MunchPak Subscription Box: Review

Back in the early days of RCH, one of our former contributors reviewed MunchPak and wrote a short review. I've had my eye on the company ever since!

I was so pleased to have the chance to write an updated review on the company. As I haven't tried them before, I'm not certain what all has changed since that 2014 review, except unfortunately, their prices. They are quite a bit more expensive than they were a few years ago. So, without comparison, I'm here to let you know how they are now!

MunchPak is a weekly/bi-monthly/monthly subscription box filled with a number of treats depending on the size of your box choice. 

They offer a MunchPak Mini box that includes at least 5 full size snacks. The MunchPak Original contains at least 10 full size snacks, and finally the FamilyPak is filled with 20+ snacks!

Their prices vary greatly based on your customization. While each size box has a monthly price, that changes based on how many months you pay for in advance, asking specifics of things to be added OR left out of your box ($1 per request), as well as adding a drink to your box ($5 each).

To keep things simple I will tell you what one single box of each size will cost you without any customization:

• MunchPak Mini- $12.95
• MunchPak Original - $22.95
• FamilyPak - $42.95

For review, I received the midlevel size, the MunchPak Original – with a drink included! 


I had no idea what to expect from this box and was so excited to see some cool surprises. I was most especially looking forward to anything international. The box did not let me down! 

The first thing I noticed, though, was the lack of an info sheet. I'm so used to that being standard with a subscription box. As many of the packages weren't in English, I was even more confused that they wouldn't have one. 

It took me longer than I'd like to admit to notice the writing on the inside lid about their Snack Scanner app! 

By scanning any of the barcodes on the packages you can find out what it is, where its from, how much it costs, leave a review, and even purchase more through MunchPak store.  

Once I figured out that this feature existed, I thought that was pretty cool!

So here is what came in my box:

TEN JANG PREPARED FISH BBQ Flavor- Malaysia -$3.00

First Impression: Um... what. No thanks. Fish? I did not expect this. I was fairly certain these a were BBQ fish skins and handed them to my husband to test. 

Taste Test: Chewy. Not nearly as salty as I expected, just ..chewy. But husband (..and dog) actually loved them. I think my one bite for review purposes was enough. It is fish meat, not skins after all.

CHEETOS PALOMITAS – Mexico - $3.00

First Impression: Yesss! Crazy cheese popcorn. Can't go wrong with that. I love the flavor of Cheetos and expected awesomeness.

Taste Test: super let down. They are legit the exact same as bland cheesy popcorn you'd find in a Christmas tri-flavor tin.

DORITOS PIZZEROLAS – Mexico - $3.00

First Impression: I love pizza flavored chips but have never seen them in a corn chip. Again, expected greatness.

Taste Test: Not terrible chips. Not at all pizza flavored. They tasted like lime Doritos.

SKAWA ORANGE YOGURT DRAGEES – Poland - $2.00

First Impression: Couldn't read the package and assumed these were some kind of coated peanut or corn kernel.

Taste Test: I couldn’t have been more wrong. I was quite surprised by the easily bitten through crunch, and the small gush of yogurt. Extremely flavorful with delicious orange flavor, and as far as candy goes, these are enjoyable. Whole family liked these.

MOMMY'S PALMS WAFFLES DULCE DE LECHE FLAVOR – Russia - $4.00

First Impression: I didn't rush to taste these as I have had stroopwaffles numerous times and don't love them. Generally they are sweet, kinda crunchy but almost always taste stale to me.

Taste Test: As it turns out, Russian stroopwaffles blow German ones out of the water. These were incredible! They had a nice sugar like glaze giving it a crunch, and are filled with a caramel syrup in the center making them chewy and delicious. I'm so glad this was a big package! It suggests trying them heated up in the microwave which I plan to do with the rest...likely topped with vanilla ice cream. Mmm!

GERRITS SOUR BLOCKHEADS – United States - $3

First Impression: these will basically be Sour Patch Kids.

Taste Test: way more sour than other similar candies. I didn't even eat a whole one, as sour is not something I enjoy, but husband and kids happily ate the whole package.

