~I had been curious about Thrive Market, a website where you can buy everything organic, vegan, paleo, gluten-free, etc. since I saw a commercial for it a while ago. I was just as excited shopping online as I was shopping at Fresh Thyme (which I need to visit again). Not only could you buy food, there was a wide selection of pet care and household products to choose from. They even had fair trade items! I was mostly interested in food, so that’s where I started.
I’m a big snacker, I’m snacking on seaweed as I type this right now. And also a snack hoarder. Once I buy my certain snacks, I keep them hidden in my room so no one else can have them haha. Mostly it’s Larabars, which I bought another big box of them on Thrive Market. In addition to the Larabars, I purchased a small package of seaweed (delicious!), organic wild rice cakes, ghee, fair trade coffee and grass-fed beef jerky. I was looking forward to the beef jerky since a) beef jerky is one of my favorite snacks, and b) I’ve always wanted to try grass-fed beef to see if it really does taste better than conventional beef. Sad to say I wasn’t a big fan. It had a strange almost mealy texture and an unpleasant aftertaste. I won’t totally disregard grass-fed beef, but next time I’ll try it in a burger or another preparation.
The ghee, on the other hand, was a complete impulse buy. I knew nothing about it prior to visiting Thrive Market and was super curious about it when I saw it listed under vinegar and oils. After Googling I found out that ghee is actually a form of clarified butter popular in Indian cooking. I was nervous that I bought something without knowing what it was, but curiosity got the best of me. I haven’t used it yet, but I’ll blog about it when I do.
After placing my order, I looked at the confirmation e-mail and the address said that the state it was going to ship to was Utah, not Illinois. Immediately I e-mailed customer services and they quickly corrected the error. Now I’m in the middle of my free trial until February 7th, until you get hit with their $59.95 annual membership fee. Ouch. But in the mean time I get free shipping on my next 3 orders!
Overall, I’m really impressed with Thrive Market. I love that they cater to a vast array of dietary and lifestyle needs for an affordable price, and you can donate a portion of your purchase to families in need. Their customer service was prompt and polite, and I was overall satisfied with my purchase. I’m still on the fence on whether I want to become a member after my free trial, and I’ll be munching on my healthy snacks as I make that decision haha.
Happy shopping!
The Garden Goddess 