July 2015 Love With Food Box

Hey readers,

I know I just recently posted my June 2015 LWF Box a little over two weeks ago, but I received my July box today & wanted to share it with you all earlier to make up for the super late post last month! Prior to receiving my boxes, I always like to watch the sneak peek video posted on LWF's YouTube page to see a few of the items that I'll be receiving in my box the following month. And while I know many subscribers hate spoilers, my patience gets the best of me since I'm the type that likes to know everything upfront and would rather skip on the surprise element. So when I watched the video for this month's box, I could already sense that I wasn't going to be impressed by it, but tried my best to keep an open mind since I like to give LWF the benefit of the doubt since they sometimes do surprise me with some of the snacks that they include in our boxes, but don't show in the sneak peek video. This month's theme was Surfin' USA, which I thought was a great theme since it's the middle of summer and is the perfect time to jump into the water and cool down! Now it's time to see if the snacks are just as cool & as weather-friendly as the theme.

What is Love With Food? SIGN UP HERE: (1st box for ONLY $6). It's a monthly subscription service similar to Birchbox and Ipsy where you receive a box filled with 8+ gourmet snacks, instead of beauty products (possibly more if you go with deluxe/gluten-free boxes!). Each month has a special theme (March: Healthy Snack Finds, April: Starry Nights, May: Fiesta Fiesta, etc....) where the snacks are centered around that theme. The NEW lower prices are: $9.99/month for the tasting box (annual subscription: $7.99/month), $19.95/month for the deluxe box (annual subscription: $16.50/month) and $24.99/month for the gluten-free box (annual subscription: $19.99). To date, LWF has donated over 600,000+ meals to food banks across the US! How AMAZING is that? You get an awesome box filled with delectable treats & you're doing good! What's not to love about this box and what they stand for?

Let's get started:

✽Packaging

✽This month's theme: Surfin' USA

✽Product Information Pamphlet

✽Kids' Organic Sour Citrus Chews by Honey Stinger: 100% RDA of Vitamin C and a variety of sunshiny flavors. When's the last time you found something so right at the boardwalk snack shack?

✽Coconut Almond Curry Granola by Bear Naked: Can't get your bikini to Bali? With exotic flavors like coconut and curry, the sand will be a little whiter and the ocean calmer wherever you are

 ✽Simply Toasted Crunchy coconut Chips by Bare Snacks: They say coconut is a superfood that's great for the brain as well as the bod. But when it's toasted like this, we say it's all about the taste, buds!

 

✽Gum Pops by Glee Gum: Flavored with pure cane sugar and natural citrus peels these pops are tops when you're in need of a good chew

✽Hawaiian BBQ by One Potato Two Potato: Cooked in small batches and kissed with Aloha spirit, why be a couch potato when you can hit the beach with these instead?

✽True Lemon, True Lime, True Orange and True Grapefruit by True Citrus: A little citrus kick that doesn't put you in a squeeze? Flavor your crystals and you'll get 25% RDA of Vitamin C, too! 

✽Lemon Almond Biscotti by Biscotti di Suzy: Biting into this biscotti is like a sprinkle of sunshine with bright zesty lemon, a hint of vanilla and hearty almonds. Soak it up!

✽Organic Fruit Snack by Fruigees: Refreshing, creamy, delicious, healthy and colorful too! How can you beat that? Antioxidants galore, why would you not want that?

✽Everything in this month's box

✽Here's my YouTube unboxing video!

✽Thoughts: I was really unimpressed with this month's box and may go as far as saying that it's probably one of my least favorite boxes to date! The main reason as to why this box was so disappointing was because of the fact that it was SO one-sided. For example, there were TWO coconut products in the box & FIVE citrus-type products in the box! I mean, it's almost as if LWF didn't even try to mix it up a bit this month. While I enjoy both citrus fruits and coconut, I can't imagine how disappointed and possibly frustrated other subscribers who received similar tasting boxes must feel, especially if they aren't a fan of either or both of those fruit flavors. On top of that, the sample sizes this month were pretty terrible as well (four tiny packets of crystallized citrus fruits, a tiny biscotti, etc...). Having seen some of the other tasting boxes this month, I probably wouldn't have been as upset as I am with my box had I received a different lollipop or Fruigees snack flavor, other than the citrus ones. Additionally, I'm upset to see brands and products that have already been in previous boxes, like the kettle chips, sour fruit chews, biscotti and more. With LWF attending all of these different trade shows and such, I expected a lot more than I probably should have in terms of seeing them partner up with different brands out there. Don't get me wrong, the snacks in this month's were tasty, but the variety and the sizes of the snacks were just terribly underwhelming. The chips were delicious and extra crunchy, just how I like them. The granola was interesting, but in a good way in that the curry wasn't too overpowering. The gum pop reminded me of an orange-flavored blow pop, as did the squeezable fruit drink and the organic chews. Nothing really stood out to me about the biscotti or the true citrus packets, but I did love the Bare crunchy coconut chips, since I'm already a huge fan of Bare Snacks products and was introduced to the coconut chips last year before they even hit the shelves! In all, this box was definitely a MISS this month, but I hope to see more improvements to the boxes for the duration of 2015! Maybe it's just me, but the boxes this year have been terrible compared to year's past and I really hope that LWF doesn't continue this trend. Oh well, here's to next month!

Of course I have to ask: What was your favorite product in this month's box? Least favorite product?

Have a wonderful day,
-Sandy

FTC: I was not paid or compensated for this review. All reviews and opinions expressed are my own.