June Candy Adriatico Review

I love candy, and I love trying candy from other countries even more. It's so much more fun to try something that isn't readily available in the U.S. Candy Adriatico is a fantastic subscription that sends sweet treats from Italy, Croatia, and Slovenia (the Adriatic Group) right to your door, making it easy to sample international snacks!

*Disclaimer: This box was sent to See, Shop, Love! in exchange for an honest review.

Candy Adriatico has one-, three-, and nine-month options available at the following price points:

• Sweet Starfish Plan: One month for $24.08 (€22,50), billed monthly
• Sweet Dolphin Jump Plan: Three months for $23.54 (€22,00) a month, charge of $70.63 (€66,00) every three months
• Sweet Shark Bite Plan: Nine months for $22.47 (€21,00) a month, charge of $202.26 (€189,00) every nine months. Includes free gift envelope with extra special treats!

Each box contains up to 500 g/17.64 oz of candy and an exclusive postcard that's signed by Nadi, Candy Adriatico's founder. I love the personal touch!

• Tortica - This candy bar is from Croatia and is my favorite of the box so far (I haven't tried them all yet). It's milk chocolate filled with cream and wafers and kind of reminded me of a Kit Kat, except it was 10 times better because it was filled with cream!
• Kinder Delice - I love all things Kinder, especially their Happy Hippos, so I know this will be good. It's a soft cake with chocolate and milk cream. Even though it's a cake, it still felt kind of soft and melted so I stuck it in the fridge. Oh, and it's from Italy.
• Tronky - I just love the name of this! It's also from Italy and is a crispy wafer with cream inside. It was pretty good, but the wafer to cream ratio wasn't quite right to me (I was hoping for more cream).

• Gorenjka Bali - This is from Slovenia and is made with milk chocolate and puffed rice. Puffed rice seems to be a popular ingredient in candy from the Adriatic Group; I feel like it's been in at least one bar from every box I've gotten (read my past reviews here). I'm not complaining, though, because it tastes great!
• Gianduja - This is from Italy and is a little milk chocolate bar with hazelnuts in it. It was really good!

• Nougat Napolitanke - This is from Croatia and is a wafer with hazelnut cream. I haven't tried it yet but I love wafer-style cookies so I think this will be delicious.
• Herba - These are gummy candies with natural orange and ginger flavors that are from Slovenia. I like ginger in candies so I think I'll like these a lot.

Bottom Line: June's Candy Adriatico box was another great one! There was a lot of chocolate and wafer snacks this time around but I love both of those things.

What do you think of Candy Adriatico?

Simple Loose Leaf Tea Review

I've probably talked quite a bit about my coffee obsession on this blog, but I also am obsessed with tea! While I drink coffee in the morning to wake me up, I love to wind down at night with a good cup of tea. Simple Loose Leaf is a fantastic subscription that sends all different types of loose leaf teas to your door!

*Disclaimer: This box was sent to See, Shop, Love! in exchange for an honest review.

Simple Loose Leaf is a great way to introduce yourself to new varieties of tea from the convenience of your home. They have a few subscription options:

• Monthly: $15/month, renews each month
• Three Months: $14/month, $42 charged every three months. Save 7%!
• Six Months: $13/month, $78 charged every six months. Save 13%!

They currently ship to the U.S. and Canada. All boxes ship on the first of the month and take 2-3 days for delivery to U.S. addresses and 6-8 to Canadian addresses. It appears that shipping is free to U.S. and Canadian addresses, but I couldn't find a statement on their FAQ page that said so for sure. There is also a list of lots of other countries on their ordering page, so I'm assuming they ship to all of the countries listed.

Each month you'll receive four to six teas with 1/4 of an ounce of leaves inside, which they state is enough for a full pot of tea or several single serve cups.

The teas arrived packaged nicely inside of a medium-sized box with paper scraps for padding. All of the shipping materials are recyclable.

I received five teas to try and I couldn't wait to dig in! Each bag was labeled and had a detailed description of the tea, and there was also an informational card included in the box with the same information. Here's what was inside (with descriptions taken from the labels):

• Gunpowder Green: This is made with leaves that have been hand-rolled into tiny pellets. It's a classic style of green tea that comes from the Zhejian province of China.
• Thai Chai - This is a creamy and succulent chai blend. I tried this one first because I love chai and it did not disappoint! It was packed with flavor and had that spicy taste that I crave.
• Spearmint Herbal - This tea is smoother and more grounded than peppermint with a refreshingly clear and smooth aroma. I have never had spearmint tea but I do love peppermint, so I'm excited to give this a try.
• Sungma Summer Darjeeling - The Darjeeling tea is made from the Sungma Estate and has bright aromatics and clean floral white grape notes. It has a plush, tangy, and sweet finish. I haven't tried it yet but I love a good Darjeeling tea!
• Senna Leaf and Anise Herbal Pu'er - This is made with senna leaf for calming an upset stomach, with anise and licorice to help relax your senses. I normally drink ginger tea when I have an upset stomach so I was curious to see how well this worked. I was apprehensive because I don't love licorice or anise, but I found that those flavors were not overpowering at all. I quite liked the flavor of this and it did soothe my stomach very well.

