Saturday, December 31, 2011

Join Me for A Pantry Challenge


An month of eating from the pantry is a great way to rotate your food storage, evaluate your food storage and save money on groceries.  

  
source mullica

Jessica over at Good Cheap Eats is sponsoring a pantry challenge this January.   After reading about her challenges for a couple of years I’ve decided to participate and I hope you will too. 

So what is the Pantry Challenge?
Give me the details

 Source  ChalonHandmade 
  • The Challenge starts Sunday January 1st and Ends Tuesday January 31st. 
  • It is a month long focus on eating the foods that are already in your house instead of grocery shopping.    
  • It is a thoughtful approach to menu planning. 
  • It is a chance to get creative with the ingredients that you already have.
  • It is NOT a total abstinence of grocery shopping.  I am going to be purchasing fruits, veggies, bread, and milk and eggs.
What am I going to be focusing on? 

 Photo Source by mullica
  •    Getting organized.  Okay a little admission my pantry has needed to be cleaned out and organized for months, maybe I’ll have to have E come over and give me some tips.
  •  Creating menus that my kids will like and that focus on foods that we already have on hand.
  •   Lowering my food budget.  I currently spend $400 a month on groceries and $150 on long term food storage.    For a family of 5 I think that $550 in food each month is pretty good.   I’m hoping that by focusing on the foods we already have by the end of the month we will have some money saved to purchase some beef to fill up my freezer.  (It is a big chest freezer and currently has 3 turkeys in it.  They are lonely and I’d really like to have a full freezer).
  •  Evaluate my food storage.  Taking a month to eat out of our pantry will really help me evaluate if we are storing the foods that we should be.  I really believe that you should store high quality nutritious foods that you like to eat.
I hope you’ll join me.

Are you joining the pantry challenge?   What are you planning on focusing on?  What do you need help with?    


   


Thursday, December 29, 2011

Buy Now and Save--Price of Thrive Blueberries Increasing by $10 a can in January

The  Shelf Reliance winter price list is now available and I wanted to make you aware of a couple of drastic price increases so you can buy now and save money. 

I did some comparison shopping for you between fall and winter price lists.  There are three Thrive foods that really increase in price in January. I just loaded up on them for my home store right now.  I recommend you do too! You can purchase these items now on my website at the lower prices, until January 2nd.


Blueberries are currently $32.89 beginning January 2nd they will be $41.29, nearly a $10 increase!










Cauliflower is $13.69 but will increase to $18.49 almost a $5 per can increase.










Spaghetti is $12.79 and will increase to $16.69 just under $4 per can increase.













These are all the #10 can sizes. When you purchase a case of any one item you'll receive an additional 5% savings.

I'm sure you are aware of the increased food prices that are happening across the country.  I am committed to helping you find a great deal with out compromising on quality.  
 

Call me if you have any questions about these items or the upcoming price lists.  Please contact me at heather@teamshelfreliance.com or 435-535-1470

Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Freeze Dried Raspberries--Everything You need to know


Freeze Dried Raspberries have an amazing  color  and  flavor , a burst of raspberry flavor, they are quite tart.

How to Rehydrate Freeze Dried Raspberries

Makes
Amount
Water
Instructions
Freeze Dried Raspberries
1 c.
1 c.
1 c.
Place FD raspberries on a plate.  Spray with cool water until thoroughly damp.  Let sit for 7-10 minutes until soft.  Drain of any excess water.
Cost
Freeze Dried Raspberries cost per cup $2.53
Freeze Dried Raspberries cost per serving $0.63
*Based on the Fall 2011 Shelf Reliance Price List

 Freeze Dried Raspberry 
Recipes you might enjoy
 

Raspberry Vinegar Tart from the New York Times recipe by Allison Kave (you have to scroll down a little bit to see the recipe)





How do you like to use freeze dried raspberries?


Monday, December 19, 2011

Technology that Makes Being A Consultant Easier

Recently I have come across a couple of pieces of Technology that Make life as a consultant much easier.  I thought I would share them with you. 

