Subscription Box Archives - Keeper of the Kitchen

March 7, 2017March 7, 2017

Degustabox – February 2017

The months do fly by at the moment – I can tell that by how often the Degustaboxes seem to come around! The February Degustabox was filled will lovely treats and sweets and foodie bits, but a little something for adults too. The first thing the kids went for, of course, were the bags of gummy sweets! I loved hthe Bebeto Cheese Cake Flavour. Or I should say flavours, plural. It’s like any other gummy sweet, but has three layers in the Jelly Gum, with a buttery base labour, a cake flavoured layer and a berry layer, all in one mouthful. It’s really good! We loved these! The Bebeto Candy Crush Gummy mix was also good – based on the popular game – they had a variety of flavours and shapes. I couldn’t make out from the packaging if these were vegetarian or not, so I’m guessing not, but they are Halal certified.

And then there was the single bar of Diablo No Added Sugar, Cream Filled Milk Chocolate Wafer, which had to be shared three ways. I’m generally disinclined to go for sugar free things as they normally have other things that replace the sugar, and those things are generally not any better for you, but I’ll admit I liked the Diablo bar. The crispy wafers were perfectly crispy, the chocolate layers were sweet but not sickly. I really liked it. I also left half the bar for over a week (I like to leave a bit to eat/drink while I’m writing the actual review) and was surprised to find that it was still crispy despite having been open for that length of time.

The Maui & Sons Dark Chocolate Coated Banana Chips are dried banana chips covered with dark chocolate. I found them a little strange, at first, as I couldn’t ‘get’ the banana, but it came through after the chocolate as a gentle aftertaste. They are vegan, with no preservatives and are gluten free, and I will be buying them again as they are delicious. I did think they’d be fabulous gently crushed and used in muffins though!

I loved the Peppersmith Peppermints & Chewing gum. They were fresh and sharp, and definitely leave your mouth feeling cool and clean – they are sweetened with Xylitol which is meant to be good for your teeth anyway. And I loved them a little extra because the kids didn’t like them – they were too strong for them. Which means I don’t have to hide them away.

We all love popcorn, so this was welcome on one of the many rainy days we’ve had of late. I must admit that the Willy Chase’s Fit Popcorn – Apple Cider Popcorn was a bit unusual for me, but it grows on you soon enough and is one of those ‘once you start, you can’t stop’ treats. We received a small bottle of Apple Cider Vinegar with this, which I kind of wished your were meant to drizzle over the popcorn or something, but actually we have bottles of the stuff in the cupboard – we use it a lot – so as this is a small bottle I’m putting it in the camping goods for the summer so we can take some with us! I did like that even this small bottle had traces of The Mother in it, a sure sign of a good Apple Cider Vinegar.

I absolutely loved these Dark Chocolate Americanos, smooth, dark chocolate on the outside, filled with crispy, crunchy coffee beans. I could eat many bags of these. More so as I decided they weren’t for kids.

Double Dutch is a ‘natural premium mixer’ which you can have with spirits or on it’s own. There are different flavours, I believe, of which we received Cucumber and Watermelon, which, let’s face it, pretty much is summer in a glass. Considering that it really is just flavoured water, I really liked the gold embossing on the labels. It makes it feel rather fancy. Be aware you need a bottle opener for these lids.

I wasn’t at all sure about the Just Bee Honey Water which sounds like it’s going to be really sweet, but it was probably the most surprising item in the box. I really enjoyed it and could definitely see myself buying it again. We received a blueberry flavoured one, and I really loved it. Produced by a family of bee keepers these have no extra sugars and it looks like the company does a lot of work around saving and protecting bees.

Coldress Fruity Greens Juice is really tasty. I don’t like celery at all so I could taste a hint of it in this, but the sweetness of the apple, banana and kiwi covered it sufficiently. There’s also kale and spinach in it, and 150ml makes up one of your 5-a-day, so this 500ml bottle makes up three of them, and it’s something you could certainly keep on your desk or counter and have a sip from now and then as you go through the day.

We’re not really dairy free milk people, so I’ve popped the Koko milk alternative in the cupboard for next time we have smoothies, as it seems a good alternative to almond or other nut milks.

The box also contained a bottle of Blossom Hill Summer Fruits which I have to tell you is amazing stuff. I did wish it was a warm sunny evening while I was sipping it, but even so, it was delicious. This will only be included if you have the alcohol version of the Degustabox, and you’ll receive either summer fruits or elderflower. I will definitely be grabbing this again in the summer as it’s delicious, and is around £4 – £4.50 a bottle, so certainly affordable.