They even included drawstring bags for steeping and organic sugar packets! I didn't need to use the bags because I have my manatee infuser, but they included instructions on how to use them if you chose to do so.

Thai Chai

Senna Leaf and Anise Herbal Pu'er

I didn't get a chance to try all of the teas before writing this review, but based on the two that I did try (the chai and senna leaf) I think this box is fantastic! I'm certain that I will love all of the other teas as much as I loved the two I brewed up.

• Visit Simple Loose Leaf to learn more and subscribe!
• Connect with them on Facebook and Twitter.

Bottom Line: Simple Loose Leaf sent an excellent selection of teas this month that I was thoroughly impressed by! I got to have an old favorite as well as the opportunity to try a few that I have never had before. I think this is a great deal for only $15!

What do you think of Simple Loose Leaf?

Angel's Cup Coffee Subscription Review

I love coffee and I can't get through my mornings without a good cup. I'm also very picky when it comes to brews, but I'm willing to give any variety a try at least once. Angel's Cup is the perfect coffee subscription for me because it allows subscribers to try all types of blends (52 if you subscribe for the whole year!) from the convenience of home!

*Disclaimer: This package was sent to See, Shop, Love! in exchange for an honest review.

Angel's Cup is all about curation: they send distinctive single-origin blends in light to medium roasts that you can then purchase full-sized version of in their shop. They even have an app that you can use to rate the samples that you try.

The subscription costs $7.99 per month with free shipping to the U.S., $6 to Canada, and $11 anywhere else in the world. That's an amazing price (especially if you live in the U.S.), considering a bag of coffee often runs anywhere from $8-$15!

Angel's Cup ships from Brooklyn in a standard mailer with their logo stamped on the front. I live in Rochester, New York, but shipping patterns aren't always the most direct, so this took exactly a week to get to me via USPS.

Inside is an info card explaining how Angel's Cup works along with a menu that describes all four flavors.

I use a Keurig and a "My Keurig" cup to brew my coffees and each packet had enough for three cups of coffee. If I had a regular coffee pot I would use the entire packet at once, which would still come out to about three cups I think.

As you can see, the sample pack is labeled with the date it was filled and the sample number so you can match it up to the menu. Here's a rundown of the varieties I received:

• Coffee Tasting #0111 - Roaster: Spotted Cow Coffee Co., Origin: Ethiopia, AramoThe flavors include blueberry, strawberry, tamarind, tea-rose, and cranberry. The menu states that this coffee has a big blueberry and strawberry flavor up front, but it doesn't show over-ferment in any majorly detracting way. I haven't tried this one yet but I'm interested to see how I like it because I've never had any fruit-flavored coffees before.

• Coffee Tasting #0112 - Roaster: Spotted Cow Coffee Co., Origin: Kenya, Kamwangi PeaberryThis has flavors of blackcurrant, grapefruit, papaya, mango, peach, tomato, blackberry, vanilla, and soy sauce. Soy sauce?! I never realized so many flavors could go into one coffee. The blackberry, black currant, peach, mango, and vanilla are the forward notes. As the cup cools, the spices reminiscent of a cup of bourbon come out. As soon as I saw that I knew I had to try this first because I love whiskey! It tasted great, a little light for my preference, but it was complex and sweet and very good.
• Coffee Tasting #0113 - Roaster: Bluebeard Coffee, Origin: Java, Sunda HejoThis has notes of milk chocolate, strawberry, and apricot. Sunda Hejo is a premium mark from the Klasik Beans Cooperative, and the coffee comes from small holder farmers in the mountainous region around the city of Bandung in West Java. Fresh cherries are pulped in small batches, fermented overnight, and washed clean. They're then dried on raised beds in bamboo greenhouses. I knew I had to try this next after I read that it had notes of milk chocolate! It's also very sweet and had good flavor, but was still a bit too lightly roasted for me.

• Coffee Tasting #0114 - Roaster: Bluebeard Coffee, Origin: Colombia, La Piedra NarinoFlavors include coffee blossom, jasmine, watermelon, cherry, caramel, brown sugar, milk chocolate, almond, ginger, green tea, lime, and cranberry. I think I'm going to try this one tomorrow morning because I'm very curious to see how all of those flavors blend together. According to the menu, the rainier cherry, caramel, watermelon, and cherry blossom round out the clean, refreshing flavor.

