Today’s Friday Favorites is all about the great stuff I’ve found from Thrive Market. You know Thrive, that store I talk about all the time and mention in almost every post? I order from them at least once a month. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, go back and read this introductory article about it. I even have a little advertising button on my sidebar for them because I am so thrilled with this company. I have absolutely no complaints and that is saying a lot!
Disclaimer: I am in no way compensated for my positive comments about Thrive Market. However, if you sign up for a yearly membership through my referral link, then I do receive a small commission. But I would absolutely not recommend them if I weren’t truly their biggest fan.
Just about any shelf-stable product I would otherwise buy at Whole Foods or other health food store, I buy from Thrive, generally for at least a 25% savings. But I do have my favorites, those items I buy over and over again. These fall into two basic categories: food and personal care. I’m linking to my favorites below with a little blurb about why I like them.
If you haven’t tried Thrive yet, I sincerely encourage you to do so. And tell your friends. You can sign up for a free month trial right from their homepage. They don’t do anything tricky like make it difficult for you to cancel at the end of the month. This company is totally on the up and up. If you decide you like the service, you can just keep on going and they will charge you $59.95 for the annual membership. As long as you order $49 or more, shipping is always free. Seriously, give it a try. Oh yes, one of my favorite things about this company is that for every paid membership, they give a membership to a low income family, making healthy food accessible to all! Now here are my favorites:
Food:
Great Lakes Collagen – green can – this is the one that doesn’t gel. It’s pure protein that dissolves almost instantly. I mix it into my coffee and tea and it is completely undetectable. It’s a great way to boost joint and gut health and increase your protein intake. I sang the praises of this product in my Top 10 Paleo Tip Post.
Price from my local health food store: $22.00
Price from Amazon: $22.99
Price from Thrive: $17.25
Great Lakes Collagen – red can – this is the one that does gel. Use this as an egg replacement if you’re following AIP. I make my own gluten free flour mix and I use some of this collagen instead of the xanthan gum that all commercial gluten free flour mixes contain. It’s great if you’re making a pudding or mousse. I found out over Christmas when I was doing some recipe experimenting, that the kind of plain gelatin you buy in the store works very differently from this one, so keep that in mind when following a recipe that calls for gelatin.
Price from my local health food store: $22
Price from Amazon: $20.49
Price from Thrive: $14.95
Bob’s Red Mill Arrowroot – I find that most paleo baked goods turn out best when you mix a heavier flour (like almond) with a little arrowroot or tapioca starch. I am sensitive to tapioca, so I always opt for arrowroot.
Price from Whole Foods: $5.99/sale price $4.99
Price from Amazon: $6.15
Price from Thrive: $3.95
Altar Eco Salted Caramel Truffles – Yum! If you have not tried these, you really, really need to. They’re like those Lindt truffles that are so smooth and creamy, but they’re soy free and dairy free. They make multiple flavors, but these are my favorites. And their wrappers are compostable!
Price from Whole Foods: $8.99
Price from Amazon: $14.75
Price from Thrive: $6.45
Yogi Tea – My nightly routine involves this cocktail: Yogi Lemon Ginger Tea + apple cider vinegar + collagen + vitamin C + vitamin D drops. I have tried every lemon ginger tea on the market and Yogi makes the best. I also love their Soothing Caramel Bedtime and Tangerine Positive Energy. This is the only item I’ve found that isn’t always the best deal at Thrive. My local Kroger and Whole Foods will put Yogi Tea on sale for $3/box a couple times a year, but when I run out between sales, Thrive has the best price.
Price from Whole Foods: $4.99/sale $3.00
Price from Amazon: $5.82
Price from Thrive: $3.95
Personal Care
Jason Conditioner – I have thick, curly, somewhat unruly hair. When my functional medicine doctor told me I needed to start using products that didn’t contain parabens, phthalates, and other harmful chemicals, I had a really hard time finding hair products that didn’t make my hair feel gunky. This Jason aloe vera one is awesome and it smells really good. Who cares how well it works if you smell like medicine afterward?
Price from Whole Foods: $10.99
Price from Amazon: $14.26
Price from Thrive: $6.25
Alba Botanica Shampoo – I like the Jason shampoo as well, but this Alba Botanica Hawaiian Drink it up Coconut Milk Shampoo works really well and I love how it smells. I usually co-wash, meaning I just use conditioner, not shampoo, but once a week or so I’ll use shampoo too and this one is my favorite. I don’t feel like it strips my hair like some other brands. It just leaves my hair feeling really soft and clean.
Price from Whole Foods: Not Available locally that I could find, but other products from this company such as lotions were $10.99.
Price from Amazon: $8.35
Price from Thrive: $6.45
Alba Botanica SPF 15 Sea Moss Moisturizer and Alba Botanica Even Advanced Night Cream – These two products have been game changers for me. The daily SPF 15 moisturizer is really light, has a nice scent and costs a fraction of what most products of this quality cost. I know dermatologist recommend SPF 30, but I generally also wear a tinted moisturizer with a higher SPF. The night cream includes some special marine extracts and other magic to help even skin tone. I need this especially at the end of the summer to fight against the splotchy dark spots that come from too much sun exposure. Even though I always liberally wear sunscreen, my skin is prone to melasma, these dark splotches. It works well, smells nice and isn’t heavy and greasy.
Price from Whole Foods: $17.99/sale $12.99
Price from Amazon: $9.90 <– Really surprising!
Price from Thrive: $9.95
Jason Powersmile Toothpaste -That Jason makes some good stuff. I like his Power Smile Fluoride-Free toothpaste better than any other fluoride free brand I’ve tried. My teeth are sparkling clean and my breath is minty fresh. And no fluoride. Nothing else needed.
Price from Whole Foods: $4.99
Price from Amazon: $18.93/3 tubes = $6.31 each
Price from Thrive: $3.95
Alba Botanica Sunscreen – This is my hands down favorite sunscreen. The spray bottle is easy to operate, even for my kids. The SPF 40 keeps the dermatologists happy. It works really well. We never burn when wearing this sunscreen. And best of all, for all the “healthy sunscreens,” this one rubs in the best and has a pleasant, very faint scent. My local Kroger used to carry this and it was $6.99 there, but they no longer have it.
Price from Whole Foods: $7.99/sale $5.99
Price from Amazon: $27.08/2 = $13.54 each
Price from Thrive: $6.95
I could have actually made a much longer list of favorites because I have so many, but this would definitely be my greatest hits list. I order these items all the time. As soon as I’m running low, I place another order.
If you’re interested in giving Thrive a try, click on the link in the sidebar (or at the bottom of the page if you’re looking at this on your phone) and sign up for a free month trial. January is a great time to try it because 1. all those New Year’s Resolutions and 2. If you order chocolate, it won’t melt. I guess those two things don’t go together very well, huh? Just giving you options. Let your conscience be your guide. 🙂 Happy Shopping.