Review: Graze

Reviewer: Daniel Snider

So there I was, in the middle of the Mojave, sweating like a mad man. My rucksack was feeling heavier by the minute. I had breakfast 4 hours ago and we weren’t due for lunch for at least another hour. That’s when I remembered that I had put a snack in my bag when I was packing the night before. It was a snack from my Graze Nibble Box.


Graze is a subscription box service that sends you 4 snacks in varying frequencies. You can have your boxes delivered every 4 weeks or every 2. Each box costs only $6.

Inside my box I received The Cheese Board, Dark Rocky Road, Mississippi BBQ Pistachios, and Key Lime Pie. Each one was an adventure of flavors and textures.

The Cheese Board consisted of cheesy cashews, salsa corn sticks, and herb crackers. The cheese flavor was very light and the sweetness of the cashews helped to break up the light salty taste of the cheese. At only 139 calories, it’s a great snack to suppress those midday munchies you get between meals.

 Dark Rocky Road was one of my favorites. It consisted of Belgian Dark Chocolate Buttons, Cranberries, and Pecans. This snack comes in at only 183 calories even considering the chocolate! The flavors complimented each other very well. This one didn’t feel as satisfying to me as some of the others did though. It was definitely packed with lost of quick energy.

The Mississippi BBQ Pistachios didn’t have as much of that sweet, smoky flavor that I had hoped for but were still very yummy. I love pistachios to begin with so adding a little flavor to them makes them even better! This one was only 104 calories.

My favorite, by far, in this box was the Key Lime Pie. It consists of lime raisins, mini meringues, sponge pieces and green raisins. This one was very filling. There wasn’t a strong lime flavor but it was certainly there. The combination of the ingredients was perfect. At 108 calories, this snack is sure to please everyone.

 Once you sample a few of their snacks you can log on to their site and rate your favorites on a scale of trash, try, like, or love. This gives customers the opportunity to try new things, toss the ones they don’t like, and keep the good stuff coming! This is a great addition to an already incredible service.

When you create an account you will get a “Feed Your Friends” code. The friend code entitles your friend to receive their 1st and 5th box free! And with every friend that uses your code you can choose either $1 off discount on your box or you can donate it to the Graze School of Farming, a school located in Kabubbu, Uganda. Here, students are taught how to grow, maintain, and harvest fruit from their own trees. 

I am happy to announce that I am continuing my subscription to graze. I actually received my second box as I was working on this review.

In the new box I received 4 new snacks: My Thai, Apple Cinnamon Flapjacks, Jalapeno Fiesta, and Garden of England.

My Thai was made up of sweet chili sauce and baked soy bites. I absolutely loved this one. I couldn’t help myself when I opened it.

I also received Apple and Cinnamon Flapjacks. These were absolutely amazing. They were soft and super yummy. My wife had eaten one while I was trying the Jalapeno Fiesta. I offered her some and she told me that she needed to wait for a few minutes because she wasn’t ready for the flavor to leave her mouth yet.

The Jalapeno Fiesta was excellent. The combination of nuts and seeds flavored with a slightly spicy jalapeno were absolutely irresistible.

Finally, a combination that was bursting with flavor and at only 70 calories was the Garden of England. The black currants, apple pieces, and mini strawberries were so full of flavor that I couldn’t put them down. It took all the self-control that I had to save a little for my wife who was napping at the time.

I am truly happy with my decision to continue my subscription with Graze. Once you try it I am sure that you will be too. I can’t wait to see what I get next!

Graze Website

Graze on Facebook

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This post was originally posted at WAHM Review and is being cross posted here by the original author.  I received no monetary compensation for this review, however I was provided with the product for free for purposes of review.  All opinions are my own. Click here see our full disclosure policy.

Review: Love With Food

Reviewer: Jackie Snider

I seriously love subscription boxes right now. This next one is no exception. Who doesn’t love getting exciting new yummies in the mail every month? This month I had the pleasure of trying out Love With Food. 