I logged into the app after trying flavors 0112 and 0113 to play around with it and I think it's such a cool feature! I love that you can provide feedback and really be a part of the whole Angel's Cup experience in that way.

• Visit Angel's Cup to learn more and subscribe!
• Connect with them on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram

Bottom Line: I still can't get over how affordable Angel's Cup is and what a great product they send out! I think this subscription is an excellent way to introduce yourself to different coffees that you aren't going to find at your average coffee shop or grocery store. The interactive app is just icing on the cake, too!

What do you think of Angel's Cup? Are you a coffee addict like me?

March Candy Adriatico Review

Candy Adriatico is a wonderful candy subscription that features snacks from Italy, Slovenia, and Croatia.  I love getting these boxes because it's fun to try brands that aren't readily available here in the U.S.!

*Disclaimer: This box was sent to See, Shop, Love! for review purposes.

Candy Adriatico has one-, three-, and nine-month options available at the following price points:

• Sweet Starfish Plan: One month for $24.08 (€22,50), billed monthly
• Sweet Dolphin Jump Plan: Three months for $23.54 (€22,00) a month, charge of $70.63 (€66,00) every three months
• Sweet Shark Bite Plan: Nine months for $22.47 (€21,00) a month, charge of $202.26 (€189,00) every nine months. Includes free gift envelope with extra special treats!

They are also launching a "Try Out Candy Adriatico" option where you can order a surprise package of candy from previous boxes for only $15.52 (€14,50)!

Each box also comes with a postcard featuring one of the countries that the box represents.  This month's is from Triglav, the name of a mountain and national park in Slovenia.  Nadi, the founder of Candy Adriatico, always includes a handwritten note on each postcard.  I love the personalized touch and seeing the beautiful photos on the postcards each month.

• Bonko Candy - These candies are from Croatia and are described as a "fruit toffee" with Vitamin C. They're individually wrapped and come in the four flavors represented on the package: strawberry, pineapple, orange, and green apple. They're similar in texture and consistency to Laffy Taffy and I think they're delicious!
• Ciocori Motta - This is a milk chocolate bar with rice puffs from Italy and I devoured it!  I think international chocolate tastes so much better than American chocolate.  This was extra creamy and super yummy.
• Gorenjka Jaffa Bar - Gorenjka biscuits are from Slovenia and have been around for more than 50 years.  They're well-known for their quality and now I can see why!  This one is filled with orange jelly and coated in chocolate, and the cake part is light and fluffy.

• Bauli Vanilla Custard Croissant - This was not on my info card but luckily the packaging is in English.  It's from Italy, and although the vanilla custard filling sounds good, I don't care for croissants so I'm going to give this to my brother because he loves them.
• Zivotinjsko Carstvo - This is a thin milk chocolate bar from Croatia that comes with a sticker inside.  I think the packaging is super cute and I think the sticker is a cute touch for kids.

• Kinder Bueno Mini - I love Kinder Bueno (and Kinder Surprise and Kinder Happy Hippo)!  They're a brand from Italy and these specific snacks are made up of a crispy wafer outside and milk chocolate and hazelnut filling inside.
• Svileni Lesnik Silk Hazelnuts - These are from Slovenia and are hazelnut-flavored hard candies.  They're made with real hazelnuts.  I haven't tried them yet, but they sound really good.

Bottom Line: March's Candy Adriatico box had another great assortment of sweets and treats!  I think this box is so fun and I especially like it because it always introduces me to candies that I've never heard of before.

What do you think of Candy Adriatico?

Crispy Green Crispy Fruit Review

If you're a regular reader of my blog then you are probably aware that I am always on the hunt for new snacks.  I love snacking all day long and I have resigned myself to the fact that this habit is likely to never change; however, I have been trying to snack smarter as of late.  Luckily there are foods like Crispy Fruit to help me in my quest!

*Disclaimer: Press samples were sent to See, Shop, Love! for review purposes.

Crispy Fruit is 100% real freeze-dried fruit!  They're non-GMO verified and all-natural with no added sugars.  You're eating fruit in its purest form, it's just crispy.  They're available in seven varieties, all of which are 55 calories or less per bag, which is roughly the same amount of calories you'd get in one regular piece of fruit.

You can feel free of guilt when you snack on Crispy Fruit because they really are made up of just fruit!  I do enjoy fruit but I rarely buy produce because unless I blend it into a smoothie I probably won't get around to eating it.  I don't know why I do this, but I always have.  It's not that I don't love the way fruit tastes, I guess I'm just lazy about actually eating it!

