Degustabox | January Box

If you’ve not heard of Degustabox, then where have you been? It’s a food & drink monthly subscription box – bringing you 9-14 surprise products, many which are new to the market. When you sign up, you get to fill in your very own profile, meaning a couple of the products may differ. It’s actually the highlight of my week when this little beauty arrives on my doorstep – so what was in January’s box?

·         A box of Finn Crisp original crispbreads

·         A bottle of Cold Press apple juice

·          A bar of Conscious chocolate

·         A packet of Jordan’s Country Crisp: fruit & nut

·         Two pouches of Amoy Taste of Asia cooking sauce

·         A bottle of Tsingtao

·         A packet of Yushoi snapea rice sticks

·          A bottle of Clark’s carob fruit syrup

·         A packet of Slim Noodles

·         A Crobar peanut bar

Jordan’s is a well known brand in our house, but I hadn’t previously tried the fruit & nut variety of their granola. It isn’t too sweet compared to some of the other products and other brands. I love a bowl of this with almond milk in the mornings.

Slim Pasta was in a previous box (May – review here) and I really hated it. It was supposed to be sheets to make a lasagne, but it had a really chewy, rubbery texture. I’m yet to try the Slim Noodles, but I’m a little apprehensive. I don’t have high hopes, but I’d love to be proved wrong. I have sampled both pouches of Amoy sauces – I received Thai green curry and Malaysian Laksa. By adding meat and plenty of veg, these sauces managed to feed our family of four. The sauces were quick and easy to prepare and so flavoursome – I loved the Thai green curry one, which we had with chicken, mixed peppers and mangetout.

It’s no secret that I’m a serial snacker, even though I try and be healthy. One of the swaps I’ve managed is replacing crisps with alternative products. The Yushoi Snapea Rice Sticks definitely ticked all the boxes. They were crunchy, light and big on flavour – which was sweet chilli & lemon. They weren’t too spicy and I still can’t believe they’re made from green peas and rice. They’re so moreish.

More brand repetition came from the Finn Crisp original crispbreads (the exact same product was in last January’s box). I enjoyed these then and still do now, but always find it disappointing when the same product is included in a future box. I hadn’t actually purchased these and I guess now I don’t need to! The Conscious chocolate was unusual – it has a truffle-like texture. The product is free from gluten, dairy, soya and refined sugars; it’s also Paleo friendly and vegan registered. It just wasn’t what I was expecting. I still haven’t tried the Crobar natural energy bar. I think I’m put off by the fact it contains cricket flour (as in the insect!).

I’m ending with the drinks this time. To complement the Asian sauces and to coincide with Chinese New Year, there was a bottle of Tsingtao beer in this month’s box. I don’t drink/like beer, so this went straight to my dad. The other drink was the Coldpress golden delicious apple juice, which was lush. I don’t drink much juice, but I really enjoyed this. And finally we have the Clark’s Carob fruit syrup. This makes a great alternative to honey and other syrups on porridge, pancakes or even incorporated into baking. I used this in baked oats but would love to use it more; do you have any suggestions?

Did you know you could try a box for half price by clicking this link?  

What were your thoughts on the January box?

Love, Lucy xx

Lucy Loves is now on Facebook | Twitter | Instagram