When I got the box, one of the first things I noticed was how small it was. When I opened it, I was completely shocked by how much was packed inside this package! 

Laying nice and neatly on the top was a detailed list of what everything in the box was. 

There was also further literature and coupons for each item.
  

Now we can move on to the good stuff! 

The first thing I pulled out was Savory Shortbread by Dancing Deer Baking Co. The flavor was rosemary sea salt. I thought that sounded strange, so I was a little nervous to try it. There were two cookies in the package, and after just one bite it took a lot off willpower to not swallow both cookies whole. They were so incredibly light with a lovely buttery taste that just melted in your mouth. These crispy little treasures were a delicious delight.  

 

The next item I tried was KuKuRuZa tuxedo popcorn. This was caramel popcorn drizzled with both milk and white chocolate. What immediately stood out was the fact that it was resealable. I thought that was a great feature. Until, of course I realized ten minutes later that it was a pointless feature! Upon opening, they smelled absolutely intoxicating. I meant to just eat a few pieces to get a ‘first reaction’ out of it. However, while taking notes on the rest of the box, I accidentally ate the whole small bag. Whoops! 

I enjoyed the ones that were just slightly covered with the chocolate the most. Some of the pieces were completely covered in the chocolate, and in my opinion there were too rich. It almost had a frosting taste.
 

Next up was Sweet Corn Crunch from Sensible Foods. I was expecting a corn nut kind of snack. I was quite surprised when I opened it to find actual dried corn. It smelled just like a bowl of fresh corn. 

To be honest, I didn’t like it. I’m not a big fan of corn in general. I thought it tasted like dried creamed corn! My husband thought it was good, and my 4-year-old daughter ate most of the bag by herself. There was only 40 calories for the entire bag!
 

Now onto the chocolate! There was a cute little satchel containing two bars of Green and Black Organic Dark Chocolate bars. They were 70% dark chocolate. They were definitely bold and bitter, and dark chocolate should be. Personally, I’m more of a fan of dark chocolate when it has fruit or nuts in it, but it was very good quality and quite tasty.
 
One item I put off trying was the Laura Secord Maple Fudge. I’m neither a big fan of maple, nor fudge. As expected it was quite rich! The texture was very soft and creamy. 

It definitely had a strong maple flavor, but it was surprisingly pleasant. I could only eat a few nibbles at a time though.
 

Another item I wasn’t looking forward to was the Sweet Potato Pop Chips. Pop Chips are chips that are neither fried nor baked. The texture is amazing! However, I can’t stand sweet potatoes. I was very pleased with these, surprisingly! 

They are a perfectly natural blend of sweet and salty! I haven’t yet found these in the store near me, but I can’t wait to get my hand on another bag.


 
I thought the packet of tea was a nice touch to add to the Love With Food box. 

It was a single packet of Mighty Leaf Ginger Twist. I’m not a frequent tea drinker, but when I do, I enjoy the whole tealeaves like this. Generally speaking, I only drink tea when I am sick. In addition, I only remember to buy tea, when I’m sick and need it! I’m very happy to be able to put this away for the inevitable rainy that that I will want tea. I can smell it through the package, and it smells wonderful!


 
Also in the box was a full Eat Natural Apricot and Almond fruit and nut bar with a yogurt flavored coating. It was my breakfast, split up, for two days. It was very tasty and had an amazingly creamy apricot flavor.

 
Lastly, the box included a packet of Chicken Tikki Masala spices from Arora Creations. It smells amazing! 

The first scent I noted was sunflower seeds, which happen to be the main ingredient. I have not tried it just yet but I will. I’m saving it because it looks like it would make great cold whether food! It even has a full recipe on the back of the package.
 

I was very impressed with the diversity in products included in my box, and I will definitely be a repeat customer. 