I sampled the Apple, Banana, Pineapple, and Asian Pear snacks and I liked Apple the best.  That's not to say that the others weren't great tasting, I just like apples the most out of the four fruits I sampled.  I'm not a huge pineapple or banana fan in general, but if you like those I'm sure you'll love the Crispy Fruit version.  As far as Asian Pear goes, this was my first time ever trying it and it was good, but not as good as a trusty ol' apple.

If you've never had freeze-dried fruit before then Crispy Fruit might take a little bit of getting used to.  The texture is exactly what it sounds like: dry and crispy.  The initial bite is kind of strange feeling, but that fades after a few seconds and you get the real fruit taste.  I liked snacking on these because I often crave crunchy snacks (chips, pretzels, etc.,), and these gave me that satisfying crunchy feel without being bad for me.

• Visit the Crispy Fruit by Crispy Green website to view all of their flavors!
• Connect with them on Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, Google+, and LinkedIn

Bottom Line: I think Crispy Fruit is a great snack option!  I love that they're GMO-free and made only of 100% all-natural fruit.  If the dry texture doesn't bother you, I am sure that you'll become a fan of these as well.

What do you think of Crispy Fruit? Which flavor(s) would you want to try?

March Love With Food Tasting Box Review

This month's Love With Food box was curated by Megan Roosevelt, aka Healthy Grocery Girl, who is a plant-based registered dietitian.  I was excited to see what she chose to include in the box because I'm always on the lookout for healthier snacks that I can find at my local store.

*Disclaimer: This box was purchased by See, Shop, Love! Post contains affiliate links.

Love With Food has three box options:

• Tasting Box: $10/month, 8+ snacks per month
• Deluxe Box: $17/month, 16-20 snacks per month
• Gluten Free Box: $24.50/month, 8-12 snacks per month
• Get 50% off your first Gluten Free box when you click here

All boxes have free shipping to addresses within the U.S. and its territories. They also donate one meal to a hungry child for each Tasting Box purchase, and two meals per box for the Deluxe and Gluten Free boxes.

When I saw the spoilers for this month I wasn't sure if I was going to like the box too much overall, but I ended up being pleasantly surprised.  As always, it had a good mix of different types of foods and flavors.  I still can't believe this box only costs $10 a month!

• Good Boy Organics Sea Salt BOPS ($1.04 for .8 oz) - These chips are really good!  They're baked, so they have that light, airy texture, and I think they had just enough sea salt to be tasty but not overpowering.  I'm going to grab a bag the next time I'm out shopping since they're available at Wegmans.  They're organic, gluten-free, and Non-GMO Project verified.
• Turbana Lightly Salted Plantain Chips ($.43 for 1.05 oz) - I have had plantains before and I didn't care for them so I wasn't sure what to expect from these chips.  I actually ended up liking them quite a bit!  The texture is good and they had a decent crunch, and they were salted just right. They're vegan, gluten-free, and non-GMO.
• The Good Bean Roasted Chickpeas with Sea Salt ($.59 for .75 oz) - I've sampled these before and I want to like them but I just don't.  The texture is a little weird to me, or rather, the after taste/mouth feel. They're vegan, gluten-free. and non-GMO.

• Annie's Chocolate Bunny Grahams ($.60 for 1 oz) - Annie's!  I love the Annie's brand; all of their products are delicious!  I've had these Bunny Grahams many times before and they're great for satisfying my sweet tooth. They're vegan.
• 180 Snacks Nutty Rice Bites with Cranberries ($.67 for .62 oz) - These are so good!  They were sweet without being too sweet and they were light yet crunchy.  I would buy these again for sure. They're vegan and gluten-free.
• Miracle Tree Moringa Organic Tea ($.32 for one sachet) - I'm not sure if everyone received the same flavor or not, but I got Strawberry.  As the name suggests, it's made with moringa, which after a Google search I learned is a flowering plant native to Africa and Asia.  These teas are USDA-certified organic, gluten-free, and vegan.

• Manitoba Harvest Hemp Hearts ($.75 for .5 oz) - I like hemp seeds quite a bit, and the "hearts" are the inside part that's softer to chew (the outside shell is crunchy).  You can add them to a salad, sandwich, or whatever else you'd like, but I'll probably just eat these straight out of the bag.  They're gluten-free, vegan, and non-GMO.
• Two Moms in the Raw Almond Butter Cacao Truffle ($5.00 for 3 oz) - Although it sounds incredibly delicious, I have not tried this yet.  It's made from handmade almond butter, agave, and cacao.  The antioxidants, vitamin C, Omega 6 fatty acids, and serotonin make this better than your average dessert!
• TruJoy Sweets Choco Chews (value unknown) - Pretty much anyone can enjoy these because they're vegan, organic, non-GMO, and gluten-free.  I think they taste pretty good, although I would prefer it if they were just a tad bit sweeter.

