How does one girl eat healthy on a budget with time constraints? VEGAN. This sounds weird right? Vegan to me used to be a really strange idea. Blame it on my Minnesota roots, but not eating meat, or any cheese for that matter sounds impossible. Fast forward to a woman in her 30’s in sunny San Luis Obispo, and my outlook has completely changed.

Dieting, skinny, thin, watching what you eat, exercise, My Fitness Pal, working out… do any of these buzz words make you cringe? I have mixed feelings about all of the above statements on any given day. When I’m motivated, energetic, and have “extra” time, I love all those phrases. When I’m lazy, over worked and craving carbs and sugar, f*ck those ideas.

My happy medium came one day when I discovered Thistle. Let me explain. I love cooking, but I am one girl living in a *tiny* cottage. I have a hot plate and a microwave. Culinary art is not being produced here. I want to eat healthy, but 2/3 of the fresh produce I buy gets fed to the chickens. I don’t consume enough, or have the time to make delightful meals. Healthy eats are not cheap either. Go binge out on mangos, avocados, kale, artichokes, bean sprouts, berries, and almond butter and your grocery bill is $$$. Especially when I consider that I share a lot of my fruits and vegetables with domestic foul. Those grocery bill numbers just don’t add up.

One blissful day, I was scrolling through social media when I found Thistle. Thistle is a vegan and gluten free weekly meal delivery service based out of the Bay Area. Every Wednesday a box is delivered to my front door with six fully prepared meals in it. Two huge salads, two heat and eat dinners, and two hearty stews. The cost of this is $66 a week, or $11 a meal. Can you buy ALL the healthy groceries for that? Can you meal prep in that time? Are you that creative to always have new and exciting meals to eat? Let me guess… NO. Thistle allows you to eat super healthy meals, provides you with a diet you don’t have to think about at all, and gives you better sleep, more energy, less bloat and prettier skin. Well, at least it has for me over the past 6 weeks. Oh yeah, and the POUNDS I’ve lost. I haven’t even tried losing weight and I am. Girls love that.

Check out these photos of my Thistle meals:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As I sit here eating my Crunchy Thai Salad with Spicy Peanut Dressing, I am also enjoying tuna on the side. No, I didn’t go full fledged vegan. I still eat meat, bread, candy and all the other shit food that this wonderful first world experience affords us. However, I eat a lot less of the bad stuff, and a lot more wholesome greens and grains.  I have more time, only have to go to the market once a month, am losing weight, and feeling great. Like what you see here? Go to Thistle to sign up and use the code angee524 to get $20 off your first shipment.

PS: Thistle also offers animal protein additions, snacks, breakfast and fresh pressed juices. Delivery is available in greater California and Nevada.