Chili Lime Chicken Rice and THRIVE Express

Hey folks.  Missed me? To kick off the summer, my husband (a high school teacher) spent two weeks at various scout camps, and I struggled to play the single mom role. Now that he's finally home, we have already done some major landscaping, made curtains, and painted a few rooms. Amid the busy schedule of summer, I have taken a much slower pace with my THRIVE blogging, but that's not to say THRIVE isn't still an active part of our lifestyle. In fact, the busier I am, the more THRIVE I tend to use because it is so quick and convenient, while still being healthy.  

With the Arizona heat, I have still been using my sun oven a lot, but I'm going to take a small break from blogging about the Sun Oven to let you know about an important part of THRIVE I haven't mentioned before. And that is THRIVE Express.

THRIVE Express is a line of entrees and sides that Shelf Reliance released this spring. They come in high quality Mylar pouches, which you can buy individually, or in a 5 pack box, and there's even a variety pack with one of each of the twelve different flavors.  They are loaded with plenty of THRIVE Freeze-dried meats and veggies.  The whole meal is in there; you just need to add water. They are guaranteed to last at least 5 years, and will probably last closer to 10, but for sure, Shelf Reliance says 5 years.  My favorite part, however, is how FAST they are to make.

This week, we had been busy painting and by the time we needed to eat, I hadn't prepared anything. I thought it would be as good a time as any to try out the "Chili Lime Chicken Rice" THRIVE Express pouch I had. So I opened the pouch and here's what I saw inside.

Actual freeze dried white meat chicken, freeze dried bell peppers, green chilies, corn, spices, and two kinds of rice. I boiled 1 2/3 cups water, dumped in the pouch, let it simmer for 7 minutes, rest for 3 more minutes, and then we were eating. TEN MINUTES, and my husband and I both had a full cup of a complete meal, which doesn't sound like much, especially to someone like me who always eats more than I should, but even so, I was definitely satisfied afterwards. (Note: the Chili Lime is a express side dish, which makes four 1/2 cup servings, but we ate it like an entree between the two of us. The Express entrees made four full cup servings.)  And the taste? Excellent! Dustin was skeptical about the chili lime flavor, but he kept commenting while eating that he was actually really enjoying it. I also really enjoyed it.

The alternative would have been to run out for fast food, which would have wound up costing about the same if not more, wasting gas, and having way more fat and calories than we needed. I love knowing I have some more pouches of my chili lime chicken rice on hand for those pressed-for-time nights, and I have some of the creamy beef and noodles coming in my Q this month which I'm very excited about.

I have a great page with THRIVE Express FAQs, videos, and more that you can find at: http://whitneyhemsath.shelfreliance.com/parties/index/cms/id/thrive_express.

Along with Tomato Powder, FD Zucchini, FD Green Chilies, FD Red or Green Bell Peppers, FD Raspberries, Carrots, Onions, Pasta and Beans, also on sale for June are the following THRIVE Express flavors: Chile Lime Chicken Rice, The Creamy Beef and Noodles, and the Loaded Scalloped Potatoes.  The above website show pictures and sale prices for those THRIVE Express items. If you have any questions about THRIVE Express or any of the June specials, or to order some for your pantry, just contact me. Here's to productive summers and quick healthy dinners. Here's to THRIVE Express!