Another amazing thing about Love With Food is that when you buy a box, they donate a meal to children in need right here in America! They donate meals to food banks and other organizations such as Feeding America Network. It is always so great to hear of companies sharing their wealth with those less fortunate. It’s also amazing to know that, as a customer, your patronage is for such a good cause! To date, over 156,000 meals have been donated! It even tells you where this month’s meals are going. For the month of November, all donated meals went to San Francisco’s Harvest From the House.

  I’m going to guess that you would be as surprised as I to find out that this box I received was actually their ‘Tasting Box!’ That means that they have an even bigger amazing option called the ‘Deluxe Box.’ 

The Tasting box costs just $12 a month! Or you can choose the 6 month plan which is $11/month, or the 12 month plan running just $10 a box. 

The Deluxe box, which is at least double the amount of goodies, costs between $17-$19.95/a month depending on the plan. On top all that, the Deluxe donates 2 meals, thanks to your purchase. As if all of that wasn’t just amazing enough, you earn points for each box you receive. When accumulated, you earn credits towards products.
 
Which brings me to my next topic. I think one of my favorite parts of this box subscription is that when you love the things in your box, they make it so simple to buy more! You don’t have to search it out or cry because it’s unobtainable a second time. You just go their website and click on “Shop.”
 
I can’t think of a single person, man or woman, that wouldn’t love to receive this box as a gift. I can’t recommend it enough!
 
Love with Food on Facebook
Love with Food Website

Review: Warm and Useful Things

 Reviewer ~ Lynda Hardy

Winter has arrived, and with it comes my desire for things that make me feel warm and comfortable, along with an urge toward cheery colors that brighten up the gloom of grey, cold days.

Warm and Useful Things, an Etsy shop of knitted goodies by Karen Kyer, fills my needs perfectly and I was very happy when I learned I'd be able to review her handicrafts.

Karen not only knits, she also felts and has created a number of warm and unique felted brimmed hats. Color really alters the personality of these hats, from earthy to vibrant. I was drawn to several of them, but I chose one in purple, my favorite color. When the package arrived, I was excited to see that she'd included a large felted red rose on the hat. She sells these knit flower pins separately, and as you can see, it adds a good deal of color and interest to the hats, but it is detachable and I expect it will find its way to my coat lapel now and then as well.

Karen offered some good guidance on caring for the felted hat, suggesting spot cleaning with a damp cloth and using a dry cleaning service for more intensive care. Because it is felted, it's not intended for wet weather. Even so, they are a jaunty way to stay warm and stylish, and would be a fun addition to the wardrobe of anyone looking for something unique and interesting.

I was also sent a cotton knit French Market bag in blended shades of green and red that I absolutely love - it is lightweight and very sturdy and the design allows the bag to expand to contain items while still providing extra support at the bottom so that it will retain its shape. Because they are cotton, it can be handwashed and layed flat to shape. I deliberately used it to haul some items on the heavy side, and it did a fantastic job, bouncing back with no problem after I emptied it out. These bags are only $14.00 each - a real steal for the quality of the work. These would make wonderful functional and attractive gifts to anyone on your list.

Warm and Useful Things is the sort of small business I love best - Karen, a high school teacher, has taken a love of knitting and other crafts, and used her experience and skill to create a few signature pieces to offer for sale. She continues to knit other things for herself and friend and family, while keeping her Etsy shop focused on these key pieces. While I never learned to knit, I am fascinated and impressed by those that do, and the felting of knitted items is an old and wonderful method I am happy to see being put to use.

If you're looking for hand knitted and felted items done skillfully and with a loving hand, please check out Warm and Useful Things, and pick up something to keep your winter days merry and bright!

Check out Karen's handiwork at her Etsy Shop: Warm and Useful Things or on Facebook.

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This post was originally posted at WAHM Review and is being cross posted here by the original author.  I received no monetary compensation for this review, however I was provided with the product for free for purposes of review.  All opinions are my own. Click here see our full disclosure policy.