'm pregnant and because I love pancakes, every Friday I will be sharing a new pancake recipe with you.

I made these for breakfast this morning and they were so good I ate them before I remembered to take a picture. So just use your imagination ;)

You Will Need:
1 cup flour (white, wheat, or whole wheat pastry flour all work)
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 cup plain greek yogurt
2 eggs
2 Tbs honey
1 tsp vanilla
3 Tbs milk (almond, soy, whole, skim, whatever)
1 cup blueberries
1 cup strawberries

Directions:
First put 1 cup THRIVE blueberries in a bowl with 1 cup water. In a 2nd bowl put 1 cup strawberries and 3/4 cup water.
In a large bowl mix together flour, baking powder, and baking soda.
In another bowl mix yogurt, eggs, honey, vanilla, and milk.
Mix the wet and dry ingredients together in the large bowl. The batter will be pretty thick, you can add another tablespoon or 2 of milk if you'd like.
Drain blueberries and strawberries and fold into batter.
Pour into a heated skillet and cook until golden. Since these pancakes are thick make sure the inside is cooked through (while somehow managing to not burn the outside)
Serve with maple syrup, agave, or even peanut butter. Yum!

Cinnamon Oatmeal Bath Soak - Thrifty Thursdays

Do you like babies' soft skin? Me too!

Since May is the month of Mothers Day, we thought it would be a perfect time to put together a few Homemade Spa Treatments that you can make as wonderful, well needed gifts. I think it would be fun to make a few of these, buy a candle and decorate a #10 can and make it a whole spa in a can experience for your mother, mother-in-law, wife, sister-in-law, best friend...etc.  We hope that you will enjoy these Thrifty Thursday posts and use them in your home right along with us.

How many of us take time to take a long warm bath?  I still remember that I had an 8th grade English teacher who told us that no matter what, she soaked in a long warm bath at least once a week.  She said she would light a candle, bring a book and lock the door so the kiddos would know to leave her alone and enjoy the quiet time.

I have kids that are too little for me to just lock out and plan on them taking care of themselves, but I can still make a goal to do something like this in the evening after they've gone to bed.  We deserve it, right?!

The first Spa Treatment we will be introducing to also happens to use quite a few bulk storage items.  What an awesome way to rotate through some things!  This recipe is close to the original from this site.  It also uses powdered milk which is on sale this month!

Cinnamon Oatmeal Bath Soak
Ingredients:
3/4 c oatmeal
1 c powdered milk
1/2 c baking soda
2 t cornstarch
1 t cream of tartar
1 t cinnamon
An air tight jar to keep out moisture (I just reused an old jam jar)

Directions:
1. Grind your oatmeal in a food processor.  Once it is finely ground, add your remaining ingredients and mix well with the food processor.
2. Put mixture in a moisture proof container so it will not go moldy in storage.
3. To use, simply add 1/2 c of the mixture in a warm full bath.  Soak and enjoy.

I decorated it with paper to be able to give it as a gift in a bucket, then realized since its going to be around water, the paper will get ruined.  I wrapped the paper with packing tape to protect the paper.

I thought it was cute because a little bit spilled on the table because I had been lazy and not got a funnel... anyway the kids were sooooo excited and started licking it up immediately.  My daughter was sad when I told her it was time for bed.  She said, Please don't wipe it mommy.  I'll eat it later.  So there you have it, makes your skin soft AND gives the kiddos taste buds a joy ride :)