Lemon Zucchini Bread

Quite a while ago, I Pinned this recipe from Nancy Creative but never got around to trying it.  Then THRIVE Classic Lemonade came back for the Summer!  After reading other consultants talk about using the Lemonade powder in recipes, and having an abundance of zucchini from my garden, I decided now was the time to give it a try and to Thrive-a-lize it!

Results?  Delicious!  I took it to a family gathering to celebrate my brother's 40th birthday and my nephew's 12th birthday.  The family verdict?  Delicious!   We also had Thrive Classic Lemonade.  There were instant raves including the comment "This is a mix?  It tastes like freshly squeezed lemonade!  I think I need this!"

What did I change?  I replaced the lemon juice and lemon zest with THRIVE Classic Lemonade, used THRIVE Whole Egg Powder instead of eggs, and THRIVE Instant Milk (reconstituted).  I also replaced half the oil with applesauce to make it a bit healthier.

It was so good I made another loaf yesterday, experimenting with flours and using THRIVE Instant Milk in powder (adding the powder to the flour and adding water to the liquid mix).  Although still good, this second loaf wasn't near as amazing as the first.  I love the idea of using the milk powder so I'll have to give it another try without the whole wheat flour mix I used.

Ready to try it yourself?

Lemon Zucchini Bread

2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 T Thrive Whole Egg Powder
1/2 cup canola oil, or a blend of applesauce and oil to total 1/2 cup
2/3 cup sugar

1/2 cup Thrive Instant Milk, reconstituted
1 1/2 teaspoon Thrive Classic Lemonade powder

1 cup grated zucchini
4 T Water

Prep work:  Preheat oven to 350 degrees; grease 9x5 loaf pan (I sprayed it with Olive Oil)

In large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt, and egg powder.

In a second bowl, combine oil and sugar.  Add milk, water, and lemonade powder; mix well.  Gently stir in zucchini.
Add wet mixture to flour mix and combine well.

Pour into loaf pan and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

Anniversary Giveaway - Updated with Winner

3/27/13 - Congratulations to Stephanie K for winning my 1st Anniversary Giveaway!

This month is my 1 year anniversary of becoming a Shelf Reliance Independent Consultant.  It has been a great experience for me and my family.  My home store (aka food storage) has grown and I've learned a LOT.  Sadly, the learning a lot part means I am better aware of how much I don't know AND my To Do list for preparedness keeps growing, faster than I can keep up.  I am very grateful to all my customers, especially my first two (you know who you are)!

I continue to look to grow my business and my team - if you'd like to join my team, or get more information about becoming a consultant, check out the Join page here.  To sign up, you'll need my consultant ID (5892) and my email address (imthriving@gmail.com).  I'm so glad I didn't wait any longer to start my business.  A year from now, will you be wishing you had signed up now?  Are you looking to build up your home store for your family?  Becoming a consultant may be the answer as you can earn free and half-price products on your orders (outside of your Q) helping you to build up that home store faster.

To celebrate my anniversary, I want to share some of my favorite products with you.  And when I say share, I mean one of you will be getting 1 Pantry Can each of 3 of my favorite products...

THRIVE Tomato Powder

This product is so versatile! I primarily use it to make Tomato Basil Bread, in soups (like this Minestrone soup), and when I am just a little short on spaghetti sauce (just mix up a little and add it to a partial jar from the fridge instead of opening a whole new jar). I could also use it to make enchilada sauce, or anything else you'd make from tomato sauce or tomato paste. Many people use it to make spaghetti sauce.

 THRIVE Freeze Dried Raspberries

When I first tried the raspberries straight from the can, I was not thrilled.  But I'm not a tart fruit fan.  So why are they among my favorite products?  Because I throw them into almost any bread recipe and it makes it amazing.  Check out the Banana Chocolate Chip Raspberry Bread or the Raspberry Chocolate Chip Muffin recipe (note a trend).  I've also made Lemon Raspberry Scones that were awesome - and I need to finally share that recipe with you.

THRIVE Whole Egg Powder

I have fallen in love with using THRIVE Whole Egg Powder in my recipes.  With the rising prices at the grocery store, especially on fresh eggs, these are cheaper than using fresh eggs.  So I use them a LOT.  You can mix them up to make scrambled eggs for breakfast, or simply use them as a substitute for eggs in a recipe.

To enter my anniversary giveaway, complete the rafflecopter entries below.  The giveaway is open through March 26th (ends at midnight on March 27th).

a Rafflecopter giveaway

  This post is being shared on The Busy Bee's Link Party - go check out all the other great posts being shared.

My Q Order: Whole Egg Powder @ $1.02/dozen

I sat down this afternoon to work on my Q order to update the shipment to take advantage of the July specials that I want in our home store.   My order will process some time between the 6th and the 8th this month so I've got to get it figured out today.

