I would not consider myself to be a snacker, in general. I like defined meals, with maybe a snack here and there if I’m starving and know the next meal is going to be far, far in the future. I also fall under the “out of sight, out of mind” category of people; if something is on the counter, I’ll nibble at it every time I pass through the kitchen. Once it’s in the pantry, though, it may as well have fallen into a black hole.
So, when I heard about Love with Food, a subscription snack box, I was hesitant. I already get Graze snack boxes, but I’m also intrigued by monthly boxes showing up in the mail bearing tasty gifts. So, I requested a box to review and then one appeared to me (if only there were forms for everything in life!)
For $10 a month Love with Food will send you a box with 8 or so treats and nibbles (you can also get a deluxe box with more snacks). My review box had a Derby Day theme with sweet potato chips, granola, tea, caramels, flavored salts, breadstick-type things, key lime cookies, and water-flavoring. A little card is sent with a blurb on all the foods and the brand Twitter accounts, should you wish to follow them. If you like any of the snacks, you can order them at 25% off (free shipping!)
Now, because I’m not a snacker, and because I feel like I’m always trying to “get into better shape”, I probably view snacks differently than most. I rate Graze boxes that are mostly nuts or fruit higher because I usually eat them when I don’t have a chance to get real food. So, I want something nutritious that counts for something. The snacks from Love with Food are just that – snacks. Even though I don’t snack that way, I’ll review the snacks for what they are.
I started with the granola, which was gluten-free, dairy-free, and vegan. It had oats and seeds and was mildly sweet. It wasn’t the crunchiest of granolas, but I think it would be good over yogurt. As a standalone nibble, it was tasty and went well with my morning tea. I don’t know if I’d buy a whole bag of it, but I’d love to make one similar to it at home. (Actually, if someone gave me a bag of this, I’d happily eat it… I’m pickier about the things I have to buy myself).
One afternoon I wanted something carb-y and crunchy. These Tarallino bread O’s with extra virgin olive oil were, in contrast to the granola, extremely crunchy. Very light on salt or other flavors, this wasn’t really a great snack all by itself. With some cheese or wine, I think they’d be lovely.
Sweet potato chips! Can’t go wrong with these, and these were just as you’d expect them to be – slightly sweet, slightly salty, crisp, and not too greasy. Definitely better than a bag of potato chips from the vending machine.
I ate the caramels and didn’t take a picture. They were delicious. Let’s leave it at that. I also used the flavored salts on some hard-boiled eggs I had for a mid-morning snack. The truffle salt was very nice, but If elt like the smoked salt was a little too smoky. I also noticed I didn’t take a photo when I ate the cookies. They were nice buttery cookies with just the right mix of sweet and tart (from the lime) and it hit my sweet spot in the afternoon when I was craving a cookie. Those would also be good with wine, I think.
The Flavrz Organic drink mix was one I was most suspicious about. I don’t like water-enhancers because they all are sweetened with artificial sweeteners, and no matter how many people swear that *this* one doesn’t taste fake, they all do (to me). Imagine my delight when I read that this one is sweetened with fruit juice and cane sugar – no fake stuff! And the whole pouch is only 70 calories. I think I used half for my 16 ox. water bottle and that was plenty for me. I don’t really have a problem drinking water (or herbal teas) so I don’t know that I need something like this. But if you do want to flavor up your water and don’t like artificial sweeteners, I would definitely recommend this one.
So, all in all, I did enjoy everything in my snack box. If I hadn’t eaten them all while at work, I think I could have incorporated a couple of them into tastier snacks. And, this was a really nice way to try different things. Plus, I discovered the real-sugar water flavor pouch, which was pretty cool.
I’m not sure I’m the target audience for snack boxes, but I think $10 a box is a pretty good deal for some new snacks. If you don’t count the salt and caramels, that comes out to way less than a dollar each snack.
Disclosure: I was sent a snack box to review, but was not compensated for this post. As always, all opinions are my own!
Three Dog Kitchen 