The February Degustabox also contained two small tins Heinz no added sugar beanz and Kabuto Noodles.

Contents of boxes may vary. The contents of this box were worth roughly £22.50, but boxes cost £12.99 and your first box would be only £5.99 with the code below:

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February 3, 2017February 3, 2017

Degustabox – Healthier January Box {Food Subscription Box Review}

This month’s DegustaBox arrived today and it’s filled with fab goodies – the majority of which we’ve never tried, and probably wouldn’t choose off a shelf, which is what makes the Degustabox great: it makes you try new things, and find new favourites.

The Degustabox Snacks

The snacks in this month’s box are Popchips Ridges, Yushoi Snapea Rice Sticks and Snacks Seeds and Sea Salt crakers. Sweet stuff this month are the Fruit-tella sweets.

We’ve had Popchips before, but these are Crazy Hot Popchips Ridges. They are super hot – the kids didn’t like them at all. I couldn’t eat them as they were, but melted some mozzarella over them, and they were delicious. The cheese cuts the spice and makes it very flavourful. Add some avocado and sour cream and you have a spicy nacho snack. Yum. These crisps are gluten free, and not fried, so they’re lower in calories. Although, probably not, smothered in cheese!

Speaking of nachos, the Snacks Seeds & Sea Salt crackers have a brilliant little recipe card with ways to use them and the Cheese-Glazed Snack Casserole turns them into a hot nacho meal without crisps. It looks brilliant. The recipe booklet includes a variety of other dips, all of which look fabulous. These are wholegrain rye crackers.

Yushoi Snapea’s have been on the shopping list for us since we had them in a Degustabox last year, but I think these are a new flavour for us. The Coconut & Chilli is really tasty, with a light coconut flavour and a very gentle chilli flavour rather than heat. Even the kids liked them (after I assured them they weren’t actually made from peas. Which they are. I’m a terrible mother.) Snapeas are gluten free, made from peas and rice, they are baked and a source of protein. They are high in fibre, nut free, have no MSG or artificial colours or flavours, consist of 72% green peas, suitable for vegetarians, and don’t really taste of peas at all. They are awesome.

Fruit-tella are your standard chewy soft sweet, but they have 30% less sugar. You wouldn’t know it in the eating though. Watch out if you have fillings, they are chewy indeed, but they are delicious. And I’m quite happy with the less sugar thing.

The Degustabox Foods

The Degustabox food this month is Ready cooked Organic and Fairtrade Pearl Quinoa with split peas. This organic, fair trade staple is a great alternative to rice and it’s gluten ffree and suitable for vegetarians. This would be great stuffed in hollowed out pepper.

This moth’s box also includes a 100% off voucher for a pot of The Collective yoghurt. It’s a ‘ridiculously tasty gourmet live yoghurt with a double layer of fresh fruit compote’. I’ve seen these in my local Waitrose, so I will collect one next time I’m down there.

The Degustabox Drinks

There are loads of drinks in this month’s Degustabox.

Firstly there’s Aspire Health Drinks – we received Cranberry and Mango Lemonade.

These are Green Tea extract drinks that are meant to reduce body fat. They contain no calories, no sugar and no fat. They use sucralose as a sweetener, which doesn’t have the same aftertaste as aspartame, so I already like them a lot, just for that.

The Cranberry flavour has a hint of the tartness you’d expect, but it’s not enough to make you pucker up. It does contain taurine (the stuff in red bull too) so shouldn’t be had more than four cans a day. This is not recommended for children, breastfeeding or pregnant women, but is suitable for vegetarians (I expect that means the Taurine is synthetically produced.)

The Mango Lemonade flavour gives you exactly what you expect – a fresh burst of mango, and a refreshing green tea flavour.

Protein Boost offers 20g of protein in a handy little bottle. It tastes like chocolate milk and is quite a thin milk drink. It’s very tasty and certainly doesn’t feel like you’re having a meal in a bottle, but it’s good if you have a busy day and need a bit of endurance.

Crabbies Alcoholic Ginger Beer took me by surprise. I don’t like ginger beer, so expected to have a little taste and bin the rest, but the overwhelming flavour is the sweet raspberry, with a ginger aftertaste. Really delicious!

