,

THRIVE Foods Tip: Buy Pantry Cans!

It is likely that I am one of the more frugal people you will ever know.  That’s not to say there aren’t many others out there just like me: probably more now than a few years ago considering the economy, but still.  I “coupon” like crazy and get our groceries (including diapers) for about $80/week for our family of six.  I never spend more than a few dollars on my kids clothing items, and try to stay under $10-$15 for most clothing items I buy for my husband and me.  I take advantage of lots of little money saving programs from Swagbucks to Groupon.  If you tell me there is a way to get quality items for less, I’m there.

So, when I was living with my parents last summer, and found out that my Mom bought their pantry cans, I was appalled at first.  It was certainly NOT something I was going to do!

Why was I so appalled?  Well, the cost per serving is much higher in a pantry can than it is in a #10 can.  It just didn’t make sense to me!  But, she did so for two reasons:

Reason #1: Less of an initial investment
While the cost per serving is higher in the pantry cans, the actual cost of the pantry cans is less.  So, she was able to try some items for a bit less money before investing in an entire #10 can.  I told her, she should just call her consultant (me) to try those items for free.  I’d be happy to send her a few samples. (I would also be happy to do so for you if you are interested!)
Reason #2: They fit better in her pantry
She liked being able to keep many different THRIVE items at her fingertips in her small pantry right in her kitchen.  She simply didn’t have room for a bunch of  #10 cans.  I thought she was silly.  Why didn’t she just walk down to the storage room to get what she needed when she wanted to use THRIVE?

Needless to say, I wasn’t sold.

Once I moved back to California, I bought just #10 cans for quite a while…until my little kitchen pantry was full of them…about six of them.  *ha ha*  I quickly realized that given the number of THRIVE foods I was using on a regular basis, I really needed a way to make them more accessible.  I just hadn’t really understood how often I would actually be using these incredible foods in my everyday cooking!  So, I took my mother’s advice and started buying pantry cans.  I only buy one pantry can of each item: just once.  I simply refill my pantry cans with what I have in my # 10 cans in my “storage area.”

I’ve had some people tell me that they will just use old peanut butter cans or pasta jars.  Part of the reason that these items have such a long opened shelf life is because of the quality of the cans they come in. They are doubled lined and help maintain the flavor, texture, and nutrients found in the original product.  If you do decide to store your food in another type of jar or can, please know that THRIVE Life (formerly Shelf Reliance) cannot guarantee the shelf life.  Plus, the little pantry cans are just so cute:

 

Being so frugal, I actually think it is pretty funny, but many, many people comment that one of the reasons they like to buy THRIVE is because of how “cute” the cans are!
+ posts

Becky is a wildlife enthusiast and pet and livestock care expert with a diploma in canine nutrition. With over a decade of experience in animal welfare, Becky lends her expertise to Simple Family Preparedness through insightful info about pets, livestock, bee keeping, and the practicalities of homesteading.

13 thoughts on “THRIVE Foods Tip: Buy Pantry Cans!”

  1. Hi Misty,
    I’m wondering if Thrive has specials every month or if September is the one month out of the year where their items are on sale. Also, I read a comment somewhere where a guy bought the Harvest at a super discount on a previous Black Friday. What information can you give me about that? ie is it certain items on sale, does the company even do that anymore, how much more of a discount is it than a regular discount, etc.

    Reply
    • Hi Jenny! Thrive does have specials every month. They had a HUGE sale in Aug (much bigger than this month on the food). And Black Friday is always a good time to purchase. There are always good deals available then. In years past it has been all of Black Friday weekend, but what is on sale always varies. The price on the Harvest this month is as low as I’ve seen it…even for Black Friday. There are usually a few food products on sale for 50%, some around 30% and the rest at 5%-10%. I usually send my customers the deals the week before and allow them to pre-order so they don’t have to stress about it during the holiday. You can sign up for my newsletter here (https://eepurl.com/et4No) and you’ll always be notified of each sale.

      Reply
  2. So I have been searching around the web for the past few days hoping to learn as much as I can about my options to freeze dried foods. Food storage is important to me and I am like your mom. Would rather have the smaller cans. But my purpose for these items is to make hiking MRE’s for my family and I. As we enjoy backpacking and camping we like to have are meals ready to go. Just add water. The problem I have is 1. I can never find any thing like YouTube videos showing how you make them and 2 I am worried about spending the upfront money without knowing the taste of the product. What are your thoughts. Thanks, Murray from MD

    Reply
  3. What are the physical dimensions of the pantry cans (i.e. a #10 can is 6″ high by 6″ in diameter)?

    I go camping with friends and Thrive certainly tastes better than MREs. I tow a small trailer so my car isn’t loaded with ‘stuff’ that I have to pack/unpack/repack — just trying to figure out how many cans I’ll be able to load up.

    Reply
  4. I am going back and re-reading your blogs. I really like this idea of buying the pantry cans at first. I have a few myself. And they are cute.

    Reply
  5. I just bought my first Q after joining as a consutlant, and ordered all pantry cans. So now my kitchen will be cute too! lol

    Reply

Leave a Comment