It seems like every day I hear about a new online subscription service that is willing to automatically deliver stuff to your home on a monthly basis.
Sit back and relax while someone does all your shopping for you? Sure. Sign me up.
There are toy subscriptions, cleaning supply subscriptions, make-up subscriptions, etc. But I don’t think any of them has gotten me as excited as NatureBox.
Why?
Because, SNACKS.
I’m a snacker. A grazer, a nibbler, a small plates eater. If I didn’t live in a society with sanctioned meal times and people who consider lunch a social activity, I’d probably be feasting round the clock on handfuls of chips and cookies.
I like sweet and savory; usually, I feel the need to follow one up with the other. That’s not to say I eat overly indulgent things. Since I snack often, I like to keep things tasty, healthy and hearty. Quality chocolate, organic chips with whole ingredients and lots of nuts for when I need some protein.
My kids are snackers too. They’d gladly skip dinner if I let them and there is not a pick-up or a drop-off made without numerous snack requests. “What do you have in your bag?” is always the most popular question of the day and god help me if I forgot to load up.
The bigger issue is that both girls tire fast of their snack options. Pretzels are boring, once loved almonds are now rejected and even the kid-sized nutrition bars we used to get away with calling a “treat” have fallen out of favor.
When it comes to snacks, variety is where it’s at, which is why NatureBox is such a perfect fit for us. If you go to their site, you’ll find over 100 “crave-worthy” options. They’re all really unique snacks too. Like Jalapeño white cheddar popcorn, dark chocolate pretzel pops and praline pumpkin seeds….
Go ahead. Browse their snacks. Try to come back before you start drooling.
The toughest thing you do once you sign up for a NatureBox account is pick five snacks you want to try first. How do you choose between dark cocoa almonds and cashew crumble?
I HAVE NO IDEA.
I guess you count on the fact that you’ll try new stuff with the next box and EVENTUALLY, you’ll get to eat everything. I was especially lucky since I got to pick eleven snacks for our review.
When our NatureBox came, I thought the best way to experience it (besides inhale it all on the spot) was conduct a taste test with the girls. After all, you can’t risk bringing the wrong snack to after school pick-up.
There will be hell to pay.
1) White Truffled Popcorn
This was the first snack we tried (their request) and the snack the girls ate the most, continually coming back to it throughout our taste test. Harlow loved it but said, “It tasted a little different”. That would be the truffle. Plus, she kept calling it “poppycorn” instead of “popcorn” which was the cutest thing ever.
There is video:
Three days later and Harlow is still talking about her “poppycorn” even though the bag is long gone.
2) Peanutbutter Nom Noms
Harlow loved these as well and proceeded to get chocolate all over her face as she munched on these hearty whole grain cookies.
Mazzy was not the biggest fan.
“It’s okay if I don’t like them because it’s a taste test and I’m supposed to tell you I don’t like it, right, Mom?” Yep. That’s true.
3) Sea Salt Sun-Crunch
At first Harlow was reluctant and said, “My Ruth told me I don’t have to try them”. Ruth is our nanny during the week and Harlow tries this excuse whenever I ask her to do something she doesn’t want to do. “It’s okay. You don’t have to try them, ” I assured her. “Okay, I’ll try them,” she conceded. “Mmmmmmm!!! I like them!”
The sea salt sun-crunch were actually my favorite snack of the bunch and I am not ashamed to admit I finished off the bag later that day.
4) Strawberry Carrot Fruit Chews
The fruit snacks were the big winner with Mazzy. “These are DELICIOUS. They are VERY GOOD. Very juicy and kind of like a healthy licorice.”
The “healthy licorice” reference is because Mike and I are big Twizzler fans but don’t let Mazzy eat them because we say they are not healthy for kids.
5) Sea Salt Pop Pops
I would tell you about the sea salt pop pops but they disappeared. It seems Mike took them into the other room to watch golf and came back with an empty bowl. I guess that’s a “thumbs up”.
6) Roasted Peruvian Corn Kernels
Mike disappeared with these as well. “MIKE! I AM TRYING TO WRITE A BLOG POST OVER HERE!!!!” They also got a “thumbs up” (aka returned in an empty bowl).
7) Double Berry Fruit Peels
Mazzy loved these. “Mmmmm…. it tastes like a gummy bear. When you put it up to the light, you can see the sun shining through it.” You have to admire Mazzy’s dedication to good food review critique. Was she reading Frank Bruni late at night or something?
“Harlow, what do you think?” I asked.
“When you put it up to the light, you can see the sun shine through it.”
Perfect. Always copying her sister.
8) Chocolate HAZELNUT Granola
Mazzy called it “kind of cerealy but tasty”. She liked the chocolate pieces the best. Harlow said “When you put it up to the light, you can see the sun shine through it.”
