We tried meal kits, wine of the month clubs and the ClassPass for lunch, and lately, we’ve been trying companies looking to change the way we snack.
These services follow the standard box subscription model that exists for makeup, tea, craft supplies and “bro” items, which means the company routinely mails you an array of goodies (yummy snacks, in this case).
We tried two of the big ones: Graze and Love With Food. One was way better than the other.
Graze
The price and plan:
Boxes include eight different snacks and cost $11.99 each with free shipping. You choose delivery frequency (weekly, monthly, etc.) and can change or cancel your plan at any time.
What I received:
I tried a variety box that included the following various snacks: Billionaire’s Shortbread (blanched almonds, cranberries, vanilla fudge and Belgian milk chocolate drops); Eleanor’s Apple Crumble (soft apple pieces, caramelized honey and cinnamon almonds and raisins); The Cheese Board (cheese flavored cashews, cheddar cheese bruschetta and baked herb bites); Herby Bread Basket (mini basil breadsticks, oregano rice crackers and garlic crostini; Cranberry and HazelNut Toast (with a rich coco dip); Punchy Protein Nuts (chili lime cashews, raw almonds and baked salted peanuts); Banana Protein Flapjack (rustic rolled oat flapjack with mixed seeds and banana flavoring); and Sweet Mustard Ranch (sour cream and onion flavored cashews, mustard breadsticks and poppyseed pretzels).
Pros and cons:
+There are over 100 snacks to choose from (which all look delicious).
+You can choose from several different themed boxes including: protein box, sweet treat box, afternoon pick-me-up box, sugar count box, variety box, etc.
+After each box, you can rate your treats so Graze can continue to customize your boxes according to your snack preferences.
+The snacks contain no GM ingredients, high fructose corn syrup, trans fat or artificial colors, flavors or preservatives. Plus, they’re perfectly portioned.
+On both the packages and online, nutrition information is listed and the snacks are easily labeled whole grain, fiber, nutrition pack, 1/2 cup of fruit, protein and 140 calories.
+The plan is flexible
-The price, maybe? Some may think $12 is a lot for these tiny snack pods, but they come out to only $1.5 each. That’s on par with the mini bags of trail mix you might pick up at Duane Reade and not half bad at all considering how pricey some of these ingredients (like nuts) are in general.
Overall, I really loved Graze and would definitely continue the service. The portions are great for controlled snacking and the food is healthy and delicious. What’s more, the snacks are unique and the variety is amazing. My variety box was just the tip of the iceberg—the company’s website lists all of their snacks and there’s also different types of popcorn, dried fruit, cookies, mini miso soups and pho, salsa, green snacks like a mix of kale and edamame. There are so many different flavors too, including everything from caesar, cinnamon and tuscan pesto to Thai, Malaysian and Italian spices and herbs.
Love With Food
The price and plan:
-$7.99 per month for a box with eight snacks
-$16.50 per month for a box with 16 to 20 snacks
-$19.99 per month for a gluten-free box with 10 to 12 snacks
-Shipping is free within the U.S. and you can cancel at any time.
What I received:
I tried the deluxe box that includes 16 to 20 snacks, all of which are all original to Graze. It was filled with snack pods including: Curry Crunch, Golden Lentils, Snapz apple chips, Thai style peanut rice clusters, Wild Garden hummus, Field Trip Turkey Jerky, cherry licorice and apple cinnamon fruit leathers, among other things.
Pros and cons:
+The price. You get a little more for your money than Graze if you go with the deluxe box.
+Each box you order helps children in need. The company donates one meal to a child in need for every small box purchased and two meals for every deluxe and gluten-free box purchased.
+The snacks contain no genetically modified ingredients, high fructose corn syrup, trans fat, hydrogenated oils or artificial colors or flavors. Plus, they’re all organic or all-natural.
+You can find many of the included snacks on the website’s online snack shop, so you can purchase more if you really like something.
-The snack boxes have duplicates.
+Easy gluten-free option
-These snacks are all prepackaged items you can buy elsewhere.
I only enjoyed maybe half of the snacks in my box. Love With Food is essentially having someone else go to the health food isle of a store, fill it with snacks and mail it to you. I didn’t particularly like most of the snacks, and this service just didn’t do it for me.
And the winner is…Graze
The Graze snacks were original and delicious. Not only can you not get these snack packs anywhere else, you’d have trouble finding many of the snacks themselves. Yes, you can buy nuts and popcorn at your local store, but the many “deconstructed” snacks that offer the tastes of full meals and desserts in bite sized pieces? Good luck. Plus, with the aforementioned labels and even the fact that many of the snacks are named “energizing this” or “protein that” makes it super easy to target certain nutrition needs.
