Love with Food Deluxe Box Review – October 2016

It’s time (well, actually it’s well past) to share my review of my second Love with Food Deluxe subscription box!

What is Love with Food?

If you’re not familiar with what Love with Food is, allow me to introduce you!  From 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 am really interested in the Tasting Box but they currently do not ship this internationally – although I’m hoping at some point that will change.

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 – each box 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).

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!

Shipping

My box was shipped on October 6 from the US and arrived on my doorstep on October 12.  Pretty much the same as last month and I appreciate their consistency!

What’s inside

Upon opening:

The product card on top spoke to the theme for the month’s box, “Love Is Wicked” and their explanation of that is the following: “We show love for the most important people in our lives in a lot of different ways, and sometimes it might come off just a little bit..wicked.  Maybe you love to tempt your friends and family with irreisistable induldgences like cookies or candy?  Well, we think that is the best type of wicked.  So go ahead, be a little extra wicked this month with Your Love With Food box…if you dare.”  (these always make me laugh)

I’ve decided to break my reviews of each snack into categories: Loved – which means I really enjoyed these and would actually purchase them on my own; Liked (Enjoyed but not enough to purchase); Meh (just okay) and Dislike.  Also if there’s anything I haven’t had a chance to try yet, I’ll break those out separately into a Can’t Comment section.  On to it:

LOVED (WOULD PURCHASE)

Annie B’s Caramels (Butter Rum/Apple Caramel)

I find it really difficult to find caramels that are actually soft – usually they’re hard as a rock!  These was amaaaaaazing – both flavours were delicious and smooth and creamy and melted in my mouth.  I want to order a truckload of these!

Almond Roca Buttercrunch Toffee

Toffee is one of my favourite things in life and Almond Roca rates pretty highly on my toffee list!  I usually only have these at Christmas so this was a nice treat – I only wish this was bigger.

Walkers Pure Butter Shortbread

Shortbread is something else I associate with Christmas and I love.  These are thick and buttery and pair well with a mug of hot chocolate or a flavoured coffee as they’re not sweet at all.

LIKED

Lundberg Family Farms Rice Chips (Sea Salt)

Rice Chips probably aren’t my first choice snack-wise but these were actually pretty good, if not a little salty.  I think I would have enjoyed them more dipped in something rather than on their own.

Mickey Mouse Halloween Freeze-Dried Fuji Apple Crisps

These were a super cute addition to the box – if you had kids I think they would love these, if only for the packaging.  The apples were really tart but I like having healthy snacks like this around that I actually don’t feel bad about eating.  There wasn’t much in a bag though!

everly Strawberry Lemonade Pitcher Pack

This is a powder mixture that you add to water; it has zero calories, has natural flavours and is sweetened with stevia, which is a natural sweetener.  If you’ve ever had a drink with stevia in it, you know it has a distinct taste which can take some getting used to.  The more I drank of this, the more I liked it. Still feel like it’s best to just drink plain old water.

 

One Potato Two Potato Sweet Potato Chips

I like the flavour of sweet potato chips but I always find them a little hard; these were flavourful, crisp but a little greasy.

MEH

Beanitos White Bean Chips (Sweet Chilli & Sour Cream / Garden Fresh Salsa)

Bean Chips are new to me – I’ve never tried them before and they kind of remind me of a grainier tortilla chip.  The Sweet Chilli flavour had a bit of heat but more flavour; the Salsa flavour less so.  I think the texture of these really threw me off – they reminded me a bit of sandpaper.

Awake Energy Granola Bar (Dark Chocolate Caramel)

This was actually a delicious granola bar but I wish I had taken a closer look at the label prior to consuming it.  After I ate it I felt shaky and jittery and I realized that it contains caffeine (hence the name “Awake”).  I cannot have caffeine on an empty stomach so while I think that most people would probably enjoy these, they aren’t for me (what a great alternative to a coffee though!)

Dick & Jane Education Snacks Presidential Cookies

These were really cool cookies – they had pictures of various American Presidents imprinted on them.  However I felt like they didn’t have much taste at all, they were supposed to be vanilla flavoured but they just tasted really bland.

DISLIKE

Westminster Bakers Co. Whole Wheat Snack Crackers

If you like crackers that have the taste and texture of cardboard, these might be for you.  Seriously, these were horrible!  They literally had no taste and were so dry.  I couldn’t even eat the second bag.

CAN’T COMMENT

Divina Fig Spread (picture above)

I’m not a big fan of figs so I haven’t tried this yet; I might try using it as sauce for pizza

The Verdict

I was less in love with this box than I was my first box; last time I liked everything I received (in varying degrees), this month there I had quite a few “meh’s” and one dislike.  I also thing it would have been fun for them to have included some Halloween-themed items.  That said, I’m still loving getting a box full of snacks to enjoy, and it’s been so convenient to grab a snack to take with me to school in the evenings and weekends.

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).

Have you tried any of these snacks?  Let me know below!

Thanks for stopping by!

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