“Uhhh… Harlow, that’s not even the granola. Let’s move on…”
9) Cashew Crunch
Nobody would try it. FOOLS. More for me!
10) Dark Chocolate Almonds
“These look like poop,” Mazzy declared. She was right, they did. “They are very chocolatey. Too chocolatey.” My 5yo is a tough critic. “Yummy chocolate,” Harlow disagreed. “Put them closer to me.”
If you want my opinion, the dark chocolate almonds are perfectly delicious. And rich enough so you only have to eat a few to get your chocolate fix.
11) Mini Belgian Waffles
These were a big hit with both Harlow and Mazzy, probably because we are a family of waffle lovers. “Do you have syrup?” Harlow asked. “No. Do they need syrup?” “No,” answered Mazzy. “I like them just like this.”
High praise from my picky 5yo!
All in all, NatureBox was a great experience with different snacks that appealed to different members of the family. I now know Mazzy loves fruit snacks and is less crazy about crunch, while Harlow will eat almost anything she can pick up with her hands. Mike appears to be a huge fan of snacks that involve kernels (who knew?) and I LOVE LOVE LOVE everything sesame.
We kept some snacks at home for the kids and split up the others to take to our respective offices. Now, I can’t wait to pick snacks for my next box.
Like the dark chocolate pretzel pops… Or the cinnamon swirl kettle kernels… Or the sweet onion kale chips…
Oh no, I think I’m drooling again.
Want to win a year subscription to Naturebox?
Of course, you do. That’s 12 monthly boxes with a total of 60 different snacks! To enter, visit NatureBox’s Snack Catalogue and then leave a comment below telling me the first snack you would select for your box. If you can’t decide, feel free to name more than one!
For a second entry, tweet the following and then leave a second comment saying you did so:
I just entered to win a year subscription to @Naturebox via @mommyshorts! http://bit.ly/1HpUSwV
Winner will be announced June 5th.
You can also get a naturebox free trial by clicking here!
Good luck, godspeed and happy snacking!
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WINNER UPDATE: Congrats to Brynn Becker and her love of Mini Belgian Waffles! Please contact abby@mommyshorts.com to claim your prize.
Coffee kettle popcorn, sesame stix, greek yogurt pretzels, Lemon tea biscuits, Can I win, please?? 🙂
And I tweeted too!
The cranberry almond bites or any of the different types of almonds!!!
I tweeted!!
Chocolate hazelnut granola!! This was a great “good morning” read with my coffee. Love your blog. So funny. MD your girls are just precious!!
Dark cocoa almonds!!!
we most definitely pick the South Pacific plantain chips! They look so good and my girls (and I) would love them.
Oh my word! Everything!
If I had to choose one… raspberry figgy bars. Those sound amazing!
I twittered:
https://twitter.com/RebeccaS_1905/status/602836730044121088
Greek yogurt pretzels.
Sea salt pop pops. But it’s tough to choose!
Oooh, Big Island Pineapple. Yum!
Mini Belgium waffles look amazing !! And the chocolate banana (chips?) yummmm
Praline pumpkin seeds, two of my fav snacks together !
i’d be all over those lemon tea biscuits
and I tweeted!
Must try the White Truffled Popcorn, aka Harlow’s Poppycorn!
sea salt pop pops sound yummy
Sriracha pop pops FTW! All of the products look so great – I’m very interested this service. Having 2 toddlers around means every 30 minutes a snack is demanded. It’s kind of mind-boggling!
asiago and cheddar crisps followed by strawberry lemonade fruit stars. Yum!
the mango fruit chews, their granola or their strawberry lemonade stars!!
Definitely everything! But maybe the chocolate banana chips best? Or chocolate almonds! … Or garlic plantains.
Mini Belgian Waffles
Oh lord, how do you even choose?!? I guess I’d start with the probiotic trail mix, definitely get some of those mini waffles, and those strawberry lemonade stars would be perfect for my boys!
Jalapeño white cheddar popcorn, please!!!
Chocolate Banana Chips!
Just Tweeted! Also would love to try the mini Belgian Waffles! We are a waffle family too!
I’m ties between the honey Dijon pretzels and then salted caramel pretzels pops!
I’m tied between the honey Dijon pretzels and the salted caramel pretzel pops!
I must try those mini belgian waffles!
Peppery Pistachios!
Wow! Great choices! Lemon Tea Biscuits caught my eye!
The Lemon Tea Biscuits. I’m a sucker for lemon desserts!
Praline pumpkin seeds
i tweeted as well @jungvictor
Definitely anything almond! The sweet blueberry almondz sound amazing…and my one year old would go crazy for any fruit snacks!
Pistachio Power Clusters!
I can’t wait to try the siracha popcorn!
Dark chocolate almonds
PISTACHIO POWER CLUSTERS!! :o)
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The waffles, the fruit snacks and all things granola-esque. I would probably need two subscriptions once I started. Holy yum