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Why I Thrive Market Vol. 1

September 28, 2017

Why I Thrive Market (Vol. 1)

Disclosure: Please note that the links in this post are affiliate links and I will earn a commission if you purchase through those links.

Some of you may know I am an active member and affiliate at Thrive Market. Think of Thrive Market as the Costco of Organic, Gluten-Free, Kosher, Vegan, Fair-Trade and Non-GMO foods, but without buying in bulk. Shopping for these items at most local grocery stores can get a little pricey so I was looking for ways to cut cost when shopping for my favorite organic pantry ingredients. I saw an advertisement for Thrive Market and it seemed to be exactly what I was looking for. Almost two years later I am still loving Thrive Market and still saving money on organic pantry goods.

Below I have listed my top 15 products that I purchase almost every month to refill my pantry. Plus, pricing at Thrive Market and pricing at the top grocery stores I shop at locally.

Homemade is best, but when you use chicken broth as much as I do you need a little help. Here are a few of my quick fix meals you can make on a weeknight with ready made chicken broth: Fideo, Easy Mexican Red Rice and Southern Shrimp and Grits.

1. Pacific Foods Organic Free Range Chicken Broth 4 8-ounce containers

Thrive Market: $3.95
Sprouts: $4.79
Kroger: $4.49
Whole Foods: $3.99

2. Coomb's Organic Maple Syrup 12 ounce

Maple syrup is my go to sweetener for my oatmeal. I top my (almost) daily bowl of oatmeal with pure maple syrup, fresh berries and toasted pecans. Yum! You can also use it for this sweet recipe for Maple-Bacon Cinnamon Cupcakes.

I wasn't able to find Coomb's Organic Maple Syrup at Sprouts, which also got me noticing that Sprouts seems to be pushing a lot of their store brand products. So you may not be able to find your favorite brands there right now.

Kroger had Coomb's Organic Maple Syrup but only in a 7 ounce bottle which was $7.49.

Thrive Market: $9.99
Sprouts: N/A
Kroger: N/A
Whole Foods: $11.99

3. Spectrum Cooking Olive Oil Spray 5 ounce.

Non-stick olive oil spray is a necessity in my kitchen. I prep my saute pan for almost all Italian-inspired meals with this one.

Thrive Market: $6.95
Sprouts: N/A
Kroger: N/A
Whole Foods: $7.99

4. Spectrum Cooking Coconut Oil Spray 6 ounces

For times where I want something with a high smoke point, I use my coconut oil nonstick cooking spray.

Thrive Market: $4.95
Sprouts: $5.99
Kroger: $8.99
Whole Foods: $5.99

5. California Extra Virgin Olive Oil 16.9 ounces

This is my go to for olive oil. And it's real olive oil (beware of fake olive oil). Use this in everyday cooking and things like salad dressings.

Thrive Market: $8.99
Sprouts: $11.99
Kroger: $8.99
Whole Foods: $11.99

I use coconut oil if I need a high smoke point for cooking and want to keep a meal on the healthier side instead of using vegetable oil, or if the flavor will go well with the meal I'm preparing. But I also use it for Magic Shell!!! Yes check out that crazy easy recipe using just chocolate and coconut oil. I normally purchase Nutiva brand coconut oil but Thrive Market had a special awhile back and I received a FREE Thrive Market brand coconut oil. Pricing below is for Nutiva Coconut Oil.

6. Nutiva Coconut Oil 15 ounces

Thrive Market: $8.45
Sprouts: $11.99
Kroger: N/A
Whole Foods: $11.99

7. Lundberg Farms Brown Rice 32 ounces

Just my absolute favorite brand of rice ever! Be sure to try out my recipe for Easy Baked Brown Rice. I think it's the best! 🙂

Thrive Market: $3.95
Sprouts: $6.49
Kroger: $4.99
Whole Foods: $5.99

8. Jovial Jarred Organic Diced Tomatoes 18.3 ounces

I haven't been able to find this brand of tomatoes at any of my local grocery stores I visit and was tempted to price match the next best brand, however there really is no comparison. And I am just going to go ahead and say it. You're not going to find a better canned tomato than these. The size isn't the normal size you will see at the stores and in recipes but I use these 18.3 ounce jars just as I would the 15 ounce canned tomatoes. I love tomatoes and a little extra tomato flavor doesn't bother me. Price for these jarred diced, whole and crushed tomatoes is $3.69 each.

