I wanted to do a post on Thrive Market for anyone who is curious about using this online-to-your-doorstep grocery store. There are a lot of sponsored reviews (this isn't one of them), but I wanted to offer an honest and unbiased opinion, on why we use and enjoy Thrive Market. I would recommend Thrive Market for anyone who has special dietary needs, such as: Vegan, Gluten-Free, or Keto, because Thrive makes it very easy to shop from foods based on specific diet categories.
In our case, my husband has a severe Gluten allergy, which has caused chronic "Eosinophilic Esophagitis". This is a medical condition, where the esophagus swells shut, to the point where swallowing food becomes difficult to impossible, and therefore he was often choking when trying to eat, even on small bites of food. The doctor diagnosed this condition, after taking a biopsy of his esophagus (which showed Eosinophils, which is what our bodies produce when there is an allergic reaction), and stated this condition is caused by a food allergy, and to try an "elimination diet" beginning with first cutting out all gluten, because a gluten allergy was most likely the culprit. My husband did not do an elimination diet, and he was having to have surgery once a year to have his esophagus dilated, which requires going under general anesthetic, and the results were only successful for a few months before his esophagus started swelling shut again. On top of that, he always had "tummy issues" after eating (I will just leave it at that!). This is no way for anyone to live!
After years of dealing with this condition, we decided it was time to buckle down and try to eliminate gluten from his diet. The results of a gluten free diet in regards to my husband's medical issues would be "so far so good!" and "seems promising". I decided to go gluten free with him, to support him in his dietary needs, and to help keep him on track! Finding gluten free options at regular grocery stores is definitely easier than it was years ago (when he was first diagnosed), but still can be very tedious (not to mention expensive!). By using Thrive Market, it has really helped in finding a lot of food options, quickly, easily and without all the guesswork!
How it works: Thrive Market offers an annual membership fee, and in return they offer specialty products at a slightly lower price than you would find in other health food stores (such as Whole Foods). You get free shipping on orders over $50, and they offer frozen food shipping for an additional $20. I make one big order per month. I mostly use their service for dry foods, because I am frugal and enjoy FREE shipping, and then purchase our frozen foods from local grocers. Thrive also offers a ton of other health, beauty, and wellness items, but I mainly use them for our gluten free food needs.
*If you are concerned with the packaging/waste this service creates.*
Overall, I love how quick and easy it is to navigate Thrive's website by specific dietary needs and product categories. I was absolutely floored by how quickly they process and deliver orders (as in the next day or within two days, it's at your doorstep!) Even during this busy holiday season, Thrive got our large grocery order here within two days....not too shabby for a free shipping service! Overall, I am pleased with prices and service, and would recommend Thrive for anyone following a specialty diet, or who simply prefers health food store options, and wants the convenience of having their groceries delivered to them.