Bottom Line: This is a wonderfully curated box!  It had a few brands that I know and love, along with plenty of new ones for me to try.  Love With Food is one of the best food boxes I've ever tried, and this box reinforced that for me!

March Bestowed Box Review and Coupon

I've always like Bestowed's boxes because they provide me with healthier snack alternatives.  I'll never not be a snacker--I just like to eat way too much and I find myself munching on little things throughout the day.  I'm also not the best at keeping myself on track with eating healthy snacks, so Bestowed is a great way for me to discover new brands and remind myself that there are better options out there than potato chips.

*Disclaimer: This box was purchased by See, Shop, Love! at a discounted rate. Post contains affiliate links.

Bestowed sends 7 to 10 healthy snacks, beverages, and lifestyle items to your door for $20 a month, shipping included.  Every item they feature is selected by their team of experts, which is headed by nutritionist and founder Heather Bauer.

• Jolly Oak Granola - This granola is baked with extra virgin olive oil, flaxseed, and Khorasan wheat, which is an ancient grain that's rich in fiber and protein.  Aside from being made up of the aforementioned superfoods, it's also lower in sugar, calories, fat, and carbs than other granols.
• Ocean's Halo Seaweed Chips - I wanted so badly to like these because I love seaweed!  Seaweed snacks, seaweed salad, seaweed in sushi....but unfortunately these were not great.  The minute I opened the bag they smelled like a dirty fish tank and they didn't taste much better.  Anyway, if you find that you enjoy these, they're gluten-free, non-GMO, and high in protein.

• tera's Organic Protein Blend - This is a USDA-certified organic whey protein blend made from ethically-treated cows from Wisconsin family farms.  It provides long-lasting energy and hunger control.  I got the Bourbon Vanilla flavor and I think I'm going to blend it into my next smoothie.
• Nutiva O'Coconut Treat - I've had these pop up in other boxes before and I just don't like coconut.  They're made with organic, fair-trade coconut and contains 1.5 teaspoons of coconut oil.  They're also fair-trade and non-GMO.
• Stash Tea Organic Gold Cup Chai - This is my favorite item in the box because I love chai!  It's naturally caffeine-free and is combined with turmeric, which is great for the immune system.

• NoGii High Protein Bar - I got the Peanut Butter and Chocolate flavor.  I've actually reviewed NoGii bars before, but I've never had this flavor.  I'm going to eat it pre-workout.  It's certified gluten-free and has an ideal balance of protein, fat, and carbs.
• Hooray Puree Spinach - Oh man, this weirds me out.  Pureed spinach?  I'm willing to give it a try, though.  It's 100% organic and can be added to "virtually any snack."  I have no idea how to use this so I'll have to do a little more research on it.
• Hello Fresh $40 Gift Card (not pictured) - I probably won't use this, so I posted it for swap.

You can sign up for a Bestowed subscription at their website, and if you use coupon code MARCHYUM you can get 20% off of a three month membership!  The coupon expires March 29th.

Or, get 10% off of any subscription with coupon code LOVEHEALTHY.  This coupon has no expiration date.

Bottom Line: Bestowed's boxes are always well-curated and have a good mix of different products to try.  This box wasn't my most favorite one, but there are still some good snacks for me to try.

What do you think of Bestowed?

February Candy Adriatico Review

I was afraid that my February Candy Adriatico box had gotten lost in the mail, but it finally arrived, safe and sound!  There have been so many shipping delays just within the U.S., though, that I'm not surprised that this international shipment got delayed.

*Disclaimer: This box was sent to See, Shop, Love! for review purposes.

Candy Adriatico is a new subscription box that launched last month (read my January review here).  They have one-, three-, and nine-month options available at the following price points:

• Sweet Starfish Plan: One month for $24.08 (€22,50), billed monthly
• Sweet Dolphin Jump Plan: Three months for $23.54 (€22,00) a month, charge of $70.63 (€66,00) every three months
• Sweet Shark Bite Plan: Nine months for $22.47 (€21,00) a month, charge of $202.26 (€189,00) every nine months. Includes free gift envelope with extra special treats!

They are also launching a "Try Out Candy Adriatico" option where you can order a surprise package of candy from previous boxes for only $15.52 (€14,50)!