Use F3 to search a webpage.  When you are on a webpage (this includes the back end) you can press F3 and it will pull up a dialog box that allows you to search that page.  This is great for managing your team, finding an order, or a customer e-mail. 

Check Cashing From your Phone:  Many banks are starting to offer the option of taking a photo of a check with your smart phone and depositing it in your account.  No more running to the bank to drop off those checks from a party.  I have been using check cashing from my phone for a while and I love it.  Check with your bank to see if they offer it.  (I use Chase and it is easy to use.)

GPS Navigation:  Okay so everyone knows how great GPS navigation is, unless of course you have never used it.  My husband got it for me right after I became a consultant and I LOVE it.  No more getting lost on the way to a party.  If you are doing a lot of parties outside of the area you know well, than this is a must have.

Program the Tax Rates into your Calculator:  In case you haven’t noticed I am NOT a math whiz.  Sales tax and food tax sometimes trick me up.  If you are the same just program the tax rate into your calculator (or have your math whiz husband do it).  Than all you have to do is push on button and the tax is figured out for you. 
 
The Front End of Shelf Reliance’s Web Site:  There are a lot of resources on the front end (which is what customers usually see).  These tools are very helpful for consultants.  Be sure to check out:

Online Catalog  This is very helpful to add to you blog, or to e-mail to customers.  I send it to party hosts, potential consultant, okay well everyone.  I like it because it allows customer to see the products. 

Food Calculator (also Called THRIVE Planner):  I like setting up planners from the front end because then you can e-mail it to a customer and to yourself.

Emergency Kit Planner  This allows you to create a customer emergency kit.  Love it. 

The Back End or Consultant Side of Shelf Reliance’s Website

Marketing Kit  (Consultant Materials →Marketing → Marketing Kit)  This will download a bunch of images and logos for your use. 

http://www.shelfreliance.com/fan  This fan page has a bunch of easy to use buttons for your blog (or you can use them as adds)  These adds/buttons are already approved and you can use them without getting approval from SR.

What technology do you use that makes things easier?   

Thursday, December 15, 2011

Shelf Reliance Entree Review

I am sure I posted or e-mailed this out before but I can't find it so I thought I'd put it up again, in case you also can't find it. 
I did a taste test on all the entrees a while ago so that I could say something to customers besides "I've never tried that"

 I tested the entrees that come in the 6 pack (so I was missing 2) with about 20 people and then we discussed how we liked them.

  Tips to Making Entrees  

1.  Don't rush the cooking time.  If you don't cook them long enough they are not so good. 


2.  Make sure the stir the can before you measure out what you need.  Some of the veggies or meat will sink to the bottom and you want veggies and meat every time you make it not just the last time.


3.  The seasonings come in individual packages inside the can.  I thought that was weird at first.  So you might need to dig through the rice (or what ever) to find it. 

I digress sorry, here are the results of our very unofficial taste test:

Great:
Baked Potato Cheese Soup.  The only problem is the peas don't ever get soft.  But if you can get past that it is great.
Beef Chilli--can be a little spicy, you don't have to use all the seasoning
Broccoli Cheese Soup--to bump it up a notch try adding in a little freeze dried broccoli.
Sweet Pepper Steak ( I was surprised how much we liked this)

Good: 
Chicken Noodle Soup
Veggie Risotto (people really loved this or hated it)
Creamy Tomato Chicken

Not Good: 
Cheesy Potatoes
Chicken Curry

Haven't tried:
Mesquite BBQ Chicken
Dijon Chicken


What do you think?  Have you tried them?  

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Tent Winner


Thanks to everyone who entered.  I was very interested to read about what you are prepared/preparing for. 
The Winner of the 2 person Dome Tent is

We prepared well for underemployment. And, we are living well off of our stockpile/food storage. We need to be better prepared for floods.
Dana you have 48 hours to claim your prize.  E-mail me heather@teamshelfreliance.com