So I just received my Love With Food box for the month and I wanted to share it with you all as soon as I got it since I've been slacking on these posts lately! Seeing that this is officially the last LWF box of 2015, I just couldn't contain my excitement for several reasons. First off, this month's theme is centered around chocolate! If you know me, I'm ALL about everything and anything chocolate-whether it's dipped, drizzled, covered, tossed or melted, I'm totally there! Second, having been a loyal LWF subscriber for over 3 years now, I'd have to honestly say that 2015 was NOT their year. Most of the boxes that we've received this year have been personally underwhelming with plenty of repeat items, so with the upcoming new year, I'm definitely hoping to see some big changes and new brands being featured in our boxes, so I'm glad this is the last box of 2015! And lastly, since the holidays are just the around the corner and have been keeping me incredibly busy, it's always nice to see a few packages waiting for me at home after a long day, which always lifts my spirits and explains why I'm such a huge fan of subscription services in general, especially around the holidays when you receive unexpected packages, especially ones filled with food. There you have it-stick around to see what was inside this month's box!
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 you with the deluxe/gluten-free boxes!) Each month has a special theme (May: Fiesta Fiesta, June: Saturday in the Park, July: Surfin' USA, 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/month). To date, LWF has donated over 700,000+ meals to food banks across the US! How AWESOME is that?! They're so close to ONE MILLION! You get an awesome box filled with delectable treats every month delivered to your doorstep and you're doing good! What's NOT to love about this subscription box and what they stand for?
Let's get started:
❄Packaging
❄This month's theme: Chocolate Makes The World Go Round
❄Information Pamphlet
❄Tea by Numi Tea: Curl up on the couch, watch the rain (or snow) fall and sip these warm, fragrant brews for the perfect holiday afternoon
❄Chocolate Peppermint Stick Mini Bar by Luna: This ultimate holiday flavor pairing is protein-packed, gluten-free and made with organic ingredients. It's the perfect treat for the holiday season!
❄Liquiroc Caramels by Maison Pecou: A dark chocolate shell with melt-in-your-mouth caramel for a moment of total indulgence. What better way to celebrate the most wonderful time of year?
❄Teeny samples
❄Dark Chocolates with Creamy Coffee Filling by Cafe Britt: When you need a hit of chocolate AND a little pick-me-up, these little bites are just what the doctor ordered
❄PB2 Powered Peanut Butter by Bell Plantation: Toast, crackers, straight from the bowl-this easy-to-mix, low-fat and irresistible spread is delicious on just about anything
❄Bean Chips by Beanitos: Just the way to spice up the holidays-Just serve these with your favorite salsa or quest and watch the party get started
❄Handmade Fruit Leather by You Love Fruit: This chewy, fruity snack has all the sweet goodness you want from a holiday treat, with none of the artificial stuff you don't
❄Midnight Brownie Gluten-Free Cookies by Goodie Girl: Delicious and rich enough to fool the toughest critic of gluten-free cookies. Nothing like baked goods to bring people together this time of year
❄Sweet Corn Crunch Dried Snacks by Sensible Foods: Who doesn't want the delicious taste of sweet corn anytime? Now the dream is a reality. And with no preservatives or additives, there's no guilt!
❄Free Gift (Love With Food Chapstick): For those cold and crisp winter days, here's a little holiday gift from Love With Food to you!
❄Everything in this month's box!
❄Thoughts: Even though I received my box earlier this afternoon, I've already had a chance to try everything in the box and to be honest, I'm a little torn. While I REALLY wanted to LOVE this chocolate-themed box, I didn't like it as much as I thought I would. Having watched the December sneak peek video, one of the items featured was BarkThins, a product that I've been dying to try for the longest time. Neither of the curators mentioned which box it was going to be in (either Tasting, Deluxe or Gluten-Free), so I assumed it would be in all 3, but was wrong seeing that it was only in the deluxe box this month. So that was strike 1. Strike 2 was seeing repeat items such as the Beanitos bean chips and Sensible Foods crunch dried snacks, particularly the corn flavor that we've received 2-3 times now. Strike 3 was seeing brands that have been featured in our boxes way too often, including the Numi tea, Luna bars and PB2. Don't get me wrong, all of the items in this month's box were fantastic-I just wish we could see LWF collaborate with different brands instead of all of the same ones! My two absolute favorite items in this box had to be the You Love Fruit mango coconut fruit leather hearts and the Goodie Girl cookies-the heart shaped, chewy leather was delicious, soft and had a nice sprinkling of coconut in each bite. The midnight brownie cookies had a tasty crunch and a rich chocolate flavor that I particularly enjoyed. The Beanitos chips were just standard and I wish I would've been able to try either the lime or cheese flavor, especially since I'm all too familiar with the restaurant-style flavor since it's my 3rd or 4th time receiving them. The same goes for the dried sweet corn-Sensible foods offers such an incredible variety of flavors, but LWF decides to go with the corn flavor time and again (there's tropical blend, cherry berry, roasted edamame and more---why not let us try those instead?!). The 2 chocolate candies were a sweet gesture, but man do I wish I could at least get 2 of each since those tend to disappear the quickest! The Cafe Britt one had a creamy coffee center, while the Maison Pecou had a liquid-like caramel center, which was great since it was like a caramel explosion in your mouth! The PB2 powdered peanut butter was just okay-I used half in my banana shake and I reconstituted the other half with water to see how it would taste on toast. Surprisingly, it adds a nice nutty flavor to shakes and beverages and I'd much rather use the powder in a drink than turning it into peanut butter since it tasted grainy and had a strange aftertaste. I hate to say it, but JIF is still the king of PB for me! However, I will admit that the PB thins we received in the May 2015 Love With Food Box were quite delicious & I have even two boxes of them in my pantry as I'm typing this! The Luna mini was a great pick-me-up and had a perfect chocolate to mint ratio and made for a wonderful afternoon snack with Numi's chocolate earl grey tea. While I really enjoyed that tea flavor, the turmeric tea wasn't really for me-I'm more of a sweet tea type of gal! Lastly, the chapstick was a fun little freebie and it'll certainly be put to good use, especially if you're going to be standing under the mistletoe like I will be ;)! Any how, so while I didn't necessarily hate this box because it really was filled with great items, I just really wish we'd stop getting repeat items & for the sneak peek videos to be more clearer (plus, I have to admit that their sneak peek videos are terrible lately! We used to get a peek at 2-3 items in each month's box and now they only show ONE item---ughhhh!) Oh well, here's to better boxes in 2016 & discovering new snacks for my family & I to enjoy! Of course I always have to ask--what was your favorite item in this month's box? Least favorite?
Have a splendid day,
-Sandy
FTC: I was not paid or compensated for this review. All reviews and opinions expressed are my own.
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