YAOKIN MOGUCHUU COLA FLAVOR – Japan - $2.00

First Impression: Is this gum? Appears to be a cup of soda on the package, so cola flavored was assumed.

Taste Test: These are very fragrant, very flavorful cola soft chews. I actually thoroughly enjoyed these.

JACQUET BELGIAN WAFFLE – Bulgaria - $2.00

First Impression: It was very hard.

Taste Test: smelled like a cheese danish. Split it between the four of us. My husband's piece had a lot of crunchy sugar bits, but no other pieces did. The outer edges were great, but the center was so dense and dry, it was painful to eat without something to drink. They were described as chewy, but I didn't get that at all.

MIESZKO ZOZOLE APPLE, CHERRY, & STRAWBERRY – Poland - $2.00

First Impression: Pretty standard looking hard candies.

Taste Test: I chose a strawberry flavor and upon opening it, it was completely coated in a white powder. I put it in my mouth and hastily spit it out within seconds. I never even got to the fruity flavor because the powder tasted like laundry detergent. It was such a strong chemical taste I questioned contamination. 

For the sake of review, I checked a second piece. The second piece, also strawberry, had a few white specs but nothing like the first. A minutes or so in my mouth, I started tasting it again, and noticed there was now a hollow tunnel through the center of the candy, indicating the powder starts in there—I spit this one out as well. 

Reading up on the candy, I guess this powder is suppose to have some sort of fizzing properties but I just found it awful. Much to my surprise, my husband said they reminded him of a childhood candy and has eaten many of them.

HANUTA HAZELNUT WAFERS – Germany - $3.00

I actually have not eaten this product, yet, because I live in Germany and have had this amazing treat many times! It is crunchy with a creamy Nutella like spread in the center and it totally delicious.

PIGUI SLAPS GREEN APPLE - Mexico - $2.00

First Impression: What the hell. Haha! These appear to be long lollipop like strips with a small stick on the bottom. Based on the pictures on the back, you are meant to fold or roll the sheet around the stick however you want to create a unique lollipop. Look like fun... looks like a mess.

Taste Test: These were actually a lot of fun to do with the kids. They are a sour apple flavor. I'm sure someone with more artistic ability could do something amazing with these.

ZOMBIE SURVIVAL CAN ENERGY DRINK - United States- $5.00

First Impression: Yes, this is definitely going to my husband. The can was humorous.

Taste Test: I did take one sip and actually enjoyed the black cherry flavor, as I hadn't seen that in an energy drink before. My husband enjoyed it and said it was similar to RockStar.

I would definitely purchase MunchPak in the future. Although I didn't personally like a few of the items, I loved the mystery and discovery of it, and almost every item was enjoyed by someone in the family! 

While the numerous upcharges seem steep, I can understand why they are put in place. Having to customize each box must be a lot of work!

If you'd like to try Munchpak for yourself, or give a subscription as a gift to someone else, now is a great time to do it! Head over to their website and look for the discount coupons currently available.

Happy snacking!

https://munchpak.com/

https://www.facebook.com/munchpak/

https://twitter.com/MunchPakSnacks

https://www.instagram.com/munchpak/

https://www.pinterest.com/munchpak/

Review: Trini Pepper Sauce (with Recipe!)

I have always been a fan of spicy foods whether it be salsa, chili, ramen, or any other food that can be made spicy (which is pretty much anything).  But I began my path to Chile Head just a few years ago.

It was about 4 years ago, when my wife, our oldest daughter (Penny wasn't born yet) and I were driving from Maryland to California. As I am sure most of our readers know by now I am in the military. We were PCSing (Permanent Change of Station) - That's the fancy military acronym for moving to a new duty station. 

We had made a stop for a few days in Nebraska to visit one of Jackie's sisters. While there we had stopped at a store for something (the reason now escapes me). In the parking lot of the store was a very small building that touted home made beef jerky. We had to stop. No questions asked.

