As many of you know, I’ve recently become a Thrive Life consultant. The first order of business has been trying the food and forming an opinion about it, followed by incorporating it into my normal cooking and routine. To read about my first order, click here.
I love Thrive Life for a couple of reasons. One, it’s an excellent long term food storage option for preppers. Two, it is perfect for busy and on the go families or people. Freeze dried food cuts down on food waste and cooking time! Both of these are a win-win in my book.
With my first order, everything was picked for me. My second one I was in control of and I picked some really amazing foods. I’m so excited to use them!
Raspberries
Raspberries were the most exciting part of my order, honestly. I despise buying raspberries in the store because they’re expensive, and usually about to rot by the time they make it to the store. We usually have to eat them within 24 hours, and still pick out a few dead and molding ones out of the package. I can eat raspberries every day of my life and be very happy. But not being able to find really fresh raspberries in the store always annoys me. These raspberries from Thrive Life are simply delicious and a perfect alternative.
I ate them dry right out of the can. I’m also planning to make a sauce for cheesecake, my go-to favorite dessert. Stay tuned for that recipe coming soon. The recipe list where these items have saved me time and money just keeps growing!
Carrots
I tried these dry and wasn’t a fan of the texture. Not a good snack option, but they’ll be great once they are rehydrated and can be added to a meal very easily. I’m very happy with them.
Fuji Apples
I picked several snack size packages for this order because it meant I could try more things. These apples are great as a snack just dry, or they can be rehydrated and used in a recipe as well. A friend took one of my recipes and substituted these for into it and loved it.
Check out Una’s Apple Cake for the recipe, and substitute these apples for a really easy recipe using pantry ingredients.
Bananas
This one had me curious. I love bananas, and so I wanted to try these. Nathan hates the texture of bananas, saying it made him gag. I’m not a big fan of dehydrated bananas because of the super crunchy texture. I end up spending thirty minutes chewing one and it hurts my jaw easily because of TMJ issues.
These were the perfect happy medium. Nathan even ate them willingly. He didn’t gag or die either. I thought they were great, and the perfect alternative when I can’t make it to the store for fresh bananas. Plus an option even Nathan will eat. Win win in my book!
Confetti Cake Bites
Nathan wasn’t eager to buy these. Most confetti and “birthday cake” flavored foods are just terrible. These are so good that I’m going to have to hide them in my office to keep Nathan from eating all of them before I can! This was the “I’ll fight you” item in the box. What is the one snack you fight your spouse or kids about eating it all?
Cheddar Bites
These are a perfect on the go snack right here! This was the one thing I was really unsure of in my order, but Nathan picked it out. Who am I to tell him no? When I opened them and tried them, it reminded me of crispy cheese. Have you ever baked cheddar cheese on a piece of parchment paper in the oven? It comes out crispy and has a very concentrated cheddar flavor. This is what I tasted when I opened up the package, and I loved it!
The cheddar bites would make a perfect snack for when we’re on the go. Pair it with some peanuts, cashews, or almonds. Maybe throw in some dried fruit as well. Raisins or cranberries are delicious for this purpose too. It would be very easy to make a homemade trail mix or protein snack pack. We buy that stuff in the store, so why not make your own and save some money?
Nathan and I are planning a hike next week, and the homemade trail mix is exactly what I’m going to make to take with us. I see almonds and cranberries paired with the cheddar cheese for my snack.
That snack pack would be perfect for kids in the car too. There’s much less of a mess with freeze dried cheese, no mold growing on the floorboard if they spill and it is overlooked. There wouldn’t be a worry about refrigeration either. I see a ton of positive uses from this one single item, and that gets me excited.
I am going to try making a homemade cheese sauce from it too and see how it goes. I’ll be sharing the recipe when it is successful! Keep an eye out for that.
Cilantro
Cilantro is the second most wasted veggie in my refrigerator, right behind celery for winning that status. Needless to say, being able to buy it in freeze dried form to have a less wasteful option is perfect for me.
Notes
What I am finding with these foods is that the prep and cooking time are drastically decreased. It is so easy to incorporate these items into a meal. I made tortilla soup in 20 minutes right after my last order.
Earlier this week I made a fried rice dish before Nathan went to work. I didn’t have a lot of time, or ingredients. This was one of those throw things together kind of meals. Because of Thrive Life foods, it worked! I gave him a healthy and delicious meal before work. If I had used ingredients from the store, I would have either omitted them or increased my cooking time.
I was able to incorporate celery and chicken into my rice dish (the recipe is coming soon) easily using Thrive Life foods. I didn’t have time to cook chicken or chop up celery for this dish. They both would have been left out just based on the time crunch. But I didn’t have to do that, and there is something to be said for that! I like to call it healthy convenience.
These are also really healthy snacks. I keep a can of corn in my office so that I have a tasty and healthy snack when I am working. Being disrupted is a pet peeve of mine when I am working because it takes a while to get back into it once my concentration is broken. Corn is a snack where I can just grab a few bites and keep right on going with a project. No broken concentration, and no “hangry” feelings that distract me. I send Nathan to work with the snack packages of the peas as well.
If you are interested in giving Thrive Life a try, click here to go to my website. You’re welcome to comment or email me with any questions as well. I’m always here to help! Keep an eye out for upcoming recipes where I incorporate freeze dried foods! I’m very excited to share those with you.
Disclaimer
I am a Thrive Life consultant. Which means that every time you click the link to visit my Thrive Life website and make a purchase, I earn a commission. This helps me continue supporting my blog and bringing you this amazing content.