February's theme was, appropriately, "Love Is All Around!"  All of the treats had red wrappers, which I thought was a really cute touch.  The candies included are from Italy, Slovenia, and Crotia, all countries that are part of the Adriatic region.  You can choose to receive treats from all three countries or you can customize your box to include items from only one or two of them.  This review is for a box with all three.

There were nine items total in the box, even though you can't see all of them in the photo above.  Each box also comes with a postcard signed by Nadi, the company's founder.  I love that she hand-writes a note on each postcard for every subscriber!

• Jadro - These are wafer cookies with milk chocolate and are from Croatia.
• Dorina Riza - This is also from Croatia, and is a chocolate bar with rice.  The info card says it may contain traces of gluten.

• Loacker Choco & Milk Cereals - This is a crunchy milk chocolate cookie bar with wheatgerm crispies and a milky cream filling from Italy.
• Mini Rolada - These bars are from Slovenia and they are so good!  They're the only thing I've sampled so far because I didn't want to eat everything in case I had to take more photos.  They're vanilla rolls with vanilla cream filling and a chocolate coating.  They also had some kind of nuts on them, too.  They reminded me of the American Ho-Hos snack, but better.

• Truly Amore di Gelees - These gummy candies are from Italy and are made with natural dyes (extracts from paprika and black carrot anthocyanins).  I love gummies, so I'm excited to try these!
• Zanzibar - This chocolate bar is from Croatia and is chocolate mixed with whole nuts.
• Ki Ki Chewy Candy - These cute little guys are also from Croatia.  They're a gluten-free candy, and I'm assuming the flavor is strawberry, based on the packaging.

Bottom Line: I am not sure what the total retail value of this box is since the candies are not readily available in the U.S., but that's what I love about this box!  I think it is well worth the $24.08 charge to have access to international sweets and treats like these.  The care that Nadi puts into the packages each month is readily apparent, which is another thing that I truly enjoy about Candy Adriatico!

January Something Snacks Review and Coupon Code

I signed up for Something Snacks last month because they ran a promo where you could get your first box for only $3.  It may have been a promo code from another blogger, I can't remember because I bought a lot of boxes last month (oops!).  I love snacks, so I figured Something Snacks wouldn't disappoint.

My assumption was correct: Something Snacks is a great subscription!  Boxes cost $10 per month, or $9/month for increments of six or twelve months.  There is a $3 shipping charge for all options and they currently only ship to the United States.  Each box will contain seven hand-selected snacks, all of which were tasted and approved by their team.

The snacks ship in a medium-ish white box with the Something Snacks logo.  I didn't receive a shipping notification, but per the tracking number on the label it was shipped via USPS First Class from California and only took two days to get to me here in New York.

I had actually forgotten that I'd purchased this box, so when it arrived it was a really nice surprise!  I have zero patience so I always peek ahead of time at spoilers for boxes, but it was nice for once to not know at all what would be inside of a box.  As you can see, it came with a pamphlet that listed all of the snacks inside.

• Andy Capp's Cheddar Fries (~$.43 for .85 oz) - I actually made a happy face when I opened the box because I saw this snack first, and I love, love, love Cheddar Fries!  They're so addicting.  I could eat 10 bags of these, easily.  If you've never had them, they're baked and crunchy but still airy with a heavy cheddar flavor.
• Orion Custard Soft Cupcake (~$.42 for .81 oz) - At first I was wary of this because the package says it's "cream and egg filled" and I was grossed out by the egg, but the info pamphlet lists the ingredients and it contains less than 2% of actual egg.  I think I'll still give this a try.
• Simply 7 Lentil Chips in Sea Salt (~$.64 for .8 oz) - This is the featured snack of the month.  I love chips and am always looking for "healthier" alternatives (healthier in quotation marks because I know if I really want to be healthy I should just stop eating chips altogether), and lentil chips are a good option.  I haven't tried these yet, but based on other brands I've had, I'm sure they're delicious.

• Pasencia Vanilla Drop Cookies (value unknown, .71 oz) - These little cookies kind of taste like Vanilla Wafers to me, but with a little less sugar.  They taste very familiar but I can't quite put my finger on what they remind me of exactly.  Either way, I like them, and I think they'd go good with coffee.
• Pepero Almond & Chocolate (~$2.50 for 1.27 oz) - According to the box, this is Korea's number one brand.  Since I'm from Korea I like trying new Korean things, and I've never heard of these before.  They look like Pocky, and I'm assuming they're similar and are covered in chocolate and almonds.  If so, they must be delicious!
• Churritos Mexicanos Corn Sticks ($.40 for 2.5 oz) - The packaging for these is really cute, I love the little lion on the front.  These are corn sticks that I think are cinnamon flavored (?) based on the "Churritos" name (churritos=churros?).  I haven't tried them yet, so I can't say for sure.
• Lotte Choco Pie (value unknown) - According to the Amazon page I linked to, these are worth $.0093 individually, so I don't really know what they would retail for.  I love Choco Pies, and I inhaled this as soon as I opened the box (even before the Andy Capp's!).  It was delicious!  I did see in my Google search that they were recalled back in 2012 because they had almonds in them and didn't say so on the packaging, so if you have an almond/nut allergy you might want to steer clear of these.