It was a cute a little shop with tons of decorations including an old tank round (diffused of course) sitting by the entry door. I asked him what he had that was spicy. He suggested the Ghost Pepper Jerky. At the time I had no idea what a ghost pepper was but I went for it.

This jerky was so hot to me at the time that it almost wasn't even enjoyable to eat. That was my first experience with a chili pepper that was in the super-hot range. Now that I look back I realize that, at the time, this was the world record hottest pepper as verified by the Guinness Book of World Records.

2 or 3 years later, one of our good friends was talking about his prize winning "Hottest Chili" which contained Carolina Reapers. The thought of another pepper that was hotter than the ghost pepper (also known as Bhut Jalokia) was terrifying. The Carolina Reaper was, and still is, the current world record holder (though many believe that it will be dethroned by the Chocolate Bhutlah or the Chocolate Brain Strain once they have been officially tested).

That was then, this is now...

Since then I have become fond of super-hot pepper varieties. Now, I am even growing my own. Tonight I made burgers for the family and couldn't resist adding some chopped ghost peppers into mine. There is nothing like the feeling of the an insanely intense burn. Especially from the super-hots. Your mouth ignites, sometimes slowly, until every taste bud on your tongue is screaming in agony, and that's only in the first few bites. Soon you break into a sweat as the burn becomes more and more intense. It becomes a test of self control, pain tolerance, and eventually, intestinal fortitude. The endorphin rush that follows eating a super-hot chili pepper is certainly an intense one. It will literally produce a sense of euphoria as your brain tries to control the fight or flight reaction. Its an amazing, almost enlightening, experience.

(My wife would like you to know that I am crazy, but she puts up with me. More sane people will generally find that a little of these super hot chiles used as an ingredient will be much more palatable than a straight bite!)

The love that I have developed for really spicy food lead to a literal dance of joy when I found out that I was going to get to review a pepper sauce that combined a good solid heat with an emphasis on taste using a traditional family recipe for 'peppa' sauce.

The creator of Trini Pepper Sauce, Mustafa Mannan, has been eating this sauce his entire life. For five generations his family has been perfecting this recipe in Trinidad and Tobago. The combination of peppers that are used in this sauce, the Scotch Bonnet and Trinidad Scorpion, are native to the small, Caribbean island. They grown in a hot, tropical climate and produce some very intense heat.

To give an example of the level of heat in these peppers, we can take a look at the Scoville Scale. This is a rating given to peppers based on several factors including the concentration of a chemical called Capsicum or more commonly knows as Capsaicin. This is the chemical found in peppers that make them spicy. A jalapeno pepper, which most of us are familiar with, falls in the 2,500 - 5,000 SHU (Scoville Heat Units) range. Meanwhile the Scotch Bonnet hits a modest 100,000 - 325,000 SHU (which is just shy of the Habanero). Then in comes the Trinidad Scorpion at a deafening 800,000 - 1,000,000 SHU. Thats some serious heat!!!

Trini Pepper Sauce combines the fury and intensity of the Scotch Bonnet and Trinidad Scorpion peppers with fresh fruits, herbs, vegetables, and vinegar to create a truly amazing experience.

The sauce has just the right ratio of flavor to heat. Right out of the gate you'll notice quite a decent burn. The sweet flavor of papaya combined with salty herbs follows shortly after.

Then the heat intensifies.

Over the course of about 5 minutes the heat level will peak and begin to fall. The combination of flavor and heat is definitely one that everyone should experience at some point in their life.

I am honestly humbled by the opportunity to try something that was a family secret for so many years.

Mustafa brings the taste and heat of Trinidad and Tobago to your table in a truly delicious sauce.

Trini Pepper Sauce is currently on Kickstarter with the hope of gaining enough of a backing to begin mass production of this artisan sauce - and they're offering some great deals on both sauces and swag in exchange for your support.

They are seeking 15K total by October 29th, and as of today I see they are only about 3K short of that goal.

If you enjoy quality hot sauces that are clearly made with love, I strongly recommend you go help  them out - the sauces are expected to ship in November.

Short of an actual trip to Trinidad and Tobago, I think this is your best shot at getting a taste of this delightful tradition.

