This pregnancy has been different from my previous two in key – with both of my previous pregnancies, I really had no appetite until I was at least 8 weeks (more like 13 weeks with my son).
But this time, I came out swinging. Hungry ALL. THE. TIME. Eating constantly. And finally when the fatigue levels dropped and I was able to focus on eating and cooking, my husband suggested I try ordering some healthier snacks to help get me through the days (so, yes, like ALL the days) when snacking was just as important as meals.
He had heard of a new Costco meets Whole Foods online marketplace called Thrive Market, an option for great quality products from snacks, to shampoo, to disposable plates and more.
I thought, sure, this is going to cost us a fortune and the kids won’t touch any of these weird snacks.
But as usual when I actually took the time to look through the options I was nothing short of impressed. And with each order, my affinity for Thrive has grown.
So here are the 8 Reasons Why I Love Thrive Market, in case you are thinking about it, wondering about it, and wanting to know what someone else loves about it.
- They have options for all eating lifestyles. – If you’re paleo/grain-free, gluten free, raw, vegan, non-GMO, or certified organic, there are options for you. Instead of scouring stores, shelves, reading labels and then doing it all over again at another store, you can simply click on the food lifestyle choice that fits you and see a list of products. I LOVE this for paleo snacks for my husband and gf snacks for the kiddos. And it’s not just snacks. Kitchen staples, stocking up the pantry, and any kind of food goods you could think of are on Thrive.
- The snack options are out-of-this-world amaze-sauce. – No I’m not exaggerating. And for you mamas who live in small towns, you might be lucky if you have like half a grocery store aisle dedicated to “natural living” and pickens’ are SLIM. I was almost shocked by the number of snack choices – which has grown since we joined just a few months ago. And it’s totally normal kid-friendly snacks in healthier options. Cheddar cheese crackers? Yum. Fruit leather? Yes please. Cereal that tastes better than what I grew up eating? Sign me up! Plus there’s snacks for the more mature palette – beef jerky, cool chip combos, and more. And for allergy moms: how awesome is it to find snacks that your kids can eat? We don’t have allergies at our house just sensitivities and preferences, but when the kids are littler, I’m usually watching for something with them (gluten for my daughter and eggs for my son) and this is such a great resource.
- There is a whole section for home goods.– I have only ordered some cleaning supplies from this part of the market, but I am so excited to know where to get biodegradable flatware for parties, large family meals, or post baby when I don’t want to do dishes. It’s nice to know I have another option to look at for utensils and such. And the cleaning supplies. Delicious. Seriously I bought some Mrs. Meyers hand soap and the smell was phantasmagorical.
- The quantities aren’t enormous. – I LOVE me some Costco but sometimes I don’t need a year supply of something – especially if I’m just wanting to try it for the first time. So I love that the quantities are standard grocery store size. Perfect to try, or pack, or stash so the kids can’t find it. What?!? I would never do that….
- I would join just for the hair care products. – And if you think I’m joking, clearly you’ve never seen one of my Monday Musings where I discuss my hair since moving to the south. (Uhm, hello? There should be like special hair products that arrive in your change of address packet. But since there wasn’t….) I was really struggling between my no ‘pooing and the intense amount of humidity here and my hair looked like shiitake. When I realized that my hair was fried from the no ‘poo experiment of the last 3 ish years I wanted to get something good….good for me, good for the planet, good for the people supplying it. And buying that kind of awesomeness at a health food store or from a sales company made my eyes pop out of my head cartoon-character-style when I saw the price tag and figured up my hair length x washings/week x my daughter + two boys….and o man. Add in the eco friendly styling products and there is a lot of win in this part of the marketplace.
- I don’t have to run around to a bunch of different stores, little kids in tow. – Between car seat buckles and nap times, I’m usually a one-and-done errand kind of girl, especially when I have a kid under one and we’re still napping twice a day. So to get the snacks, the hair care products, the other staples, and so on would have me in continuous cycle of errands, and sometimes far errands. This way I just click, click, click, and it all comes to my house. This means more time for bounce house playing, Octonauts watching, and wrasslin’ which is how I prefer to spend my days.
- And seriously, who doesn’t like getting stuff in the mail? – I’m always one to hit the minimum amount to get free shipping and just stock up on stuff. My kids LOVE watching for a delivery truck. And the one time I had trouble with my tracking info, Thrive’s customer service was on it like white on rice to make sure everything was taken care of in the system.
- Oh, and they let you try it before committing. – I scoured the website before I put anything in the cart. I was sure I could find a better price. That the selection was only so-so. That I wouldn’t know any of the brands. And when I was wrong, wrong, and oh, wrong again, I starting putting stuff in the online cart like I was on Supermarket Sweep. Then I got to check out and found out that on your first order (when you order through this link), you get 25% off your initial order AND you don’t pay for the membership until after your first month. Even the membership costs less than $5 a month and based on your first order, they will tell you how much money you could save in that first year if your shopping trends stay the same. So you get to try it, with a discount, and then see how much you’ll save (which is definitely more than the price of the membership)? Yeah, pretty cool.
Ok, so if I’ve peaked your interest in Thrive Market, I invite you check it out through this link. You get to look around for free and even get a discount on your first order so really, what is there to lose?
And if you do check it out or are already a member, I’d love to hear what YOU love about Thrive Market. Share it in the comments below!
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