Time for a GIVEAWAY!!!

*** Update as of 9/28/11 - Any previously attempted comments have not posted. I apologize for the inconvenience.  I have fixed the issues, and comments are publishing now, but unfortunately, if you tried to enter before, even if it seemed it went through, it didn't and you need to enter again. To give everyone enough time to enter, I'm extending the deadline until October 10th. Thanks for understanding, and good luck to all who enter.***

Woohoo! I've reached 1,000 hits on my blog, which means it's time for a giveaway. I've got a pouch of Freeze Dried Strawberries for the lucky winner.

 There are a few ways you can get an entry. And if you use all five ways, you can get up to five entries.

1- Post a comment on my blog about which THRIVE item you love the most and why. If you haven't tried any of the items yet, you can post about which item you are most interested in trying and why.

2- Get a friend to join either my blog as a follower or my facebook group. Leave a comment as to who you referred and if they joined the blog or the group.

3-Place an order for any Shelf Reliance Products (or sign up for the Q) through me as a consultant. Leave a comment stating that you ordered.

4- Leave a comment with a recipe your family enjoys that contains ingredients that could potentially be substituted with THRIVE foods. (check out the digital catalog link in the top right corner of this blog for a list of THRIVE foods)

5- Post a link to my blog and some positive recommendations on your own facebook profile or blog for your friends to see. Leave a comment stating which you did and what your blog address or facebook name is so I can go check it out.

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So there you have it. Five ways to earn up to five entries. You have until the end of the month to get your entries in. Please leave a SEPARATE comment for each entry. I will be using random.org to generate the winner and each comment will be assigned its own number. I will be selecting the winner October 1st. Good luck everyone!

FREE GIVEAWAY TAKE 2- TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES RESOLVED

Okay friends. I thought it was pretty weird that I was offering to give away free stuff, and no one was bothering to enter the giveaway. Then I heard from a few of you that you had tried to enter, and something was going wrong with the comments publishing to the site. Thanks to my great friend Jennie (she has a wonderful recipe blog, http://mommyskitchencreations.blogspot.com/), the problem has been resolved. Comments are now showing up!

So what this means is if you have previously tried to enter, even if it says it published, it didn't. So you will need to leave a new comment in order to get your shot at winning. And remember, you can leave one comment per each of the 5 ways to enter. I apologize for the inconvenience. To allow everyone more time, I am going to extend the deadline to October 10th.  Just to recap, here are the ways to enter:

1- Post a comment on my blog about which THRIVE item you love the most and why. If you haven't tried any of the items yet, you can post about which item you are most interested in trying and why.

2- Get a friend to join either my blog as a follower or my facebook group. Leave a comment as to who you referred and if they joined the blog or the group.

3-Place an order for any Shelf Reliance Products (or sign up for the Q) through me as a consultant. Leave a comment stating that you ordered.

4- Leave a comment with a recipe your family enjoys that contains ingredients that could potentially be substituted with THRIVE foods. (check out the digital catalog link in the top right corner of this blog for a list of THRIVE foods)

5- Post a link to my blog and some positive recommendations on your own facebook profile or blog for your friends to see. Leave a comment stating which you did and what your blog address or facebook name is so I can go check it

And the winner will receive a FREE Pouch of FD Strawberries. So enter away. Sorry again for my technical expertise. Good luck to everyone entering!

Get Platinum Membership FREE - Month of September only

I have posted in the past about the wonderful Q program that Shelf Reliance offers. For those of you who haven't read about it yet, the Q program is where you can have the system help you create a balance food storage plan based on your family size, for a duration of your choosing, and all the items and quantities in the plan are fully customizable. Then, instead of paying for the plan all at once, you simply reallocate a portion of your normal grocery budget to buy your THRIVE foods, and whatever monthly budget you choose, the system will select items (or you can do it manually) to send to you each month, making sure that with tax and shipping, you never go over the budget that YOU determined. It's a great way to build your home store over time. And the food comes Fed-Ex straight to your door. It truly is a wonderful program.

Now all of the above is just the basic Q level of membership. But if you are the Platinum level of membership, you get all that plus some really amazing perks. Before I list off all the perks, let me just say that while the Platinum level normally has a sign up and annual renewal fee, ANYONE who lets me sign them up for the Q in the month of September, NO MATTER WHAT THEIR MONTHLY BUDGET IS, will qualify for Platinum membership FREE FOR LIFE. No sign up fees, no renewal fees, nothing. Just the perks. And here's what some of those perks are:

You'll notice that occasionally they send gifts. Here's an example of the gift Platinum members received recently. It's an adjustable measuring spoon, set of measuring cups, and a strainer. All for free, just to say thanks for being a Platinum member.

 

You'll also notice it says you get occasional Q-pons. Each month there is a special deal on a particular item that only Q members qualify for, and we receive this Q-pon emailed directly to us. People ordering through parties can't get this deal. In was Taco TVP in July and Elbow Macaroni in August. Right now it's FD Mushrooms.  I love getting bonus deals! 

We also get occasional shipping discounts, and special recipes,  such as the one below that was e-mailed out in August.

The last perk is my personal favorite: REWARD POINTS!!! For every dollar you spend on your Q as a platinum member, you earn 1 point. 500 points gets you $15 in free product. FREE FOOD! Who doesn't love that?

Normally, you'd have to pay for a sign up or renewal fee to get these benefits, but this month, I can secure those benefits for ANYONE who signs up for the Q, no matter how big or small their budget is, all for FREE. And that is free, for life. No renewal fees, ever. Just additional benefits. So if you're interested in getting set up on the Q or learning more about, just let me know.

