Another month and another delivery from Degustabox. I’m sure that by now you’re all familiar with what the box is about, but just in case you’re not, it’s a monthly food subscription box that delivers a selection of new and surprise products to your door for the cost of £12.99 per one off box or £11.99 per month when you take out a bi-annual subscription. I’ve been reviewing the boxes over the last year and they never fail to impress me and get me eating outside of my comfort zone.

As ever the box contained a real variety of products, most of which were entirely new to me. The first product I pulled out was the Melba Thins which claim to be perfect for both night owls and early birds. These are pre-packed in to portions and at £1.39 for ten sets they are pretty good value. I really like this as an accompaniment to soup or a salad at lunch time- I wouldn’t find them very substantial for breakfast but they might make a good alternative to biscuits of an evening.

Also in the savoury selection was a couple of Beet It bars (£1.85 each) which I haven’t braved trying yet, apparently there are a lot of benefits to eating beetroot and of course I do not doubt this, but the idea of it in a snack bar rather than fresh in a salad doesn’t sit right with me. I might brave one of these soon though all in the name of blogging. The Jack Link’s meat snack was a bit more up my street, at least you know where you stand with meat (if you eat it). This was moist and protein packed and was perfect to tide me over between lunch and dinner.

Before I developed an allergy to nuts Whole Earth was a brand I was very familiar with so it was nice to see a new product from them- a peanut butter enriched with sunflower, pumpkin and flax seeds to add even more goodness. I can’t eat this myself, but I will use it I think to make up some healthier three ingredient peanut butter cookies soon.

The Schwartz Flavour Shots have featured in boxes before and are always good for a quick meal that tastes great. At £1.40 each they probably work out quite cost effective and are great for getting me thinking outside of the box.

On the drinks front there were inclusions from Laimon Fresh and Peanut Hottie both of which I have seen before but never purchased. I know in particular that people rave over Peanut Hottie but I’m undecided as to what I’m going to do with it. It’s one of those things that I might not react to, allergy wise, but what seems to be basically hot peanut butter isn’t necessarily something that appeals- do feel free to weigh in on this one!

My favourite section of the Degustabox is always the sweet stuff and this month’s goodies were some of the best yet! The gluten free brownies from Americal Muffin Company are amazing, just so good. Individually wrapped and super moist these are just the right size for a mid-afternoon treat. The box is going down at an alarming rate (and they are only 150 calories each, score!). The Lily O’Brien’s cocoa cookie crunch has been on my radar for some time as my local Waitrose stock it, but at £2.60 per bag I couldn’t really bring myself to buy it. I almost wish I hadn’t tried it now as I love it so much repeat purchases will be made. I’ve been enjoying a piece or two in the evening with a cup of coffee…perfection!

Have you signed up for Degustabox yet? If you fancy signing up you can grab a generous £3 off your first box with the code 0LCHE. Happy eating! There’s also a competition on the Degustabox Facebook page where you can try your luck at winning a box for free.

With January a month of fresh starts and healthy eating it made sense that the first Degustabox of 2015 was packed through guilt-free treats to test out. When it comes to eating healthily I tend to go through phases and lately I’ve been on one big, long spree of relying on cheap junk food to meet my calorie needs.

One of my promises to myself this year is to get back on track with all things food and fitness and whilst I’m not on a diet or trying to lose weight I do want to add in healthier foods and ingredients to make my body look and feel better from the inside out. I’m all about trying new food products and get quite excited when I find something new on the supermarket shelves so this box was right up my street! As Degustbox often do, the January box came in two options, one with an alcoholic beverage and one with a soft drink instead. For review purpose blogger boxes were sent out with both.

I always start my day with a bowl of porridge as nothing else sets me up for the day quite like it. When I’m at Ben’s at the weekend I often take a pot of instant porridge with me so I don’t miss out, and these new varieties from Mornflake (£1.19 each) with Nutella and golden syrup portions to stir in are in my eyes, genius. Sadly I couldn’t eat the Nutella one as I’m allergic to it but Ben gladly tried that one out- he doesn’t need much persuasion to get involved in food type posts! These are so quick and easy make up, you just add boiling water, stir in your topping (or have it plain) and leave it to stand for a few minutes. Perfect for people on the go, and so easy for a breakfast at your desk.

I don’t exclude anything from my diet these days after years of skipping entire food groups for months on end. I was intrigued though to see a low-carb breadmix included in this month’s box as it sounds perfect for those with allergies. Sukrin Bread Mix might not be cheap at £5 per box but as it has only 1g of carbs per slice and free from gluten, wheat, egg, sugar, yeast and soya it’s a worthy investment for when you really fancy producing a home cooked loaf. I haven’t made this up yet, I’m saving it for when I make some home made soup (which won’t be too long ahead I hope) so I’ll report back on how it tastes.

My phobia of oil is a standing joke among those who know me so I’m not 100% sure how much use I’ll get from the Alfa One Rice Oil (£2.00) will get. It is however one of the healthiest oils out there, apparently and super versatile so maybe I will get round to giving it a go- the boost of anti oxidants, vitamin E and cholesterol blocking properties do make it sound like a winner.

Finn Crisp original crispbread are a firm favourite and a product I’ve bought time and time again (£1.20 a box). These are baked with sourdough which gives them a really unique taste against other crackers and crisp breads on the market and they are the perfect host for all manner of tasty lunches- from dipping in soups to topping with continental meats and cheeses. I’ll be adding some of the Haywards piccalilli to these, I think the flavours will be amazing together.

Kabuto Noodles (£2.00) are a product I’ve seen on the shelves but never got round to buying. I’ve got these stashed away in my work lunch pile and as with the bread mix I’ll report back on how they taste.

On the drinks side of things there were a few interesting additions in this month’s box. The dairy free milk by Koko is a product I’ve had before and is a lovely , refreshing coconut milk (£1.39). I love it most in porridge or plain cereals to jazz them up a bit- it also goes very well on muesli and granola and contains less calories than skimmed milk. The Simplee Aloe Aloe Vera drink (£1.79) isn’t a product I’m desperate to try, I just can’t get my head around the idea of it and as I’m not a fan of juices and smoothies in general I think I might have to pass this on. This was in the alcohol free box so on this occasion I’d go for the alcoholic version.

The alcohol box addition was a bottle of Magners Light cider. Despite being from the west country I’m not a huge fan of cider but this does look very appealing so it might become my tipple on Friday after work, all in the name of research- I’ll report back!

Last, but my no means least there were products from Little Miracles (£1.49 each) which is a brand I have enjoyed since being introduced to it via Degustabox. Each bottle is less than 90 calories and this make for the perfect little pick me up during a long day at work. There was also a special bonus gift of some green tea from Clipper which since we had a full sized box in a previous Degustabox I’ve been drinking and enjoying regularly so I was pleased to see a top up!

Have you signed up for Degustabox yet? If you fancy signing up you can grab a generous £3 off your first box with the code 0LCHE. Happy eating!