Thrive Market: $3.69
Sprouts: N/A
Kroger: N/A
Whole Foods: N/A

9. Cucina Antica Organic Ketchup 24 ounces

I usually have at least 2 bottles of ketchup on hand because they can be used to make homemade sauces. But also because I am a French fry lover and I just gotta have something to dip em' in. Try my Homemade-Bacon-Ranch Tator Tots with your next bottle of organic ketchup.

Thrive Market: $3.19
Sprouts: $4.29
Kroger: N/A
Whole Foods: $3.99

You just gotta have some mustard in your pantry. Another great condiment to whip up some sauces with.

10. Organicville Organic Yellow Mustard 12 ounces.

Thrive Market: $3.29
Sprouts: N/A
Kroger: N/A
Whole Foods: $3.99

Not only do I dip my French fries in ketchup, sometimes I feel a little wild and crazy and opt for some good old BBQ sauce and Annie's Organic BBQ Sauce is one of my faves. Be sure you get the Sweet and Spicy kind. It's the best!

11. Annie's Organic BBQ Sauce Sweet & Spicy 12 ounces

Thrive Market: $3.29
Sprouts: $3.99
Kroger: N/A
Whole Foods: N/A

12. Wild Plant Albacore Tuna 5 ounces

Making a note that Kroger's sells this for a smidge cheaper! I use this for tuna sandwiches or if I am needing a low-carb high protein snack, then I will just eat a can of tuna, for real.

Thrive Market: $3.99
Sprouts: $4.49
Kroger: $3.89
Whole Foods: $4.49

13. Acure Brightening Eye Contour .5 ounce

Thrive Market doesn't just sell food, they sell skin care as well. So here is a tiny look into my skin care routine 🙂 I love this eye contour by Acure. I am one of those who has always switched products after I don't see any changes. When I use this stuff it feels like my eyes tighten up a bit. I am on my 3rd bottle and I'll keep purchasing this brightening eye contour in the future. And check out the prices below. Thank you Thrive Market for offering this product for much less!

Thrive Market: $14.99
Sprouts: $19.99
Kroger: N/A
Whole Foods: $19.99

14. Thayer's Witch Hazel Astringent Original 12 ounces

I just recently started using Witch Hazel and all I can say is man I've been missing out! I use it to clean my face when some times the soap and water or makeup remover just doesn't seem to get it all. Witch Hazel is known to treat acne, shrink pores and much more! Definitely get some.

Thrive Market: $7.99
Sprouts: $8.99
Kroger: N/A
Whole Foods: $10.99

15. Natracare Organic Cotton Tampons Regular without applicator 20 count box.

Yes, they make organic tampons! Whole Foods did not have this brand available but they had Seventh Generation brand.

Thrive Market: $3.95
Sprouts: $6.79
Kroger: $4.99
Whole Foods: (Seventh Generation Brand) $8.99

Thrive Market is the first socially conscious online marketplace offering the world's best selling natural and organic products at wholesale prices. Think Costco meets Whole Foods online.

For less than $5.00 a month ($59.95 annually), members can shop 2,500 of the highest quality food, supplements, home, personal care and beauty products from more than 400 of the best selling brands on the market, all delivered straight to their doors at 25-50% below retail prices.

This innovative marketplace offers healthy brands like Weleda, Dr. Bronner's, Spectrum Naturals, Garden of Eatin', Bob Red Mill, Nature's Path, Eden Foods, Annie's Homegrown, Earth's Best, Seventh Generation, Garden of Life, Jason Naturals and many more of the highest quality premium brands and products to everyone at 25-50% below retail prices.

