Hi from Jodi and Julie!

Everyone wants to try to eat healthier these days, but it’s not always very convenient. I’ve been trying to eat more green smoothies lately to get in some extra nutrition when I don’t want to take the time to cook a healthy lunch for myself. My problem is that I’m not consistent enough to keep all my spinach and fruits from going bad before I can get through them all.

Well since I discovered the secret of using freeze dried fruits and veggies in my smoothies my world has completely changed! You can mix and match your ingredients but here is a basic formula you can use to create your own smoothie mixes! It’s the perfect amount to fit in a quart size canning jar so you can even make big batches while you have all of the ingredients pulled out and have quick and easy smoothies on hand for a busy day.

The most common ingredient for green smoothies is large handfuls of spinach. Freeze-dried spinach is a lot more nutrient dense and more potent in flavor so you can use a lot less. Anywhere from 1/2-1 cup should work but my kids complain of the spinach flavor gets too strong. You can also experiment with subbing in other green veggies to get a little different nutrient and flavor profile.  Kale is another one I love to use.

The fruits are so versatile and I love it. The kids can pick their favorite combo or you can stick to tried and true favorites. I did 1 cup peaches, 1 cup strawberries, and 1/2 cup each of bananas and pineapples. It was delicious and a big hit with the little ones.

You can use a little more water if you don’t like your smoothies to be too thick. This formula makes about 24 ounces of smoothie. You can bulk that up by adding some optional mix-ins. Some popular items are protein powder, drink mixes, peanut flour, yogurt bites, vanilla powder, or the really healthy things like chia seeds, flax seeds, etc.

Thrive had its semi-annual sale last week but we didn't feel like there were a lot of great package options for stocking up on your food storage.  So we put together our own exclusive sale packages JUST for Food Storage Made Easy readers.  There are two options to choose from:

This fits with our alternative food storage calculator which incorporates "extras" beyond the basics of wheat, beans, and rice.  You can stock up all at once or simply add a few cans a month to your storage and until you reach the goal amount from your calculator.

These packs include 10 or 12 small pantry cans of fruits or veggies so you can try out a wide variety of them without having to open all your #10 cans.  See what you like and stock up on them later!  We have had A LOT of requests for something like.

This is a flash sale that ends today April 30th at midnight MDT.  Free shipping to lower 48 states and Canada and discounted shipping to Hawaii, Alaska, Puerto Rico.