Shelf Reliance Giveaway

If you have been reading my blog for long, you know I get very frustrated with food storage. Don't get me wrong, I want to have food storage. I think I owe it to my family to be prepared in the event that food is not readily available. The thought of my children being hungry is terrifying for me. BUT, it is really hard for me since I am not a pantry cooker. I plan my meals based on a meat (or eggs) with a vegetable. The starch is a second thought usually. So I might have food storage, but I don't choose to cook from it, nor do I really want to. See my thoughts on this subject in more detail here.

Well, a few weeks ago I was invited to a Shelf Reliance home party and I am seriously gitty about it. (I may have stifled a giggle or two during the taste testing.) I had never heard of Shelf Reliance before, but apparently it's on fire across the US. Shelf Reliance is a company focused on building your personal "Home Store". They have a dazzling variety of long shelf life foods called Thrive to integrate into your daily meals. And the food is really really good! (Really. I'm not just saying that.) Don't know how to cook with food storage? Neither do I. But Shelf Reliance has a huge cookbook showing you just how to do that. I've made a goal to cook with mine at least once a week.

This is my first order of the Thrive foods. Who knew how delicious freeze dried fruit was? I ordered peaches just to test on my family and it was the perfect snack. Combine them with freeze dried yogurt (YOGURT!!), add some water and you have a smoothie. From food storage. I know. Mind blowing. The yogurt is yummy enough to eat straight from the can. I watched Lydia do it, thinking she was stealing candy. Oh. And speaking of desserts..how about ice cream? I tried some and couldn't believe how creamy and decadent it was. And notice I bought both the brownie and macaroon mixes. You would never know all you have to do is add water. Not sure if you would break into these anytime soon? No matter. They have a shelf life of TWENTY YEARS! In fact, almost everything I purchased has a unopened shelf life over 10 years. Some of the items I don't plan on opening. I don't personally plan to use the canned eggs, sour cream or butter unless I am unable to get them fresh. I just like knowing I have them there. The brownies, however, are a different story.

There is so much to choose from in the Thrive food line. My next order will include the brand new instant beans (i.e. NO SOAKING!), all of the Entrees including the curry rice with chicken and vegetable risotto and the freeze dried mango. I may even pick up a few cans for wedding gifts! (They do have gift baskets available.)  I'll be buying myself a 72 hour kit as well.

I'm also trying to integrate the Shelf Reliance Food Rotation System with the canned foods I do use often. I am always restocking my black beans, tomatoes, tuna and Collin's favorite chicken noodle soup. I started small with the Cansolidator Cupboard unit. (It's on sale by the way...) Doesn't my pantry look so organized? The part I'm letting you see at least. I love knowing that I'm using the older product before the newer. Now I just need a basement storage room so I can get really serious with a free standing rack.

Not sure how to get started? Shelf Reliance has something called the "Q-Club" where you decide how much you can afford on food storage a month, fill your queue and you get a shipment every month! You can earn lots of fun things like free product and prizes. Just for getting your food storage taken care of. The consultant can help you figure out how much your family would need in an emergency. Oh, and if you are looking for a great way to make money from home, I would jump on this. Shelf Reliance has only been around for about a year so the market isn't saturated with consultants. And everyone is trying to prepare for emergencies now.

Ok, sorry, I've gone on and on, but I am really excited about how much my food storage has improved in the last month. Want to get yours going too?...

One Natalie's Sentiments reader will be receiving a $30 gift certificate to Shelf Reliance and a Thrive cookbook! Thank you to my consultant Valarie for supplying the prize!

To enter:

Head over to Shelf Reliance and let me know what you would get with your gift certificate. Use a link to the specific product. 

For additional entries, let me know in a separate comment if:

• Are a public follower 
• Like natalie's sentiments on Facebook.
• You have my button on your blog 
• Tweet, Facebook or blog about this giveaway (you know the drill).
• 3 extra entries if you purchase something from Valarie's Shelf Reliance site!

I'll announce the winner on March 11th. Good luck!