So are you ready to Thrive? If so click my affiliate banner below to get started!!!

***This is current pricing at the time of this blog post. Pricing is reported from the Houston, Texas and surrounding areas. Pricing may vary from location and are subject to change***

Spiced Pumpkin-Pecan Pancakes

September 26, 2017

Update: Denny's no longer has pecans on their menu! So I haven't been back since. Luckily I created my own version of my old Denny's favorite!

Some people might be surprised that I like to eat at Denny's. I typically get the Whole Grain Pecan Pancakes. At least until fall arrives. When fall arrives, they bring in their pumpkin pancakes. A few years ago they had Pumpkin-Pecan Pancakes on the menu. I haven't seen them back since, but I always ask them to put the candied pecans inside the pumpkin pancakes. So I thought it was about time to make my own Spiced Pumpkin-Pecan Pancakes!

To make perfectly light and fluffy pancakes I've listed a few tips to follow:

Using the well method allows you to combine the wet and dry ingredients together without over mixing.
Mix the ingredients together just until combined, don't try to mix out all the lumps. Over mixing causes too much gluten to form in the pancake batter giving you a tough pancake.
Let the batter rest for 10 minutes on the counter before cooking. This gives the gluten time to relax, giving you a tender pancake.
Heat your oil until it starts to shimmer. If your oil is too hot you'll end up with burnt pancakes or if your oil is not hot enough you'll end up with blonde pancakes.
Carefully wipe the hot oil with paper towels to create a thin film of oil on your pan. This allows the pancakes to release without being too greasy.
Use a measuring cup to make sure your pancakes are all uniform. This way they will cook evenly.
Cook each pancake until the edges are set and browned and the bubbles on the surface are just beginning to break. Browning increases the flavor and the bubbles tell you that the baking powder has been activated.
Set a greased cooling rack inside a rimmed baking sheet to set your pancakes on to keep warm in a preheated oven while you finish up with the remaining batter.

You can serve these with pure maple syrup, or not. My husband said they didn't even need syrup, they were so good! And no offense to Denny's but these are the best Spiced Pumpkin-Pancakes I've had by far! I hope you will give these a try this season. If you do I'd love to hear what you thought about them in the comments below.

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Crispy Deviled Chicken Breast

September 20, 2017

Do you like your chicken crispy? If you do, then I have good news for you! This recipe for Crispy Deviled Chicken Breast will be your new favorite!

For classic recipes like this one I always like to refer back to Cook's Illustrated The Science of Good Cooking Cookbook to be sure I follow their steps to create that perfect golden and crispy chicken breast.

Once you learn the basics of cooking, you'll be able to take that and go off and do your own thing. I always like to know "the whys" and "the hows" of a recipe, and here are some for these Crispy Deviled Chicken Breast.

Tips for creating that perfectly crispy chicken breast

One thing I always do is pound out the chicken so that it cooks evenly. Usually 1/2-inch is a good thickness.
Moisture can cause your breading to fall off your chicken. Always blot your chicken with paper towels. No need to rinse your chicken. Dry that chicken up and soak up as much moisture as possible.
Now this one was a new one for me. Beaten eggs alone are too viscous and tend to form a heavy layer on the meat, making the bread coating too thick. Thinning the eggs with oil and/or water allows excess egg to slide off the chicken more easily, leaving a thinner and more delicate and tender coating. Thinning the eggs with oil helps the breading brown a bit more without adding more moisture. I love learning new things!
Once you've coated the chicken breast, let them rest for 5 minutes. I won't go too far into the science so lets just say it helps things adhere.
My last thing is to never crowd your pan. The breading tends to get greasy and will brown unevenly due to too much steam. Cooking 2 chicken breast at a time will give you a crisp-browned coating every time!

For the crispy coating I used a mix of Panko bread crumbs and Angelic Bakehouse Bread Crisps. Angelic Bakehouse Bread Crisps remind me of a yummy crouton just in chip form. If you can't find them you can substitute croutons. This recipe allows you to get creative with your flavorings with spices and flavor of croutons you choose. I'd love to hear what flavors you come up with. Let me know in the comments.