But, what's a pepper sauce review without a recipe to use it with? Try this one on for size!

Trini Pepper Sauce Shrimp with Fried Zucchini

Though you can use Trini Pepper Sauce just as you would with any off-the-shelf hot sauce, here is an insanely easy recipe to incorporate the flavor and heat of Trini Pepper Sauce with a simple, yet perfectly pleasing meal. I will give you fair warning though: This recipe is not for the faint of heart. It definitely has a level of spice that will challenge most of our audience.

But don't let that scare you. Capsaicin can, in no way, physically harm you. For those of you that may be used to consuming spicy foods, you should definitely give this one a try.  And of course, you can use less of the pepper sauce, working up until you find your preferred amount.

Here's what you'll need:

1lb Jumbo Shrimp, shelled, deveined, tail off (I used cooked, but raw is fine)
1 Zucchini, thinly sliced
2 cloves Garlic, minced
1/2 Lime
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
2 Green Onions, chopped
Salt and Pepper to taste
2/3 Bottle Trini Pepper sauce (non-crazy people can use a couple shakes, and taste before adding more)

Preheat your frying pan with 1 Tbsp olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the shrimp, half of your minced garlic, and the chopped green onion. Stir and cook until the moisture from the shrimp is about half gone. Add half of your Trini Pepper sauce and the juice from your lime and continue to cook.

In a second pan preheated over medium high heat with 1 Tbsp olive oil, add your zucchini slices in a single layer along with the remaining garlic. Cook your zucchini until the center starts to look translucent and you can see the seeds more clearly then turn (about 3 or 4 minutes). Cook for an additional 3 minutes, salt and pepper to taste, and then remove from the pan.

In addition, I used a pre-packaged pasta side for ease and speed of preparation, and made that up while the zucchini was cooking.

Once the shrimp is fully cooked remove from pan to a bowl. Pour in the rest of your Trini Pepper Sauce and toss to coat evenly.

This dish took me roughly 30 minutes to put together and was absolutely perfect. Trini Pepper Sauce is truly one of the greats. This is one I will definitely continue to buy in the future as it becomes more widely available!

 You can check out Trini Pepper Sauce at any of the links below. And, until next time, burn on!

https://www.facebook.com/trinipeppersauce/
https://www.trinipeppersauce.co/
https://twitter.com/trinisauce1
https://plus.google.com/+Trinisauce1
https://www.instagram.com/trinipeppersauce/

Review: The Tea Spot

If tea could be elevated to an art form, The Tea Spot's teas would be in a museum.  I was sent a sample of loose leaf teas for this review and I honestly can say it was hard to even brew them.

Upon opening the box I knew this tea would be different.  With names like Coconut Crush Chai, Boulder Blues, Mango Tango, and Strawberry Fields the creativity of the teas stretches further than one would imagine.

The Tea Spot's premium loose leaf tea blends are microblended in small batches in Boulder, Colorado.

The company began in 2004, headed by a cancer survivor drawn to the health benefits of whole leaf teas.  In fact, the Tea Spot donates 10% of sales to cancer and community wellness programs.

These teas combine the simplicity of basic whole leaf tea and complexity of whole dried fruit and dried flowers.

The first tea I brewed was the Strawberry Fields, an herbal tea.  This isn't supermarket tea.  I opened the satchel and was hit in the face with the most amazing strawberry scent.

Now normally when I open a box of tea it might smell amazing, but the taste is kind of weak.  Not Tea Spot Tea.  This tea IS strawberry tea.  It was heaven in a mug for this fruit tea loving girl.

My 8 year old loved it too and he is picky as anything.

The tea was amazing both hot and iced and is caffeine free.

Next was the Mango Tango.  This is a black tea (which does have caffeine) blended with Mallow Flowers, Marigolds, and Mango and Passion fruit flavor.  You can taste the high quality black tea mixed in with the unusual yet complimentary tastes of the fruit.  I really liked this one hot, but it was AMAZING ICED.

