Thursday, June 21, 2012

NatureBox - a healthy food subscription service review and giveaway!

A few weeks ago, I was contacted by a company to try one of their boxes. I am a sucker for subscription services, and this one sounded great, so I jumped at the chance! I hadn't heard of them before, and it turns out they are a new company, and have only been around for a few months. NatureBox is a company that delivers healthy snacks to your door for $19.95 a month.

The difference between this one and some of the other snack services I've seen is that NatureBox creates their own branded snacks and sends out 4-6 full sized packages, not samples. They promise that the snacks will be wholesome and nutritionist approved!

They also promise the following:

  • No High Fructose Corn Syrup,
  • No Partially Hydrogenated Oils
  • No Trans Fats
  • No Artificial Sweeteners
  • No Artificial Flavors
  • No Artificial Colors
This was exciting for me to read, because I have been making a conscious effort to eat and snack more healthfully, and sometimes it's hard to find a variety snacks that are truly healthy. I was also excited to read that they donate a meal to feed hungry children for every box sold. As someone who has, in the past, had to rely on the kindness of others and food pantries to keep going, that's a very big perk to me and something close to my heart.

I received my box last week and, man, was I excited to tear into it! I'm happy to say that everything inside was delicious and has been demolished!

First of all, I was excited because this box is huge. And it's cute! The box itself is very sturdy and I actually saved it because it's a perfect size to store papers and important items in. It arrived to me very quickly - I was told they were shipping them on the 10th, and it arrived to me on the 13th. Very impressive.

I opened it and was excited to see that it was packed full! The card included lists the items in the box, which I always appreciate. The theme this month is Healthy Fun in the Sun - wholesome snacks that are perfect for travel, camping, hot summer nights, and active days in the great outdoors. I love travel friendly snacks that I can keep in my bag at work, so that sounds great to me!

Included is a referral code - if you want to try NatureBox, enter "REFER25" or "SUMMERFUN" to receive 25% off your first box. Or, if you sign up for a 6 month subscription, "SUMMERFUN" will earn you 1 free month, or 3 free months with a 12 month subscription.

Now, onto the goodies.

The first thing I pulled out was this Harvest Fruit Granola. This was so good! When I think of granola, I generally think of something crunchy and fairly bland. This one is soft and naturally sweet and full of fruit and nuts - it even includes whole pecans...my favorite.  I love that it's sweetened with agave! I had this a couple of different mornings as a pick me up.

Each packet has detailed nutritional information on the back and they all come in a resealable pouch.

As you can see, the granola is full of good things.

The next thing I found were these Sun-ripened White Peaches. I love peaches, and I really enjoy dried fruit when it's done properly. I can honestly say that this one is done properly! The peach halves are still plump and soft and sweet.

They're a great size. I took these to work with me and had them as a snack at break time!

These are another dried fruit item - Apple Rings!  I was a little bit skeptical of these - I love apples, but I've had dried apples in the past that had the taste and texture of cardboard. These are wonderful! They're soft and super sweet and full of apple flavor. They're also huge!
These ended up being one of my favorite items in the box!

These are my absolute FAVORITE item in the box. I may or may not have eaten every last one myself. Nearly in one sitting. They are THAT good! These are the Citrus Kick Almonds. Now, I love citrus and I love almonds, so it's no surprise that I like these. But the almonds themselves were a surprise! Hearing the name, I envisioned almonds with a bit of a sweet citrus coating on them. They're actually complex and savory, with flavors of orange, lime, ginger, and garlic. NatureBox compares their flavor to a tangy marinade and I definitely agree with that. These are amazing and addictive.

Each one is coated with yumminess. Looking at this picture, I am so sad that I don't have more of these!

And finally, this is the Organic Mighty Mix. This is just what it sounds like - a really good trail mix! I love that the texture is nice and clean and non-sticky. It includes a great mix of nuts and dried fruits. I took this with me on a hiking adventure and it made a perfect snack.

I love that it's naturally sweet and a great combination of textures.

I'm really impressed with NatureBox - look at the great size of these packages! Each one is 4-5 servings. (Except for those almonds...those are so good that I would consider a bag five times that size to be a single serving! HA!)

If you're a fan of healthy snacks, or just trying new healthy foods in general, I definitely recommend NatureBox. For about $20 a month, you not only get delicious snacks, but you also get to help hungry children in America.  It's worth noting that they are a new company, so they cannot yet meet specific dietary needs (like nut allergies, gluten intolerance, and vegan) but they are working on these options in the future, so keep your eyes peeled.

The great news is, NatureBox is giving me the opportunity to give away a free month to one of you! The box will be July or August's box (depending when the giveaway ends and all the information gets passed along), so it will not be the exact box I got, but it will contain 4-6 full sized packages of healthy, delicious snacks. Yum! Enter to win via the Rafflecopter!