I have literally NEVER thought about buying freeze dried foods like raspberries etc! You’re so right – berries especially are usually a bit grim by the time they reach the shop. Currently we have about 2kg in the freezer from our allotment but I’ll search for freeze dried next time I think (alas they don’t seem to have Thrive Life in the UK) X
Never heard of this! My concern would be texture, but it seems to best to just try it both dry and then cooked.
I agree. I love the corn and peas dry right out of the can as a snack. Carrots and pineapple were terrible dry. They needed to be rehydrated before eating to return to a typical texture.
Never heard of this! But those confetti cake bites sound yummy! Tehe!
They are sooooo addicting, Alyssa! The yogurt bites are really tasty too.
Years ago, I used to buy breakfast cereal which had freeze dried raspberries. They were delicious. The flavour was intense, and like you say, there is no waste.
I like the sound of the freeze dried cheese. Some cheese along with the apple would go down a treat.
I look forward to seeing your future posts showing recipes using your freeze dried food. Many of those foods would be excellent to keep in the kitchen as a standby.
We always keep a stock of carrots at home. Since we like vegetable pulaos a lot! I will check this out! 🙂
You got a good selection there! With this comment I’m going to try to add some more insight/ideas based on what you got so far.
Raspberries – LOVE them! They are also really fun to powder and make the most amazing pink frosting EVER. And I’ve even made pink waffles, raspberry infused shortbread… so many options! I made an apple crisp that calle for raisins but threw in crumbled raspberries instead – super yum!
Carrot dices – so the reason these ones aren’t as “snackable” as other fuits and veggies right out of the can is that they are one of the very few items from Thrive that are still dehydrated instead of freeze dried. This is because freeze drying causes carrots to turn white, which even though they are still fine to eat, turn consumers off. So they dehydrate. This means the really do need to be refreshed to use, otherwise they are just too tough to chew. They have a great sweet flavour though, and I love how they are small and easy to hide in dishes!
Apple and banana slices – both of these also make a great gluten-free cracker, with cheese or peanut butter! Nathan sounds just like me – I CAN’T STAND regular bananas (the texture, overripe smell, all of it). Thrive bananas are the only thing I let in our house, as they don’t make me gag!
Cake bites – these are a specialty limited quantity item, so once they are gone, they’re gone! I’ve also used them in trail mix, and even baked them into cupcakes or decorated the tops of cakes with them! Yes, freeze dried cake inside of cake – makes for a fun surprise!
Cheddar bites – these are a favourite snack item with people doing keto or low-carb diets! We love them! If you are thinking of doing a cheese sauce, we do have powdered cheese sauce in pantry cans that you could check out! It’s like a healthier alternative to kraft dinner cheese powder, and makes a great nacho cheese sauce too. Or I keep it in powder form and flavour popcorn with it!
I’m excited to read about what you try next!
I love raspberries too! And you are so right about them being on the verge of going bad when we buy. I’d eat those dried ones right out of the pack too 😛 Interesting about cilantro, I use it quite a bit in my cooking but can’t always have fresh handy, dried is a good idea.
Freeze-dried foods would be a perfect backstop for those days grocery-shopping just wasn’t going to happen! I especially like the idea of the raspberries – they are my fave fruit and always such a disappointment when bought, unless from a pick-your-own place!
These Thrive Life products look great. Makes it easy to have healthy ingredients on hand when you need them.
I definitely agree, Kelly! That is exactly why I love Thrive Life so much. It cuts down on food waste and increases convenience.
Great Thrive Life products. It’s great to have delicious raspberries that you can eat everyday. I usually have the same experience that you described. When we buy them fresh and eat them within 24 hours, some of them are rotten already. Awesome option to buy them frozen.
Freeze dried is very different than frozen, but I do agree that it is amazing to have them so readily available with Thrive Life.
Lynn and I love Thrive, we’re just hoping the exchange rate with the Canadian dollar will come close to par before we can afford to order it again. The exchange rate is absurd right. I actually used Thrive spinach and shredded cheese blend in tonight’s supper. So good!
Easy, healthy and quick what could be better than that? I agree about the cilantro I purchase it and use a tiny bit of it and the rest ends up in the trash. Dried is better. These are great ideas for easy meals.
Have a great week,
Kippi
It is incredible what they can come up with now as far as healthy packaged foods are concerned. I think i’d really like those cheddar bites too, as the crispy oven-fried cheese on the pan is my favourite!
I totally feel you about buying raspberries and other fresh berries. I can’t stand paying 5 bucks for a tiny basket of fruit and then having to throw half the container away because they are moulded. This is an excellent alternative!
These products are rightly, as you call, healthy convenience. The options seem to be unlimited too and what I find really find good is that it saves your time. And time is precious.
everything looks so delicious! Nom nom nom! I wish we had this brand here: I love dried snacks and normally make it myself but it takes so much time! I couldn’t find normal dried stuff in the shops here: there is so much sugar I don’t feel the product’s taste!
I heard about thrive from you and my wife got interested and tried some of their dried products out. Very amazing I must say.
Thank you for sharing.
Let me tell you, you are not alone in your raspberry shopping frustrations! Buying them from the store means they are either way too unripe or way too ripe AND are pricey as hell. I’ve never even seen dried raspberries at the store before. I’d love to give Thrive dried raspberries a try!!
Okay I’m practically drooling over those freeze dried raspberries, yum!! I love the idea of these as snack options!
I end up eating both the fruits and veggies right out of the can as snacks! They are seriously that good. My husband loves the peas, and I love the corn. Raspberries are absolutely amazing. I have been attempting to try new things in every order, but I’m rapidly developing a standard list of things I need to order consistently. Corn and raspberries are at the top of that list!