I've always had a passion for healthy eating! Unfortunately many things have always gotten in the way of my own family eating right. time....money....time.... and so on. When I was first introduced to Shelf Reliance in the fall of 2009 I thought, "yuck! food storage? no thanks." and didn't even taste anything. Today I regret that.
I went to school at Utah State University to study Community Health. I loved my nutrition courses and it became my goal to get families eating healthier. Eating right is not only about eliminating high blood pressure, diabetes, obesity, and many other diseases, eating right simply improves life. As i'm sure you can all attest, you just feel better! I created two different programs while studying at USU. First, "Weigh it Out", was designed to help parents weigh out the barriers vs the benefits of eating healthy. My second program was called, "Eat the Rainbow". This was designed for children. I took the program to a local school and encouraged children to eat all the colors of the rainbow everyday! They were able to taste many fruits and vegetables that were new to them. In both programs I saw success. Everyone had a desire to eat better. Everyone saw the benefits! However, they weren't doing it. Even when I evaluated my own family....I wasn't doing it.
No matter what I did in teaching Health and Nutrition, I couldn't eliminate two constant barriers for anyone, including myself. Time and Money. I spent hours researching time-saving tips for preparing healthier meals, and money-saving ideas. But in the end, it was a lot of work, and it was going to cost more money. period. I figured that when I became rich and famous (cause we all plan on that someday, right?) I would make healthy meals for my family!
It wasn't until my own family was experiencing some tough financial times that I pulled out the THRIVE food that had been gifted to us as a Christmas present. At the time, that Christmas present was a fun joke, but I now consider it my greatest gift.
The first thing I opened was THRIVE mixed bell peppers. Right away I knew I was going to go through the can pretty fast. They smelled divine! I was soon incorporating THRIVE into almost every meal. My four-year-old was begging for it for snacks. We quickly signed up for the Q program and started receiving freeze-dried food at our door. It didn't take long to feel the blessing of having our own Home Store. It's convenience and nutrition wrapped in one little can. win...win!
I now go to the grocery store less, spend less, and eat better! Some times I can't even believe I can say that. But it's true, it's really possible! and as if that's not good enough, I also have a food supply in my house with a 25 year shelf life. I used to believe that food storage was strictly for a natural disaster of some sort. It's silly really, because the truth is that the most common disasters happen in the walls of our own home....lost job, illness, etc. I have stopped waiting for the world to end, and I'm eating the yummy, nutritious food NOW!
