Love with Food Deluxe Box Review – September 2016

Welcome to my first official post on Pretty Ruff Life! Today I’m sharing my review of my very first Love with Food Deluxe subscription box!  Back in July I had been searching for a new subscription box service to join and I was excited to learn via Coffee Break with Dani that LVF was offering international shipping.  I always watched her unboxing videos with a serious case of envy because they did not ship to Canada and everything looked so good!  She had an offer code to receive 40% your first box, plus $5.99 international shipping, which was a deal I couldn’t pass up.  So I signed up and eagerly awaited my first box!

What is Love with Food?

If you’re not familiar with what Love with Food is, let me fill you in!  From the their website:

Love With Food is the easiest way to Snack Smart and Do Good.We help you discover new organic, all-natural or gluten-free snacks delivered to your door monthly. Receive a box of mystery better-for-you snacks and go on a fun foodie adventure with us every month. Our membership starts as low as $7.99/month.We donate a portion of the proceeds to help fight childhood hunger in the US and around the world. We donate to organizations like Feeding America and The Global Food Banking Network. Join us to help end childhood hunger one meal at a time.Say goodbye to boring grocery selections and start snacking smart and doing good with Love With Food.

I love the fact that a portion of my subscription costs are going towards such a worthy cause!

Subscription Options

Love with Food currently offers 3 types of subscription boxes – a Tasting Box, a Deluxe Box and a Gluten Free Box:

• Tasting Box – as low as $7.99/month (USD)
  • 8+ new & surprise snacks each month
  • Each box donates 1 meal to hungry children
  • Snacks are either organic or all-natural, GMO-free, gluten-free or free of artificial junk
  • Free shipping to US and territories.
  • Not available for international shipping 🙁
• Deluxe Box – as low as $16.50/month (USD)
  • 16-20 new & surprise snacks each month
  • Each box donates 2 meals to hungry children
  • Snacks are either organic or all-natural, GMO-free, gluten-free or free of artificial junk
  • Free shipping to US and territories.
  • Introductory Offer: $5.99/mo for international shipping
• Gluten Free Box – as low as $19.99/month (USD)
  • 10-12 surprise celiac-safe & mostly dairy-free snacks each month
  • Each box donates 2 meals to hungry children
  • Snacks will be totally gluten-free and also organic or all-natural, with no artificial junk.
  • Free shipping to US and territories.
  • Introductory Offer: $5.99/mo for international shipping

I was really interested in the Tasting Box but they currently do not ship this internationally – although I’m hoping at some point that will change.  So I signed up for and received the Deluxe Box.

Within each category of box, they have 4 plans – Month to Month, Annual, 3-Month and 6-Month.  I chose the Month-to-Month option because I like having the freedom to cancel whenever I want.  I do pay more per box this way – after September, each box will costs me $19.95 US plus $5.95 US shipping per month.  If you sign up for a 3-month, 6-month or annual plan, the price per box decreases.  It’s also important to note that no matter which plan you chose, it will renew automatically unless you cancel before the first of the month (something I learned the hard way with previous subscription boxes).

Shipping

My box was shipped on September 6 from the US and arrived on my doorstep on September 13.  So that took about a week to get to me, which is reasonable in my opinion.  Note that Love with Food states that it can take up to 10 business days for your box to be delivered.

What’s inside

So let’s get into the actual box. This is what the box looked like upon delivery:

And when I opened the box:

The product card on top spoke to the theme for the month’s box, “Love is Learning”.   which is described as being “packed full of snacks that are perfect for enjoying while broadening all of your horizons”.  It also states what snacks are on sale in their shop and an Instagram contest they were running.

First up were two snacks from J&M Foods – one bag of Key Lime Cookies and another bag of Original Cheese Straws.  The Key Lime Cookies were sooooo yummy – they had a ton of lime flavour and were coated in powdered sugar which contrasted nicely with the tarteness of the lime.  They reminded me a bit of a shortbread cookie – I’d absolutely repurchase these!

I’m typically of fan of anything cheese-related so I was really excited to give The Cheese Straws a try.  I didn’t expect them to be so rich – I could only eat one or two before I had enough of them.  I also found them a little dry so I’d pass on these.

Next was a bag of Aged White Cheddar Lentil Chips from The Daily Crave.  I’m not sure I’ve ever had lentil chips before – the texture is quite different from a regular potato chip – very light, crispy and kind of airy.  I appreciated the very cheesy flavour and the more I ate, the more I liked them.

They also included two Snakaroons from Laughing Giragge Organics.  One was vanilla and the other was chocolate.  I’m not really a fan of macaroons so these were probably my least favourite; I found them really dry and crumbly.  The chocolate definitely had a lot more flavour than the vanilla though.

One of my favourite items was this Coconut Crunch Premium Puffed Corn from Cosmo Creations – these literally tasted like Corn Pop cereal mixed with coconut!  I I wasn’t as fond of the Caramel Apple Crisp flavour – they actually tasted very similar to Apple Jacks cereal and were a little too tart for my liking.

This individual packet of Homeplate Peanut Butter Honey Spread was out of this world good!  I’m not sure I’ve ever ever had a smoother or creamier peanut butter and I loved the hint of sweetness from the honey.  So good spread on an apple!  They also threw in a few of these GoOrganic Fruit Candies; these tasted good but I’m not sure if they melted during shipping because they were really sticky and I couldn’t get the wrappers off?

Are you a fan of those Ritz Bits Crackers with cheese in the middle?  I used to like them when I was younger but they just don’t appeal to me anymore.  These Lance Cheddar Cheese Gluten Free Bite Size Sandwich Crackers are a very similar, healthier version of them but I found them a little salty.  Not a favourite.

I can’t even remember the last time I had a chai tea – it’s been years.  It used to be all the range, before Starbucks started crafting fancier drinks.  So I was kind of excited to see 2 packages of Oregon Chai Tea Original Chai Tea Latte included in my box.  These are so convenient as you just add hot water and stir.  I added a bit of milk to mine to make it extra creamy and it literally tasted like the Starbucks version, but for much cheaper!

I was kind of meh on this Caveman Foods Dark Chocolate Almond Coconut Nutrition Bar when I came across it; I often find that these pack a ton of calories without much actual nutrition – and they usually don’t taste all that great.  This one was an exception – it was really good, easily one of the best protein bars I’ve tried.

Yesssssss candy!  And gummy candies no less! I couldn’t be happier when I spotted 2 bags of these Black Forest Organic Gummy Cherries.  And I may have consumed both bags completely on my own.  I’ve never seen this brand anywhere here where I live and that’s probably not a bad thing because they were so so yummy.  They really did taste like cherry!  Out of everything I received, this was my favourite item!

Points Program

Love with Food also offers a points program where you can earn points in various ways – such as doing a review of a product you received in your box or purchasing items in their online shop.  They also allot you points based on the type of subscription service you receive.

Points can then be redeemed for products in their online shop.  Unfortunately the shop is not yet open to their international subscribers but their website states they plan on expanding that soon.  So fingers crossed!

The Verdict

I absolutely loved this box!  I enjoyed every item they included – some more than others of course, but there wasn’t anything that I was completely unsatisfied with.  As such I’ve subscribed for another month and I can’t wait to see what’s going to be included in my October box!

Interested in signing up?

Have I convinced you that you need this subscription box in your life?  If so, feel free to use my referral link to receive 50% off your first box.  In the interest of full disclosure, I’ll receive 1000 points (equates to $10) to spend in their shop (once they expand it internationally).

What food subscription box is your favourite?  Let me know below!

Thanks for stopping by!

Disclaimer: This box was purchased by me and all opinions are my own.