Boulder Blues was a tea that was different from anything I have EVER tried before.  A green tea (Caffeinated again) mixed with Mallow Flowers, Cornflowers, Strawberry and Rhubarb flavoring, it was earthy and fruity at the same time.

Honestly I can't really describe it well - it is something that you have to taste.  My green tea loving husband wasn't a huge fan, but I really enjoyed it.  It is certainly a different spin on typical flavored green tea.  Right away I was able to taste the strawberry with a hint of rhubarb.  Again this one was great both hot and iced.

Last but certainly not least, the Coconut Crush Chai.  I could sing the praises of this tea forever.  I am a Chai loving girl to the max and I have probably tried every single Chai tea on the market.  This was, hands down, my most favorite chai EVER.

Rooibos tea blended with Ginger root, cinnamon, and shredded coconut and brewed at 212 degrees make this tea perfect.  I loved it hot mixed with some honey and milk, but honestly you could probably do anything with this chai and it would be perfect.

Best of all The Tea Spot sent me a recipe card to make Coconut Crush Chai Overnight Oatmeal!  I can't wait to give this one a try:

Coconut Crush Chai Overnight Oatmeal

1/2 C. Steeped Coconut Crush Chai, strained
1/2 C. Rolled Oats
1/2 Yogurt

Mix all the ingredients in a 16oz mason jar and store in the fridge overnight (or at least 8 hours).  In the morning top with coconut shavings, bananas, and granola and enjoy!

Trust me, you will enjoy it.

You can find The Tea Spot on Facebook and on their website to order and to see all their awesome teas and recipes too!

http://theteaspot.com/

https://www.facebook.com/theteaspot/

https://twitter.com/teaspot

https://www.pinterest.com/theteaspot/

Chews: Nutella Pancakes

I've seen this idea floating around the internet, and decided I should give it a try.  The hardest part of making this is not eating all the Nutella straight from the jar! (Guilty of that one for sure.)

I have had Nutella on pancakes before, and love the way it melts! When I learned it could be INSIDE the pancake and melty, oh fancy pants!

This does not go with the health lifestyle I strive to keep up, but I guess I need a cheat meal.

When I make pancakes sometimes I make them with protein powder and egg whites,  but as this is a cheat meal, I went full out cheatery. Without further delay, here is the recipe for the delicious and delightful Nutella pancakes!

Nutella Pancakes
Makes 6 pancakes, 2 servings
2 hours total, including resting time

Ingredients:
9-12 tbsp Nutella
2 cups flour
2 tbsp sugar
1½ tsp baking powder
¾ tsp baking soda
Pinch of salt
1 egg
1⅛ cup milk
1 tbsp vanilla extract

Start by making Nutella medallions. Using waxed paper on a cookie sheet, spoon 1½ to 2 tbsp Nutella, and used the back of the spoon to create a circle about 2 inches in diameter. Repeat this process 6 times to have 6 medallions. Place the cookie sheet in freezer for 1 to 2 hours, or until the Nutella medallions are solid.

For the pancake batter, mix all dry ingredients together, create a well and add wet ingredients. Mix the batter together, it may be slightly lumpy. Don't over beat.

When ready to make the pancakes only take out 1 Nutella medallion at a time from the freezer - they melt almost instantly.

Grease your pan, ensuring to wipe any excess oil or butter, as this it what will make the first pancake too light in color. Now they can all look as perfect as they taste!

Pour about a quarter cup of batter in the pan, place the frozen Nutella medallion in the center of the batter, ensuring the batter extends just past the medallion. Pour just enough batter onto the medallion to cover it (about 2 tbsp). Move quickly, because again, the Nutella medallions melt quickly! When the edges of the batter start to bubble, flip the pancake to cook the other side.

THIS IS IMPORTANT: don't eat the Nutella Medallions before placing them in the pancake.

This will mean waiting to freeze more, and by that time you could have had Nutella pancakes! Duh, silly. This is not something I did, however I'm sure you will be tempted as I was.

Mmm… Nutella.

I have seen some put syrup on these, but I felt the melty Nutella center was enough for me - maybe some strawberries next time though!

