Degustabox Surprise Food Box : Opened, Tasted, Reviewed
Degustabox is a food subscription service that sends you a monthly goodie box filled with a variety of 10 to 15 surprise food products. I was offered to try out the June Degustabox and was happy one day in late June to find my Degustabox waiting for me on the front porch : a big, heavy box filled with food – oh boy! Everything in the box was very well padded and wrapped up to keep everything safe, even the glass bottles. The brown paper wrapping was sealed on the outside with a cute little sticker that says “Open Me, Eat Me…Enjoy Me!”, a nice welcoming invite to the foods, snacks, and treats that await you inside your box. And I was very happy to see that everything sent was a full-sized product, not just a teeny-tiny sample. Included was a sheet that describes all the different items you have been sent and there was also two recipes included here, making use of a couple of the products as an ingredient. I tried out the majority of the items sent and even prepared one of the included recipes. Below is my Degustabox product review, plus information on box pricing and a super “half off” discount you can use for your first Degustabox!
My Taste Report for the food products in the Degustabox for June 2016
Ratings: 4 stars = Super Yummy; 3 stars = Yummy; 2 stars = Meh; 1 star = Yucky
- BRIANNAS Italian Vinaigrette Dressing — Okay, a nice way to start my sampling – I love this dressing. Really bright Italian flavors and not overly salty. A recipe was included with the Degustabox for “BRIANNAS Italian Pasta Salad”, which I decided to make as it looked like something that would be really good. Luckily, it was! Chock full of goodies like Pepperoni Sausage, Provolone and Parmesan cheeses, lots of veggies and coated in the salad dressing, this was a great big salad that came out really tasty. The recipe was easy, though took awhile to do all the chopping. I also tried the dressing on a simple green lettuce salad and loved it – my newest favorite dressing, I’ll want to get this again. ****
Italian Pasta Salad made from recipe included in the Degustabox. Chopped, prepped, and about to be tossed with the Briannas salad dressing. 
BRIANNAS Italian Pasta Salad — recipe completed, plated, and served. Super delicious. - ELMHURST HARVEST “Real Pistachio” Beverage — This is a thin-like milk alternative with a sweet nutty flavor. It’s pretty good. I decided to try pouring some over my morning cereal instead of milk (which sometimes gives me a tummy ache as I am a bit lactose-intolerant) and think that was a smart move for me as it was really tasty. And – no stomach pains later! ***
- WISE POPCORN : Flavor “Sea Salt” (30% Reduced Fat) — An air-popped popcorn, puffy and flavorful. I am a long-time, big popcorn fan and all I have to say about this is YUM YUM YUM – the perfect popcorn, with just the right amount of salt. I want some more! ****
- WISE POPCORN : Flavor “Cinnabon” — Described on the bag as “Classic Cinnamon Roll Flavored Popcorn”, this tastes pretty much like cinnamon sprinkled on popcorn. Pretty good, though I definitely have a preference for savory over sweet flavored popcorns such as this. ***
- HARIBO SOUR GOLD-BEARS — Gummi-Candy in a mix of fruit flavors and colors, lightly dusted in sugar and cutely shaped like little bears. I have had this candy before and love it. Just the right amount of sweet and sour makes these very tangy and good. I happily received a big 9-ounce bag of these Sour Gold-Bears in my Degustabox and the bag contains lots of Gummies – yay! (a minor gripe about the product is the “resealable bag” was very hard to open and reseal. The resealing tape broke off the bag in struggling to open this, oh well). ****
- TOPO CHICO “Mineral Water” — Bubbly and rather refreshing drink, but with a rather strong “mineral” aftertaste that I really didn’t like. I do appreciate that this comes in a glass bottle – perhaps this water would be good used as a cocktail mixer. Just going to add here that my husband ended up drinking the rest of the bottle of this and said he liked it. ** ½
- TOPO CHICO Flavored Sparkling Water with a “Twist of Lime” — Fresh and bubbly, I liked this quite a bit better than the plain Mineral Water. This is a “no calories” light tasting beverage that is pretty refreshing on a hot summer day. ***