Hibiscus Drink with Fiery Ginger – well, I don’t like ginger beer – but this was lovely. Initially, there’s a sweet flavour you can’t really put your finger on – that’s the hibiscus – then there’s the after taste of ginger, which it turns out is quite soothing on the throat when you have a cold!

The Degustabox Extras

Extra’s are those things that don’t fall into the above categories, and for this month’s box, that includes Natvia Sugar Substitute and The Chia Company Chia Seeds.

I’ve never used Natvia before, so I thought I’d try that first in something I know very well – my coffee. I normally have no sugar in coffee, but found the flavour unchanged and definitely sweeter than normal. That’s a bonus if you want your coffee with no extra calories, but you miss the sugar. I also tried it in the Chia Mocha recipe, instead of honey, and again, was quite happy with both the flavour and sweetness. I’ll have to try it in baking soon.

Chia seeds are one of those things you buy, then can’t remember what recipe you bought it for, so sit with it in the kitchen for six months. (If you’re like me). Either that, or you know what it is and what it does and use it all the time. I know people enjoy chia porridge and chia jam. For me, I don’t like lumpy things, even soup, so it’s something I really struggle with. If you like bubble tea or sago or rice pudding, you’ll love chia. And it’s meant to have tons of health benefits. The Degustabox came with two recipes for chia seeds. I’ve adapted them a little to our tastes and circumstances, and you can do the same. The Chia Mocha is here, and the (adapted to) Chia Raspberry & Cacao Nib Peanut Butter Slice is here.

Discount code for new subscriptions

If you’d like to try the Degustabox for yourself, head over to Degustabox and use the discount code below for a whopping £7 off your first box, making it just £5.99.

June 10, 2016June 10, 2016

Degustabox Food Subscription Box {Review & Offer}

Over the last six months I’ve been receiving a monthly Degustabox and for some reason I’ve never even written about it! So here’s me today, telling you about it!

As the title says, Degustabox is a food subscription box. You pay a monthly fee and the Degustabox is delivered to your door (I receive a text message the day before to tell me my box will be with me tomorrow, and on the day to tell me between what time and what time [1 hour slots] and they have not once yet been late, so that’s pretty impressive all on it’s own!)

Each month the Degustabox comes with a selection of goodies new to the market or that companies would like to promote. For some things you’ll receive a whole packet like you would buying it in the shop and for other things you’ll receive a sample – for example you might receive a large bag of crisps or a bag of 6 croissants, or you might receive a sample size biscuits or fortune cookies. There’s a good mix and match. There will normally be enough of everything to allow two – three people to share one box, though you might not all get the same flavour, and not everyone will get one of everything. That’s okay – I hide the best stuff from the kids and eat it on my own 😉

The Degustabox might include snacks, food, juices or soft drinks and/or alcohol. Sometimes it contains parts for a meal – say packet rice or sauce for a slow-cooked meal, or stuffing for a turkey, so it’s a great mix that you can easily incorporate into your monthly or weekly meal plan.

In the Degustabox you will also receive flyers about some of the newer or more unusual products, and an information sheet that contains everything in the box, along with the prices you would pay for it in a shop.

In six months we’ve not had any serious breakages – maybe a biscuit here or there but no glass or anything as it’s all individually wrapped or packaged intelligently, which was a concern for me!

The Degustabox is a luxury item, I’ll admit. It’s something I really look forward to receiving because I rarely ‘break’ away from my shopping list and my grocery budget. I have a very fussy eater in my four year old, so sometimes I’ll just choose to not bother buying new things because I hate food waste. This way, I am able to test things in sometimes smaller portions, or just have things that I kind of consider as treats for myself. I have always been an adventurous eater, and opening up my monthly Degustabox is a very exciting thing!

Of course there have been things we’ve chosen not to eat in the box too, like a bottle of artificial sweetener or the occasional bar of chocolate from a brand we’re not keen on, but those we pass on or drop give away or whatever, and so far it’s been rare that we’ve not finished everything in the box!

The Degustabox is £12.99 including delivery, and there are 10 – 15 items in each box. There are no contracts or commitments, if you want to cancel let them know before the 9th of the month. If you sign up to their newsletter or website you will also receive recipe ideas to accompany the contents of the box. Readers can use the code BLDEG15 o take a whopping £6 off your first box, making it just £6.99 delivered.

We love our Degustabox and hope you will too!