Maple-Bacon Cinnamon Cupcakes

September 13, 2017

I'm ready for all things fall! And that includes these Maple-Bacon Cinnamon Cupcakes! These heavenly little cakes are light and fluffy with a hint of maple flavoring inside.

I'm ready for all things Fall! And that includes these Maple-Bacon Cinnamon Cupcakes! These heavenly little cakes are light and fluffy with a hint of maple flavoring inside. Next, is that wonderful sugary bakery-style frosting flavored with maple extract and ground cinnamon which pairs perfectly with the maple flavored cupcakes.

Last but not least, for that finishing touch we topped it off with a piece of candied bacon! TIP: Be sure you make the bacon the same day you plan on serving the Maple-Bacon Cinnamon Cupcakes. It's a good idea to make a few extra pieces of bacon so you can choose the best looking bacon pieces to top your cupcakes with.

What are some of your favorite Fall desserts? Let me know in the comments. You can also follow The Cake Chica on these social media platforms: Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest.

Mississippi Mud Cupcakes with Marshmallow Frosting

September 6, 2017

Mississippi Mud Cake is a bit of a nod to the Mississippi River.

This cake is extra dark and chocolaty with toasted pecans and chocolate chips baked inside; sort of like the murky waters of the Mississippi River.

The story is that after the World War II era women were on the hunt for desserts that could be made with readily available pantry ingredients and did not require any special equipment or cooking tools.

There have been so many adaptations of this indulgent dessert, from pies to cakes and brownies too! These Mississippi Mud Cupcakes will surely feed your chocolate craving!

The process of making the marshmallow frosting can be a little tricky, just due to timing. If you have a helper that would be great but not impossible to do on your own like I did.

Looking for more recipes like this one? Try Chocolate Cupcakes with Caramel-Espresso Frosting Buttercream, Chocolate Cream Cupcakes and Old-Fashioned Chocolate Cupcakes with Glossy Chocolate Icing. Feel free to follow me on social media: Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest.

Browned Butter Chocolate Candy Cookies

August 22, 2017

These Browned Butter Chocolate Candy Cookies may look like your average chocolate chip cookie but they are not! The browned butter provides an amazing toffee flavor. So if your palate is more on the sophisticated side, I recommend you give these cookies a try. They might just become your new favorite recipe for the all american chocolate chip cookie!

Letting the browned butter, sugars and eggs sit for a few minutes not only helps the toffee flavor develop, but also helps to achieve those crispy edges and chewy centers.

The beautiful colors in this cookie got me thinking about Thanksgiving. Yes, Thanksgiving will be here before you know it and it's never too early to start planning your Thanksgiving menu! And I think these Browned Butter Chocolate Candy Cookies would go perfectly on your Thanksgiving table this year.

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Grandma's Neapolitan Ice Cream Cake

August 15, 2017

You could say blood, sweat and tears went into this one. Okay not literally but I was up against some crazy obstacles when making this recipe for Grandma's Neapolitan Ice Cream Cake.

The recipe comes from...well you probably guessed it...my Grandma. I've never made it before but I sure do remember eating it when I was young and still to this day during holidays.

Round 1: So a power line behind our street fell down the day I was supposed to finish and take pictures of this cake. With the power out for a few hours, the cake was pretty much done for. But this was actually a blessing in disguise. I realized I didn't use enough ice cream filling for the ice cream layers and I also used baking soda instead of baking powder for the cake 🙁

Round 2: After my failure the day before, I was determined to get it right! The next day (Sunday) I started all over. With the power back on, I was ready to tackle the challenge. Or so I thought. Ice cream cake should never be rushed!!!! My mistake on the second round. Talk about melting ice cream everywhere. Not only that, but I hadn't made the proper adjustments in my freezer for a cake this tall in stature.

Round 3: Yes!!! The final round! Having learned from all my mistakes I now have the perfect, show stopping ice cream cake ready for it's debut on The Cake Chica.