Use coupon code TRY3NOW to get $3 off of your first month!  February's box will be Valentine's Day themed.  Sign up here.

Bottom Line: This box had a retail value of $4.39, not counting the two snacks that I couldn't find prices for.  If you're looking for a high-value snack box, this one probably would not be what you were looking for.  However, I like it a lot because they send a good mixture of familiar brands and international snacks that I otherwise wouldn't have access to.  Plus, value with snack boxes can be difficult because snacks are relatively cheap no matter where you go.  The fun here is that you're getting a surprise variety of something familiar and something new!

*Disclaimer: This is not a sponsored post.

New Subscription! Candy Adriatico Review

If I had unlimited financial means I would travel all the time.  The world is a big place and I want to see as much of it as I can, but unfortunately I do not have unlimited financial means!  Luckily there are subscription services like Candy Adriatico that deliver a taste of different countries right to my door.

Candy Adriatico is a new subscription that ships candy from Italy, Slovenia, and Croatia--the countries that make up the Adriatico Group.  The candies are full-sized and deluxe samples and are handpicked, and each box will contain a mixture of items from all three countries.  You can also choose to receive candies from only one country if you so choose.

Pricing is as follows, and international shipping is free with all subscriptions!

• Sweet Starfish Plan: $23.15/€20,7 per month for a month-to-month subscription
• Sweet Dolphin Jump Plan: $22.70/€20,3 per month for three months
• Sweet Shark Bite Plan: $22.00/€19,7 per month for nine months *subscribe to this plan and receive a special gift envelope containing a specific candy or snack, or a cute or useful item!

All boxes contain up to 500 g (17.64 oz) of candy and an original postcard.

The box ships in a medium-sized white box with the Candy Adriatico logo on the side.  I received a shipment notice exactly a week ago and received the box on this past Monday, so it only took three days to get to me (I'm counting Saturday as well since it arrived via USPS).  I think that's really fast for free international shipping!

January's box had a "Winter Time" theme and contained four full-sized products and one deluxe sample.  I was really excited to see what would be inside because I've never really tried any candies from the Adriatic region.  I also thought the personalized message was a cute touch!

The original postcard this month was from Slovenia, which is where Candy Adriatico's founder, Nadi, is from.  She's from the city of Ljubljana.  The back of the postcard contains a handwritten message from Nadi, which is a detail that I really appreciate.

• Gran Cereale Barretta Di Cereali (Italy) - This is a healthy cereal bar with almonds, cranberries, dried fruit, and cereals.  It's not exactly candy, but I think it will still taste great as a breakfast on-the-go.
• Perugina Baci (Italy) - This is a full-sized Baci candy, but I considered it a "deluxe sample" because usually there is more than one in a package.  I've seen these before but have never eaten one; it's white chocolate with hazelnuts--sounds delicious!
• Sumi FruFru Fruit Planet (Slovenia) - These cute little gummies are strawberry, lemon, and orange flavored.  I love gummy candies, and the packaging on this is really cute, too.

• Gorenjka(Slovenia) - This is a thin chocolate bar with raisins and hazelnuts.  I would have never have thought to put raisins in chocolate, but I'm very curious to try it.
• Mini Domaćica (Croatia) - I'm most excited to try these cookies!  They look amazing.  They're "tasty crumpets coated with chocolate."

It was difficult to find retail values for this box, so I didn't really research it too deeply.  Regardless, I think this box is definitely worth the $26 monthly price, especially since the shipping is free and very fast.

• Visit Candy Adriatico to learn more and subscribe
• Connect with them on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Google+
• If you subscribe to the 9-month Sweet Shark Bite Plan by January 31st, you'll get a special free box!

Bottom Line: I loved the first Candy Adriatico box!  I think this subscription is a lot of fun and I'm interested to see what candies they'll include in the coming months.

*Disclaimer: This post is sponsored by Candy Adriatico. Press samples received for review purposes.

November Love With Food Review and Coupon

I reviewed Love With Food's September box and loved the variety of organic and natural foods it had inside, so when Zulily had three-month subscriptions on sale for only $20 I quickly snatched up a voucher.  I had to pay $6 shipping separately, but still--$26 for three boxes is an amazing deal!  Side note: I don't recommend purchasing through Zulily.  That was my first and last ever sale with them, but I can get into that in a different post if anyone is curious.

