Vegan Cuts Snack Box January Review

Last month I decided to sign up for the Vegan Cuts monthly snack boxes.  For about $20 each month they will send you a variety of vegan snack items.  I love going to the store and browsing through all the different items but, as I'm sure you've noticed, vegan products can tend to be expensive and I hate to spend the money and end up not liking it.  Plus I really like to stay away from processed items, even if they are vegan.  Having said that, now that I'm back to work full-time, I often find myself digging around for snack items to take to work with me.  Since working has also given me a little extra spending money each month, this seemed to be the perfect time to sign up for these monthly shipments.  If you are interested in signing up yourself, visit their website by clicking here.  The next shipment goes out on February 17th.

My first box came the day after my birthday so it felt like an extra present!  I've tried most of the items so here is a summary of what was included and what I thought of it:

Olives from Mario Foods - These were green olives that came in a little snack bag without the usual liquid.  I love olives so this was the first thing I grabbed.  They tasted just like olives!  I know that isn't overly exciting but they are what they are.  I have been known to dump some olives in a small container and take them to work for a snack so I think this would serve the same purpose but they'd already be packaged for you.

Sea Salt Roasted Chickpeas from The Good Bean - We make roasted chickpeas all the time.  Personally, we like our own better.  These were OK but they tasted more like peanuts whereas our homemade roasted chickpeas are crunchy but still a little soft.  Plus we like coming up with our own seasonings.  While I didn't mind them, if I was going to grab a snack like this, I'd probably grab some raw almonds instead.

Hemp Seeds from Manitoba Harvest - Here is another item I use all the time.  I put hemp seeds in just about everything.  I used about half this bag to mix in with French toast batter on the weekend and then added the rest to my larger bag of hemp seeds.  While this was nothing new for me, I'm glad it was included because I think there are still a lot of people out there who haven't tried hemp seeds so hopefully this will encourage them to give it a try.

Lemon Blueberry Chia Drink from Drink Chia - This is the product I was most excited about and most scared to try!  There are tons of chia seeds floating around in there and I couldn't even guess what that texture was going to be like.  I drank this shortly after a run so I was nice and thirsty.  I really liked it.  It was refreshing and, although you could tell there were seeds, it wasn't nearly as weird as I thought it would be.  This is the product I am most likely to buy more of.  I don't know that I'd drink it casually during the day but it was very nice after a workout.

Speaking of workouts:  Lemon Powdered Drink Mix from Skratch Labs - My husband actually heard of this before and since he is the expert in our house on sports drinks, I gave this to him to try. He said he looks mostly for a good taste and texture because if you don't like the taste, you won't end up drinking enough to fuel your ride.  He likes sweet more than sour but not syrupy.  He said this had a nice, smooth, sweet taste.  He described it as somewhere between lemonade and water with lemon.  If he wasn't sponsored by a different company, he would probably buy this.

Salted Caramel Peanut Butter from The 3 Nuts - First of all, this comes in the cutest little jar!  I love all nut butters and this one tasted just as good as I expected.  The only disappointment is I couldn't get it to spread.  I tried and tried but it stayed kind of chunky so I just ate it straight with a spoon.  I think it would be really good in a smoothy.

Seed Crackers from Mary's Gone Crackers - I've heard a lot of raves about these crackers.  I thought they were good but I'm not much of a cracker fan.  Still if these were available in my snack drawer, I wouldn't hesitate to grab them in the afternoon.  I wouldn't say these are the kind of crackers you'd put something on.  They are more of a stand-alone snack.

Bumblebar - I'm pretty sure I eat too many energy bars!  They are my weakness because they are just so convenient.  The flavor I received was chocolate crunch.  I was disappointed with the first bite but I think it was just because this is different than I was used to.  It is loaded with sesame seeds.  By the time I finished the bar (it was the junior size) I was wishing I had more.  This is another product I will probably be buying again.

Tea from Mighty Leaf - I don't know if everyone got the same flavors.  My pack included Earl Grey, African Nectar and Green Tea Tropical.  Unlike the rest of my family, I'm not much of a tea drinker. I mostly only drink peppermint or ginger and that is only for IBS flares so I don't have happy feelings associated with tea!   I already told Bill he could have the Earl Grey and I plan to give the green tea to my parents or my sister-in-law depending on who I see first.  I felt like I'd like the African Nectar the best since it might be fruity.  I liked that the bags are fabric instead of paper.  Unfortunately this tea smelled like cough syrup to me and didn't taste much better.  Two sips and I poured it down the drain.  But please don't base anything on my opinion.  Like I said, I'm not a tea drinker.

So overall I'd say this was a really nice variety with high-quality products.  Definitely worth the $20.  Based on this one box, I'd highly recommend this subscription if you have room in your monthly budget.  I'm really excited to see what comes this month!