Snacks, Snacks, Snacks

After hearing so many great things about Thrive Market, a health-focused, online grocery store, that sells healthy foods at a discount, I thought I would try it for myself. Thrive gives you a free, 1-month trial and always has so many coupons which is perfect if you just want to try it out before committing to the yearly fee.

I literally live directly across the street from Trader Joe’s, so for convenience purposes, I tend to buy all of my groceries/produce there. However, I wanted to order some fun healthy snacks to keep around! I am always on the go and need quick + easy snacks to throw in my purse, or take with me to work. Thrive really came in as the MVP. Here is a list of everything I got!

1. Simple Mills Almond Flour + Sea Salt Crackers

I love these crackers because they have minimal healthy ingredients (Almonds, Sunflower Seeds, Flax Seeds, Tapioca, Cassava, Organic Sunflower Oil, Sea Salt, Organic Onion, Organic Garlic, Rosemary Extract) and are vegan and gluten-free! These crackers are also high in omega 3’s. Having some of these with some avocado or hummus makes for a great little snack. Always read the ingredient label when you’re buying something in a box. If you can’t pronounce the ingredients, don’t buy it!

2. Peeled Snacks: Organic Dried Mango

Dried mango is an awesome snack – it has vitamin C and vitamin A and has great fiber content which aids in digestion. Just throw a bag of these in your kid’s lunch or your purse, or have a few pieces as an after dinner sweet treat. When buying dried mango, be sure to read the ingredients because a lot of brands will add sugar, oil, preservatives or fillers. Make sure the ingredients only say “mango”. Fun fact, a serving of these provide 10% of your daily iron! Who knew mango had iron?!

3. Go Raw Organic Pizza Flax Snacks

I also got sprouted crackers that are raw vegan, meaning they haven’t been heated at a high temperature. This preserves the nutrients of the ingredients. Can we just talk about how fun it is to find healthy, pizza flavored crackers?! The ingredients are awesome and contain only organic seeds and spices. Add some vegan cashew cheese to these (I like Miyoko’s brand) or just eat plain! They are a bit higher in fat content because they are purely made up of seeds, but its healthy fat. Due to the higher fat content, these would be a great snack for children. Children require more dietary fat because their brain is still developing. Again, throw some of these babies into your purse and you have a quick, yummy snack on-the-go!

4. Go Raw Organic Chocolate Coconut Crisps

These raw vegan chocolate are great for a sweet little snack. If you want something sweet after dinner or need something yummy and crunchy these are great. Like the other snacks in this haul, the ingredients in these are super simple. These contain cacao or raw chocolate, a very powerful antioxidant. Antioxidants heal the body and fight/prevent cancer.

5. Purely Elizabeth Maple Walnut Probiotic Granola

Granola is a great addition to a meal, but often times granola is filled with a ton of sugar, and fat and is extremely calorie dense. Purely Elizabeth brand granola uses low glycemic natural sweeteners like coconut sugar and maple syrup rather than white processed table sugar. You should think of granola as a topping rather than the star of the meal. For example, sprinkle some on top of coconut milk yogurt with some berries or make a smoothie bowl and add some on top. I like this particular granola because it has added probiotics, which are great for gut health.

6. YumEarth Organic Strawberry Licorice

Before I started my healthy lifestyle I LOVED candy. I still love candy I just don’t eat it anymore. YumEarth makes natural, vegan, gluten-free candy without any yucky additives or artificial colors. The strawberry licorice is so good; it basically just tastes like little chewy strawberry gummies. I wouldn’t say they have a licorice flavor though (I don’t like regular licorice). If you want to bring a healthier candy alternative to the movies or just to have as a special treat at home, you should definitely try these! They also have gummy bears, lollipops, and different flavor licorice bites.

7. Quinn Just Seat Salt Microwave Popcorn

Your typical run-of-the-mill microwave popcorn is going to be carcinogenic, filled with oil, additives and artificial ingredients. I found oil-free (aka fat-free), clean, organic, non-gmo popcorn. There are only TWO ingredients (popcorn and sea salt), AMAZING! The bag itself is free of chemicals and does not have any plastic coating. The whole bag is only 240 calories so you can stuff your face during movie night and not even feel guilty.

8. Blueberry Muffin Lara Bars

Granola bars are such a great go-to snack but they are usually comparable to the nutritional profile of a candy bar. You have to really read labels and be careful about the kind you buy. Next time you’re at the store, flip over the box of your favorite granola bar and make sure the ingredient list isn’t a paragraph long and that there isn’t a ton of sugar and other weird additives. Lara bars are by far my favorite bar because they have very minimal ingredients (usually 5 or less). The blueberry muffin flavor is so good; it actually tastes just like a blueberry muffin. My other top flavor choices would be the lemon and pecan pie. Throw one in your bag, keep one in your car, store at your desk at work for a quick, easy snack. I am sitting here right now eating one!

9. Siete Lime Grain Free Tortilla Chips

These tortilla chips are completely grain-free, non-gmo, gluten-free, vegan, and are made from cassava flour and coconut flour (so cool!) Usually chips are made with low-quality vegetable oils but these are made with avocado oil! Unlike other oils, avocado oil can tolerate being heated to a very high temperature and is non-toxic. For example, when olive oil is heated to high temperatures it becomes very toxic. A few of these with a little guac…sign me up!