I had previously purchased a pantry can of the Whole Egg Powder to try it out and I've now used it a couple times in my baking.  So as I looked at the specials, I wondered if I should go ahead and buy the #10 can while it's on special.  So I decided to do some number crunching.

The numbers - regularly $1.15/dozen, on sale for $1.02/dozen

Normally, I can buy the #10 can of Whole Egg Powder, as a Q Club member, for $20.69.  That can has 216 servings, which are the equivalent of 1 egg each.  That means the equivalent of a dozen eggs is $1.15 per dozen.  I am a careful shopper at the grocery store, paying attention to prices, and that's a decent price for a dozen eggs.

With the July sale price of $18.39 for the #10 can, that's $1.02 per dozen eggs!  I'll take that!  It definitely seems like prices at the grocery store are going up and that includes eggs.  So not only will this save me money immediately as I use the Whole Egg Powder for baking, 6 months from now, it will probably be saving me even more.  THRIVE Foods can be a great investment!

What will I use the Whole Egg Powder for?
I'll definitely be using the Whole Egg Powder for the majority of my baking.  At that price, it's cheaper than I can normally buy fresh eggs.  Of course, I can't use the Whole Egg Powder for my fried eggs in the morning but they'll work for making cakes, muffins, scones, bread, and even for dipping pork chops in before dipping into Italian Bread Crumbs (one of my favorite ways to eat pork chops).

Long Shelf Life
One of the reasons I buy THRIVE Foods is the long shelf life without refrigeration.  Unopened, in proper storage conditions, the Whole Egg Powder has a life of 3 years.  And once I open it, the Whole Egg Powder, in proper conditions, is good for 1 year without being refrigerated.  That means that I am guaranteeing a price of $1.02/dozen for up to the next 3 years or until I run out of the Whole Egg Powder that I'm purchasing today.  Who knows what price a dozen eggs will be next summer?

I want eggs at $1.02/dozen!
If you are in the Q Club, add the Whole Egg Powder into your July shipment to take advantage of this great sale.  If you have not already set up a Q, you can learn more about setting one up here.  Not ready for a Q but still want to stock up on eggs?  You can get this price by contacting me at imthriving@gmail.com, or by calling me at 417-886-9489.  Rather do it on your own?  You can order the Whole Egg Powder for $19.19 (+shipping & taxes) for the #10 can (and other Shelf Reliance products) through my online store.  Other sizes are also available.

This post is being shared with Frugal Friday on Life As Mom!

Raspberry Chocolate Chip Muffins

I have a muffin recipe that my whole family loves - and that's saying something.  My husband likes "plain muffins" so if I make blueberry or strawberry muffins from a mix, he won't eat them (but he will eat my Oatmeal Muffins, he claims they're plain).  My girls like blueberry, strawberry, and chocolate chip.  I do too.  But I don't like all the extras that are in the mixes so I went on a hunt for a good, simple muffin recipe.  And I found one thanks to Stolen Moments Cooking.  Their Chocolate Chip Muffins Recipe is DELICIOUS!  And everyone in my family eats them = SUCCESS!  The only part that is not so "simple" is that I have to melt the butter and let it cool before I can make the muffins.

I normally tweak baking recipes that call for oil by replacing some or all of the oil with applesauce, and by replacing white flour with a combination of white and wheat flour.  Recently I decided to tweak the recipe a little bit more by adding in THRIVE FD Raspberries, and then I replaced the eggs with Whole Egg Powder, and added the water needed for rehydrating the eggs.  The results were just as delicious!

Raspberry Chocolate Chip Muffins

• 2 cups white flour, 1 cup wheat flour
• 1 c. sugar
• 1 1/2 T. baking powder
• 1/2 t. salt
• 1 cup chocolate chips
• 1/4 cup FD Raspberries (not rehydrated) 
  
• 1/2 c. butter, melted and cooled
• 1/4 cup natural applesauce
• 3 T Whole Egg Powder
• 1 1/2 c. milk
• 6 T water
• 2 t. vanilla

1. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and whole egg powder until combined. Stir in the chocolate chips and raspberries.

2. In a second bowl, combine the remaining ingredients and whisk until fully combined. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir just until everything is moistened and combined. Be careful not to over-stir.

3. Pour into greased or lined muffin tins. Bake at 375 degrees for 12-14 minutes for a mini-muffin tin and 15-18 minutes for a regular-sized muffin tin, until fully cooked.

For the month of June 2012, THRIVE FD Raspberries are on special!  The #10 can is available on the I'm THRIVing! website for $27.79; Q Customers can get the #10 can for just $26.69.  Contact me to find out how you can become a Q Customer or to get the monthly special prices on the other sizes available (Pouch, Pantry Can, Case of #10s, or Pantry-10 Pack).