- ORCHARD VALLEY HARVEST : Cashews “Halves & Pieces” — A snack product “Made with Sea Salt”, these cashews tasted very fresh, flavorful, and had just the right amount of saltiness. A simple ingredient list of just cashews, expeller pressed sunflower oil, and sea salt. I do love cashews and thought these were totally yum-o, really good – I could just gobble these nuts up! ****
- ORCHARD VALLEY HARVEST : “Cranberry Almond Cashew” Trail Mix — I am a fan of trail mixes, this one is really good. The flavor of the nuts mixed with the fruit combines nicely together and the product is low on the saltiness scale which gives this mix a good, healthy taste. Definitely super yummy. ****
- JIF Cinnamon Peanut Butter Spread — I really love peanut butter, but prefer the more natural “just peanuts and salt” variety. This cinnamon flavored Peanut Butter product tastes like it has a lot of sugar in it and I find it much too sweet to simply eat as a bread spread for a snack. I decided to incorporate it into an easy dessert, here’s what I made: I cut Puff Pastry into rounds, spread each one with a little peanut butter and a dollop of jelly, then folded over into half-moon/crescent shapes, sealing the edges. Baked at 400 degrees until golden (15 to 20 minutes). I didn’t seal the edges well enough and put a little too much jelly in some of these, so they popped open (and stuck to the baking sheet). They didn’t come out as pretty as I would like, the flavor was okay (didn’t love though, my recipe definitely needs some tweaking). **
My Cinnamon Flavor Peanut Butter and Jelly Puff Pastry creations. - SOY VAY : “Veri Veri Teriyaki” Marinade and Sauce — This was a big 21-ounce bottle of sauce. I haven’t had a chance to try this yet, but plan to make the recipe with this that was included in the box. The recipe is called SOY VAY Teriyaki Grilled Chicken Kebab and is cooked on skewers on your grill. Sounds good.
- HONEES Cough Drops : Honey Menthol Cough Suppressant — These cough drops are described on the pack as having “pure liquid honey inside every drop” – well, that sounds good to me. I get a few colds a year and usually develop a bad, lingering cough after the cold. But – I am happy to say I am not currently sick (and nobody in my household is either) so I will sample these next time I get a cough. Glad to have them though!
- VITA COCO Coconut Oil — There were three small packets of this in the box. I am not completely sure what to do with Coconut Oil, so haven’t tried out this product yet. The package says “Eat It, Wear It, Swear by It” and that this can be used for cooking, as a dietary supplement, or for beauty uses as a moisturizer or hair conditioner – interesting.
Summary and Subscription Information:
I found the selection of foods for this box to be quite good and really enjoyed the taste and flavors of the majority of the items sent. Though these are products that are in no way obscure or hard-to-find, the only product I had previously tried from this box was the Sour Gold-Bears. I find it so fun to experiment with and try out new foods that I, perhaps, may never have decided to purchase on my own and that is what is great about subscribing to a food box. Discovering a food product that I have never tried and find I love is so great!
If you are interested in trying out a Degustabox for yourself, here’s the details : the box costs $19.99 a month and shipping is free. This is a monthly subscription, so you will receive one box a month and will be surprised with 10 to 15 goodies in each box. The total value of the products sent will exceed the cost of your box (the box I received in June had a total value of $33.34, so this seems like a pretty good deal to me). You can unsubscribe whenever you like. The Degustabox USA box delivery is available for residents living in the 48 Contiguous United States. Here is a 50 percent off discount to save money on your first order:
Life is a box full of surprises with Degustabox! Get 50% off your first box now. Shipping is free!
Enjoy the Eats!
Disclosure: I was sent this box for free in exchange for my honest review. I was not compensated for the review and all opinions are my own.
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