Very Berry White Chocolate Muffins—Using Thrive Products—And a Giveaway!

When Misty from Shelf Reliance asked me to give the Thrive products a try, I was a bit skeptical about the concept/approach.  However, after reading her blog "Your Own Home Store," and Shelf Reliance's website, I became convinced that the concept behind the Thrive products is sound and I decided to give it a try.

The concept is rather simple.  1) Flash Freeze the food/fruit.  2) Vaporize.  3) Package and Store.

The primary benefit of applying this methodology to food items is an Extended shelf life.  And as I read Misty’s story, while holding this concept in mind, I was so touched by Misty's story and it’s a reality check for all of us, especially with today’s economy (click here to read her full story).  I’m happy that I had the opportunity to try these awesome products.

Thrive Foods offers many variety/types of products, including grains, veggies, fruits, dairy, meat and beans.  Can you imagine using freeze dried ground beef and powder sour cream in your recipes?  I was fascinated by the wide ranch of products they offered.  Don’t worry, I’ll show you a few recipes on how to incorporate Thrive products into an everyday recipes, both savory and sweet.



I love how easy it was to open the packages on the canned products.  There’s a plastic lid to reclose the can so the unused portion stayed nice and fresh.  The picture below was the freeze dried Strawberry Yogurt Bites.  My kids love eating them as snacks.  These yogurt bits are also wonderful to eat with cereals.  Another way to enjoy them is to reconstitute them by adding water.  (All instructions were printed on the packages and were very easy to follow.) 



Products in pouches were re-sealable.  I loved the freeze dried fruit.  It was very versatile and easy to use.  In my Very Berry White Chocolate Muffins, I added the freeze dried raspberries in the batter as the way they were (without reconstitute).  Also, I added some crushed freeze dried strawberries in the batter to create the beautiful pink color naturally.  Not only do the muffins turned out beautifully, the freeze dried fruit added a wonderful berry flavor as well.  The freeze dried fruit in the muffins tasted just like fresh berries, if not better.  The freeze dry process really concentrated the flavors of the ingredients and the aroma popped once you open the packages.



Have you ever ran out of fresh eggs in the fridge while you need a few to whip up some goodies in a recipe?  That happened to me more than once!  It’s frustrating because it’s not always convenience for me to drive down to the store with the kids, especially when that happened in the middle of the night.  Yeah, my nick name is “midnight baker”!  LOL…Anyway, no more knocking on your neighbor’s door to borrow an egg!  Keep a package of the Thrive Whole Egg Powder in your pantry and you’ll always have the eggs you needed!  That’s truly awesome, don’t you agree? 



These Very Berry White Chocolate Muffins turned out soft, fluffy and moist!  I loved the bursting of berry flavors from each bite.  The tartness from the berries balanced well with the sweetness from the white chocolate.  You’ve got to try this wonderful recipe.  On my next post, I’ll share with you a savory recipe using other Thrive products.  And maybe a bonus sweet recipe after that.  For now, here’s your chance to win some Thrive products and make a batch of these berries goodness in your own kitchen.  Misty was very generous and offered one of the lucky uTry.it readers up to $50 in Thrive products (retail price). 


This Giveaway is now Closed.

Rules for the giveaway:
This giveaway is open to U.S. residents only (or with a valid U.S. shipping address).  Deadline to enter is June 8th by midnight PST.   

Mandatory entry:
Visit Shelf Reliance’s site, leave a comment and tell me which Thrive product you would like to try the most.

Extra entries: do all or any of the following (please leave a separate comment for each additional entry).

1) Visit Misty’s blog and subscribe to her blog by email or reader, leave a comment to tell me that you did
2) Like uTry.it’s Facebook page (Here’s the link)
3) Subscribe to uTry.it’s blog as a Follower on Google Friend Connect (see right hand side bar)
4) Share this giveaway with your Facebook friends
5) Share this giveaway on Twitter

 

One lucky winner will be selected using Random.org.  Winner will be announced shortly after the deadline of the giveaway.


Good Luck!


**Update**
A Friendly Reminder from Misty: I notice some of you shown interest in purchasing Thrive products.  Please make sure you place the order through Misty's site here (http://yourownhomestore.shelfreliance.com/yourownhomestore) and you'll save 5%-45% off retail price, courtesy of Misty.  Isn't it cool?  If you go straight to http://shelfreliance.com you will end up paying full retail price.  Thank you for the great tip and savings, Misty!


*Disclaimer: I received the free samples for the purpose of this review and I am not compensated in any way to write this post.  All comments and opinions are 100% my own.











Very Berry White Chocolate Muffins (with Thrive ingredients)

Makes 14

3/4 cup sugar
1 cup cake flour
1/2 cup Thrive Freeze Dried Strawberry
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup Thrive Sour Cream Powder
2 tablespoons Thrive Whole Egg Powder
1 cup warm milk
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup Thrive Freeze Dried Raspberry
1/2 cup white chocolate chips, plus more to melt and drizzle on baked muffins


Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Place 14 paper liners in muffin pans.

In a plastic zip log/sandwich bag, crush freeze dried strawberries with a rolling pin until they turn into powder.

In a large bowl, slightly whisk together sugar, cake flour, strawberry powder, baking powder, baking soda, salt, sour cream powder, and egg powder until well combined. In a measuring cup, combine warm milk, melted butter and vanilla. Slowly add into the dry ingredients while whisking. Whisk/beat until all ingredients are incorporated, about 2 to 3 minutes. Gentle fold in the raspberries and chocolate chips with a spatula and make sure the batter is completely mixed.

Scoop the batter into the prepared muffin pans, filling each cup 3/4 full. Bake for 17 to 20 minutes, until a toothpick or cake tester comes out clean.