Love With Food sends organic and all-natural snacks and for every box sold they donate a meal to several food banks.  Some of the food banks that they work with include Feeding America Network and Share Our Strength.  I love that I not only get a box of tasty goodies for myself, but I know that my purchase helps provide food for others as well.

• Boxes are normally $10 a month for the Tasting Box (8+ items) or $17 a month for the Deluxe Box (16-20 items).
• There is also a Gluten-Free Box available for $24.50 a month (8-12 items)
• Shipping is free to the U.S. and its territories.  They currently do not ship internationally

November's theme was "Baby It's Cold Outside," which is also one of my favorite holiday songs (the Dean Martin version only--everything else pales in comparison).  The insert you see in the photo above is the packet that lists information about all of the products.

There were eight items total in the box and I enjoyed most of them.  I gobbled up the chocolates first, then moved onto the salty snacks.  I was not familiar with most of the brands featured, so I was glad to learn about some new ones that I could add to my snack rotation.

• Whole Spice All Purpose Seasoning - I've been in a bit of a cooking rut lately, so this came at the perfect time.  We cook chicken a lot but don't always have creative ideas for it, but we always appreciate a good rub.  This one is made with sea salt, sugar, chili, onion, turmeric, garlic, black pepper, oregano, and citric acid.  It sounds delicious and I can't wait to try it!
• Jer's Chocolates Milk Chocolate Peanut Butter Cluster - I'm not the biggest fan of peanut butter and peanuts, so I gave this to my boyfriend to try.  I would have eaten it myself because I'm not totally averse to them, but I knew he would like it more.  He said it was absolutely delicious with a good crunch.
• Guylian Chocolates Truffles - I love Guylian truffles.  They taste heavenly and also have really cute shapes, they're in the shape of a seahorse.  I got the Milk Truffle and the Dark Praline flavors.  I preferred the Milk Truffle, but I wouldn't turn down the other one in the future.
• Every Day with Rachael Ray - This little booklet contains 30 of Rachael's signature 30 minute meals recipes.  I actually find her to be kind of annoying, but her recipes are usually on point and easy to make, so I'm glad to have this.

• Chipz Happen Cinnful Sweet Heat Tortilla Chips - I love a good salty/sweet combo, and the fact that these were spicy as well made them even more wonderful.  The tortillas had good crunch and a yummy base flavor, and I liked the kick from the cayenne pepper.  I would have preferred a little less cinnamon on them, but overall they were quite tasty.
• Dick & Jane Baking Company States and Capitals Educational Snacks - These cookies are really clever, they have pictures of the states along with the state name and capital city stamped on them.  The flavor is advertised as vanilla, but I thought they were a bit bland.  They weren't horrible, but I definitely would have liked to have more flavor.
• Marlo's Midnight Soft Baked Biscotti - I received the Double Chocolate Espresso flavor (I'm not sure if everyone got the same one) and it was amazing!  I usually don't eat biscotti because I find them to be too hard and crumbly, but this one wasn't as stiff as the ones I've tried before.  It had big chunks of chocolate and a rich, bold flavor.  Perfection!

• Grains of Health Laiki Red Rice Crackers - These were my favorite snack in the box!  I love chips, and these were great ones.  They kind of reminded me of Bugles, but they're obviously much better for you.  The pack had only 100 calories, so it was the perfect snack size.  They're made with only wholegrain red rice, sustainably-farmed palm oil, and sea salt.  I am definitely going to look for these at my local grocery store, because I want more!
• Fruit Bliss Dried Mini Figs - I had a delicious goat cheese and fig appetizer at my cousin's wedding in October, so I approached these thinking that I liked figs.  Turns out, I do not like dried figs.  The flavor was good, but the texture didn't sit well with me.  I couldn't finish the pack, but it wasn't because they were bad--they just weren't for me.
• Le Tote $25 Gift Card - I won't be using this, but I still think it was a nice addition to the box for someone who may have had a better experience with Le Tote.  You can read about mine here.

Love With Food has a few coupons and Black Friday deals going on:

• Get 20% off any subscription + $15 to spend at Soap.com from November 26th-30th
• Use coupon code HOLIDAY14 for $10 off any subscription, expires November 30th

Bottom Line: Love With Food is an excellent food box and would make a great gift for the snacker in your life (or for yourself)!  I was happy with the items in this month's box and, as always, love that they also donate to charity with each box sold.

*Disclaimer: This is not a sponsor post.  Post contains referral links.