Product Review: Freeze Dried Mushrooms

The 5 day sale is officially over. Congrats to everyone who got their orders in on time to take advantage of those great savings. There are still plenty of other deals going on right now, and all the current prices are found in the Fall Price list, which link is available on the right hand side of this blog under "Links to help you thrive".

One of the great deals right now, especially for Platinum Q Club members, are the Freeze-dried Mushrooms. They are this month's Q-pon, and for Q members, they are only $15.37. For everyone else who places a one time order through me, they are only $18.49. (To learn more about joining the Q club, just send me an e-mail or leave a comment on this post).

Now, let me preface this by saying that personally, I hate mushrooms. So this review is not on the food itself, because in my opinion, mushrooms, whether fresh or freeze-dried, are still a fungus and I don't care for them at all. Now, that being said, some people, such as my sweet hubby, LOVE mushrooms. But poor fungus-lovin' guy never gets to eat them, because I never buy them. Sure, I could buy a pack and only put some in half the recipe, but then the rest of the pack would go bad before we got to use it. Not to mention, I would have to wash and cut the mushrooms, and given the whole fungus thing, that's never gonna happen.

I saw THRIVE had some freeze dried Mushroom Pieces, however, and sympathetically ordered a big can for my hubby. They come pre-washed and cut, and since they will last 18 months in an OPENED can, I can use as little an amount as I want without worrying the rest will go bad and I'll have wasted my money.

Now my hubby gets to enjoy his mushrooms, and I get to enjoy putting a smile on my hubby's face without having to do much at all. Here's just how little I had to do the other night.

Get a microwave-safe dish and fill it with water. Stick it in the microwave for 2 minutes. Scoop out desired amount of mushrooms from the can, stir them into the hot water, put the lid on, let rest for 5 minutes.

After 5 minutes, drain off the water and here's what you get. He could have eaten them plain like this, but during those 5 minutes, I had been caramelizing some onions, so I pulled out half of the onions for me and threw these mushrooms in with his half to saute and pick up a bit of that caramelized flavor.

Then I threw them on his burger with some Swiss cheese and A1 sauce. Just look at that picture. You can bet it made him happy. So thank you THRIVE, yet again, for bringing smiles to my home.

Hurry before the prices go up!

If you have ever thought about placing an order, NOW is the time to do it. Not only do you get the extra 5% savings on all food and shelves if you order before the end of the day on Monday September 5th, but if you wait until September 6th, the new fall prices are kicking in. I've had a chance to pre-view the fall price list, and I can tell you that while a few things are going down from their summer price (still won't be as good a deal as the extra 5% off sale), and many are staying the same, there are still quite a few prices that are going up. The price of food is on the rise EVERYWHERE, and I can't say that Shelf Reliance is an exception to that rule. But what I can say is that the food you buy now through Shelf Reliance will last you years and years, which makes it a GREAT investment. Buy your long term food storage now, because as the price of food increases, so does the value of your investment. And you're not only buying a food investment, you're buying peace of mind as well. Whatever emergency comes, you'll be able to take care of your family.

To make the wisest investment, place your order before the end of the day on Monday September 5th and take advantage of the lowest prices before the sale ends. Here's a link again to the current sale prices:

http://www.shelfreliance.com/pdf/parties/09-01-2011-5-Day-Sale-Price-List2.pdf

I will be out and about on Monday, so please utilize my cell phone (714-683-7562) and leave me a message if you need to place your order, or if you want to let me know that you e-mailed your order to me at ThriveWithHemsath@gmail.com.

Grand Opening 5 Day Sale - EVERYTHING'S on sale (including new gluten free grains!)

Shelf Reliance just opened a new facility today in American Fork, UT, and to celebrate, they've discounted ALL their food and shelving units. These prices are only valid through September 5th, so if you've been thinking about ordering, now's the time to do it! These sale prices are on top of the regular Q club discounted price. Have a look and make a list of what you've been wanting to order, then give me a call (714-683-7562) or shoot me an e-mail (ThriveWithHemsath@gmail.com) and we'll get that order placed before the sale ends.

Here's the price list - the very last column is your 5 day sale price, so that's the one to pay attention to: http://www.shelfreliance.com/pdf/parties/09-01-2011-5-Day-Sale-Price-List.pdf

Also in conjunction with the Grand Opening, Shelf Reliance has come out with some new products they're releasing, including new drink mixes, GLUTEN FREE grains, and a brand new Food Rotation System that fits under the bed.

Drink Mixes

All drink mixes come in pouch, pantry can and #10 can sizes. They are vitamin fortified with natural flavoring and sweeteners. Price quoted is the 5 day sale price for a #10 can.

• Fruit Punch Performance - $17.99
• Mango Passion - $20.99
• Melon Berry Burst - $20.89
• Orange Bliss - $17.79
• Orchard Apple - $17.59
• Simply Peach - $16.89

Gluten Free Grains

All gluten free products will be available in buckets, #10 cans, pantry cans, and pouches (cornmeal does not come in a pouch). Price quoted is the 5 day sale price for a #10 can.

• Quinoa - $24.69
• Amaranth - $11.00
• Millet - $9.39
• Rice Flour - $7.39
• Cornmeal - $7.40

And last, but certainly  not least, is the Harvest Under the Bed food rotation unit. At 36" wide, 24.5" deep and only 10.5" tall, this shelving unit is designed to rotate Pantry size or smaller cans, even in the smallest nook you have. This is perfect for everyone who doesn't think they have any space to store their food storage. For the next five days, it's on sale for only $75.99.

So hurry and place your order before these great deals end! If you have any questions at all, don't hesitate to ask!