As mentioned above, don't rush the ice cream cake. So here is what my schedule looked like when making this amazing ice cream treat:

Friday:

Make the sponge cake
Make the ice cream layers
Assemble cake and cover tightly with plastic wrap and store in the freezer overnight to set up.

Saturday:

Prepare for any garnishes: set up piping bags, make Magic Shell, get sprinkles ready, get cherries all cleaned up and get the ice cream cone pieces prepped.
Make whipped cream.
Cover cake with whipped cream and decorate with garnishes of your choosing.

I have some tips on this cake that you should be made aware of before tackling this recipe:

Be sure you have enough freezer space in your freezer for this cake. It gets very tall! If you have a bottom loading freezer this recipe will be difficult to do.
Use a marble or granite serving platter and store the cake on top to keep it as cold as possible in the freezer. I used a marble lazy Susan which made it a breeze to store and frost the cake.
Don't rush the ice cream cake!
You can use 9 inch round cake pans to make the cake a little shorter and wider if that fits your storage space better. Just be sure to adjust the baking time on the cake.

Lucky for you I have made all the mistakes for you :). This is my Grandma Mary's recipe and I wanted to do it justice! So no matter how many times I had to redo it until I got it just right, then that's just what I was going to do. Thankfully the third time was the charm. I had to put my own twist on this recipe just a little by adding homemade whipped cream, Magic Shell, sprinkles and some crushed up ice cream cone.

I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I did. And now I have the recipe down to pass on to future generations. You can follow me on social media on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest.

Strawberry Sun Tea

July 25, 2017

It's crazy hot and humid in H-town, also known as Houston. The dog days of summer are here. And one memory I have as a kid was during the summertime my sister and I would stay with my grandma and when the sun was bright and blazing hot, she would put a chair out in the back yard and place a large jug of tea on it and just let the tea steep for hours in the sun.

With it being crazy hot right now it made me crave a nice glass of cold sun tea. This recipe for Strawberry Sun Tea is inspired by my grandma. She never put strawberries in it but that's my spin on it. Plus strawberries are plentiful in the summer so why not?

It's up to you if you would like to add sugar to your tea. I originally made it without sugar but I feel a little sugar is necessary to really bring out the flavor of the strawberries.

So what is your favorite cold drink in the summer? Is it iced tea like mine? Or maybe a nice cold soda, or float? Or maybe even snow cones! Those are pretty amazing when it's 100 plus degrees outside. Comment below what your favorite drink is, I can't wait to read them.

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Fruit Tart

July 10, 2017

This was a fun recipe to make, and I learned a few things too! When I was little fruit tarts were my favorite dessert. I remember getting excited when my mom said we were going to La Madeline's to eat because I knew I wanted to get a fruit tart from the bakery case. Then I would eat the fruit and filling and leave the crust. To me it was more of a dish that the yummy filling and topping came in, not meant to eat because it just didn't taste all that great. But this Fruit Tart is different! The crust is like a dessert all its own. Made by browning the butter to give a warm nutty flavor and baking it until just browned. It could be it's own cookie all by itself.

The pictures above show a clever way of decorating your fruit tart, by using the peaches as a slicing guide. A big thank you to the awesome people at Cook's Illustrated for this neat and useful idea. Here are a few tips and tricks I learned while making this Fruit Tart:

First things first, the crust. The first one was not up to my standards so I scrapped it and made another one. (It's so easy it wasn't a big issue having to remake it.) This time I used one of my 8-inch round cake pans with a piece of parchment paper on the bottom and gently pressed the dough into the tart pan. I found this helped spread the dough out evenly and made for a picture perfect crust!
This one is VERY IMPORTANT. Use white chocolate baking chips for the filling, not white chocolate chips. To be sure you have white baking chips, look at the list of ingredients. If it lists cocoa butter on the ingredients list this is not what you want. If you use real white chocolate your filling will not set up properly and will be loose.
Depending on the size of your peaches you may just need 2 or 3 slices for decoration.
Use a light hand when dabbing on the glaze. If your glaze starts to harden, reheat in the microwave for 5 to 10 seconds to loosen it up.
You want to be sure you have all your fruit topping prepped and ready to go once you pour the filling in the crust. Once the filling cools it will be too firm to hold the fruit topping properly so you want to be sure you decorate your tart while the filling is still warm.

