Okay, first, this is a little strange - this is the box signed up for in January, but it ships the first week of the next month. I want to call this February's box, but it's not. Or is it? I'm calling it January since that's when I signed up. It's $19.99 a month, but again, there was a promo, and I signed up for this at half off my first box, for $9.99.
Based on other reviews I have seen up - this got me a different box than the one that people who paid full price received. Again, I see this from a business point of view, and it makes a lot of sense.
I received my box by the third or fourth, I forget which, and it was very exciting. I've never tried a food subscription box before.
A very nice box it was.
The sticker was a little creepy.
It came with an insert letting you know what all came in the box and the different values associated with each item. The thing is though, it didn't have all the items that were in the box listed on the card. I'm okay with this, it was just a little odd to me.
The back of the insert was an instagram contest. I do not care about these contests and I do not use instagram, but whatever floats your boat.
There was a discount coupon for one of the brands included in the box.
And then we have another brochure for another one of the items included in the box. I'm not an insert type of person.
For some reason, I only took a picture of everything all together, not of individual items. I will remember to fix that next time.
The Pop-chips are something that I've had before, and I really enjoy them. I just don't enjoy the higher price tag associated with them, so I get them very rarely. It was quite nice to have them in the box as a result. They're listed on the insert as 2 bags for $1.59, and that sounds about right to me - sadly. I ate the salted ones and my partner ate the tangy barbeque. They were gone almost instantly.
The Green & Black's Sea Salt 70% dark chocolate bar was an item I was really looking forward to trying. It's listed on the insert as $3.49 retail, which too is accurate. This was nowhere as good as Lindt's dark chocolate and sea salt candy bar. It was more of a crumbly chocolate, less creamy. It's not my preferred style of dark chocolate. I was disappointed in this item.
Spicy Mango Chili Sauce - These were two little trial packages. I'm not a fan of spicy or chili and neither is anyone else in the house. They're slightly bigger than ketchup packages. These just got tossed in the food bank box. There was no value associated with the items on the card.
Torani Salted Caramel k-cups - I do not drink coffee. I do like the smell of coffee. My partner does like coffee. He has a slight coffee obsession. His flavor of choice is French Vanilla. He tried this one and it made the kitchen smell great, just like salted caramels. He stated that it did not taste like salted caramel though, that it just tasted like coffee, so he added his French Vanilla creamer to it and declared it delicious. He thought this one was so smooth, the next time we were at the store, he bought Torani's brand French Vanilla, and he loves it. He's been going through it like crazy. Now- this one also didn't have a price, but a box this size at the store is $9.99 - so that covers the cost of the box right there - again, remembering that this is the discount, smaller box.
Jones Cream Soda - Jones is a treat. This was dreamsicle flavored. It was delicious. The little one drank most of it. For those of you that don't know - Jones is a carbonated fizzy drink from Canada. Each one has a photo submitted by normal people on it. It's tasty, delicious, caffeine free, and good as a mixer with alcohol. This was my first time trying Orange and Cream, and it tasted just like the ice cream did when I was a kid, without the brain freeze. The card lists this as $1.79 and that too is about what you would pay in store.
Nando's Peri-Peri Sauce - I have not tried this. It says that it is spicy, therefore this went in the food bank box as well. The insert says it retails for $5.99. As the other items on the card are accurate, I can guess that this one is too.
Coco Chips - These were delicious! They're dried coconut, about the consistency of a potato chip, and they taste like the inside of an Almond Joy. I've never heard of these before, and if I had, I would have definitely tried them. They were gone almost as soon as they were opened. The little one liked them too. Very healthy, very tasty, sweet and crunchy, and very light on the tummy. The card says these retail for $2.99.
Slendier Noodles - Supposedly these are Australian organic noodles. I have not tried them yet. I'm not big into health food, but they look similar to pho noodles, and I'm definitely going to give them a try. I forgot to get the right cut of beef at the store the last time we went, which is the only reason I haven't tried them yet. The card says they are good for people who want to loose weight and are a diabetic okayed food, with a retail value of $2.49 per serving.
PR Bar - This was chocolate peanut flavored. It's a protein bar. I either think protein bars taste great or absolutely terrible, and this one fell into the "get it out of my mouth" side of things. It was dry, gritty, and left a bad taste in my mouth. It's a soy based protein bar, which may have something to do with it. I was not a fan. The card says this retails for $2.07.
Walkers Pure Butter Shortbread Rounds - Yum. These were delicious. They're light, buttery, and just everything you expect a shortbread cookie to be. Fantastic! This is a British brand, and would probably go great with tea - if I drank tea. The card says they retail for $4.49, and I could see it, particularly as an import item. I could also see me buying these if the stores around here carried any international foods at all. As it is, I have to order my international goodies online.
Welch's Fruit 'n Yogurt Snacks - This one wasn't on the card either, though they're sold locally for $3.49/ box. We got strawberry flavored. Now, I don't go for the whole foods dipped in yogurt thing, so I never would have picked these up. I just don't like them. This was no exception for me. The little one, however, absolutely adores them. She's polished off almost the entire box already. We're going to be getting these again. They're a great car snack, and there's no finger mess.
Ricola Herbal Immunity Lozenges Ginseng plus Vitamins, C, B6, & B12 - Okay - these taste like cough drops. So - not great. But - they have mostly the same vitamins as in a 5 hour and if you suck on one, you do get the energy boost, though it doesn't last as long. These were put out of my reach so I didn't keep going for them while at the computer.
The card lists them at $13.99 retail, though stores around here have them for $9.99 on sale. Taste terrible, give energy. They'll get used while they are here, but I don't know if I will buy them again.
So - that gives a total of $48.37, not including the little trial packets, and I paid $9.99 for the whole box. I'd count that as a definite win. We got to try some new things, and we found some new things we liked. I will continue this box, and we will see next month what the value is like when it goes to its normal price of $19.99!