Hope you enjoy these when you make them. Let me know how they turn out. Or, save me one!

Skillet Enchiladas

One of my favorite dishes growing up was enchiladas and I loved when my mom would make it! What's funny is that when she would tell us that is what is for dinner, it was still a bit of a mystery as to how they'd show up on our plates.

Sometimes she would make them cassarole style, with them all rolled up tucked into a dish, topped with red sauce and cheese and baked to perfection.

Other times she'd make them stacked on individual plates by flash frying each tortilla and layering them with meat, sauce and cheese 3 high. I think that was my favorite. I only ever recall ground beef and red sauce, though I know it can be made with many different ingredients.

As an adult, I have only made enchiladas one way. I tried it like this one day, and just never needed to switch it up after that!

Skillet enchiladas are all the flavor and texture you are looking for with fewer dirty dishes and less time consumed - a must when you're raising small children.

Skillet Enchiladas

Serves 4

INGREDIENTS

12 small white corn tortillas

1 lb ground beef

1 small onion (red or white)

1 package taco seasoning

1 small can red enchilada sauce

Shredded cheddar or mexican cheese

Oil

Heat 3 tbs of oil in a frying pan.

Cut tortillas into small squares and add to pan, stirring as needed.

Once tortillas has soaked up all the oil, add another tbs on top to avoid burning and continue to shift around pan until a slight golden crunch has appeared. Remove the fried tortilla squares from pan and set aside.

Brown ground beef, adding chopped onion near the end.

Stir in taco seasoning and coat beef.

Add tortillas strips back to pan.

Pour in can of enchilada sauce and stir until contents are covered. Heat and let simmer for about 15 minutes to let the flavors meld.

Serve onto a plate, Add cheese, sour cream, salsa, or avocado as desired

TIPS:
Tortillas could be either white or yellow corn. I've tried them both and prefer the white.
Spice level of the seasoning can really customize this dish.  If you make your own seasoning blends, use that instead!
For more variation you could add corn or black beans as well!

Enjoy!

Cream Cheese Stuffed Mushrooms

My husband and I love to entertain on the weekends. We have weekly board game nights with various friends, and although we usually get together after dinner so kids are all winding down, we feel weird not having some kind of appetizers and snacks at the ready. Also, we tend to get together with the same people so we don't want to bore them by supplying the same treat week after week.

Therefore, we tend to switch it up every few months. First it was the Bacon Wrapped Cream Cheese Stuffed Jalapeno Poppers, then it was the Bacon Wrapped Brat Bites, but lately we've been on a stuffed mushroom kick!

Previous to a week ago, I'd never made them myself, but they have been one of my favorite starters since forever! I can't go to a restaurant that has them and NOT order them. There is so many different ways of making them, the filling possibilities are endless – but I prefer simple.

This recipe is so super easy! We start throwing it together about 30 minutes before we are expecting company, and they are bubbly and delicious around the time they arrive.

Cream Cheese Stuffed Mushrooms

INGREDIENTS :
1 tbs Olive Oil
16 Portobello Mushrooms
1 block of softened cream cheese
3-4 cloves fresh garlic
¼ tsp salt
¼ tsp pepper
¼ tsp cayenne pepper
½ tsp dried onion flakes
¼ cup Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 350.

Prepare mushrooms: Using a damp paper towel, wipe mushrooms clean. Carefully snap stems off, leaving a little crater for filling. Set caps aside.

Finely chop the mushroom stems and garlic.

Heat oil in a pan on medium heat. Add stems and garlic and heat for no more than five minutes, careful not to burn garlic. Thinly spread out in a bowl to cool.

After about 5-10 minutes add cream cheese. Once thoroughly mixed, add rest of ingredients.

On a foil lined baking sheet, spray cooking spray, or wipe olive oil to avoid sticking.

Spoon filling into each cap and arrange on prepared sheet. Bake for 20 minutes.

That's it! These will be such a crowd pleaser or a wonderful side to your steak dinner. These have become quite the staple in our house lately and I'm so happy to share this brilliance with you all!