Don't let this Fruit Tart's good looks fool you, this is incredibly easy to make. It only looks like you slaved all day in the kitchen for it. 🙂

If you try this one let me know in the comments below. You may also like: Peach Strawberry Shortcakes, Strawberry Shortcakes and Strawberry Shortcake. Follow me on social media: Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest.

Snickers Chocolate Chip Cookies

July 4, 2017

Snickers Chocolate Chip Cookies!!! Yes they exist!!! I used my tried and true chocolate chip recipe Best, Big, Fat Chewy, Chocolate Chip Cookie and substituted about have of the chocolate chips with Snickers Bites.

I admit these were a bit of an impulse buy. There I was looking for white chocolate chips in my local grocery store for this Confetti Cookie Cake recipe and in jumped the Snickers Baking Bites right into my basket. 🙂 Snickers are probably my favorite candy bar, it's right up there with Whatchamacallit.....ooh another cookie idea!

If you can't find Snickers Baking Bites you can chop up a Snickers bar and use that instead.

Get ready for these Snickers Chocolate Chip Cookies to be a hit at your next party. I took these to a family gathering this past weekend and they were a hit! I got several compliments on them and people went back for seconds. If you're a Snickers lover like I am then these must be on your "to make" list.

You can find me on social media: Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest.

Confetti Cookie Cake

June 26, 2017

Why You'll Love This Confetti Cookie Cake:

It's incredibly easy to make and tasty too.
With the different types of sprinkles available now, it's super easy to match your special event.
It's two of my favorite childhood sweets together as one!

What a perfect pairing right? A cookie and a cake put together! When I was younger I always loved getting cookie cakes instead of the typical birthday cake.

This Confetti Cookie Cake tastes like something you would have to order from a professional bakery. But lucky you, you now have an awesome recipe to impress your guests and when they ask "where did you get this from" you can say proudly "I made it!" And I'll leave it up to you if you want to tell them how simple it was to make 🙂

Tip: Be on the look out for real white chocolate chips! There is a time and place for the fake stuff but no room for it in this recipe. The fake stuff will say something along the lines of "baking chips". Legit white chocolate chips will have cocoa butter listed in the ingredients section.

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Spiked Shirley Temple

June 23, 2017

Don't toss out that empty jar of Maraschino cherries just yet. Save that juice! It goes great with cocktails, such as this Spiked Shirley Temple. A traditional Shirley Temple is made with ginger ale, a splash of grenadine and garnished with a Maraschino cherry.

My adult version uses lemon-lime soda, with gin, cherry liqueur and Maraschino juice. Yum! I still remember when I had my first Shirley Temple. I was maybe 10 years old and I was at a steak restaurant waiting at the bar with some family for our table to be ready and my step-father's dad said to the bartender "Get these girls a couple of Shirley Temple's" I thought to myself, "What is that?" Then when the bartender brought me and my sister our drinks I was like WOW it looked so grown up! And it tasted so good from that point on, for almost the next 10 years I always ordered Shirley Temples when I was out at a restaurant.

Now that I am older, I have cut back on the sodas. But every now and then I like a good cocktail after a long days work and I love that this Spiked Shirley Temple satisfies my craving and takes me back to that time when I was around 10 years old and had my first Shirley Temple. This one really hits the spot.

And don't forget to follow me on social media: Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest

Why I Thrive Market (Vol. 1)

To make perfectly light and fluffy pancakes I've listed a few tips to follow:

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Tips for creating that perfectly crispy chicken breast

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I have some tips on this cake that you should be made aware of before tackling this recipe:

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Why You'll Love This Confetti Cookie Cake:

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