Graze

[thistlechaser]

I've discovered a craze named graze. Okay, maybe it's not a craze yet, but that should totally be their slogan when it is!

Graze is a "snack of the month" (sort of) company. Every two or four weeks (your choice) you get four random snacks. All healthy, all ingredients made from small companies and local places. You can choose low calorie, gluten free, or other sorts of restrictions. You can also go through and strike any possible snacks that contain things you don't like or that just don't sound yummy. They claim that it's a benefit that they send it to you in portion control containers, but some of them I'd like to have a whole lot more of!

My first box was free. (Yours can be too! Keep reading!) Let's explore it together! Let's also pretend I didn't eat the first snack before deciding to document it.

The box isn't very big:

I didn't crop the remotes out so you could get an idea of how big it is. Maybe 6 by 8 inches? And a little thicker than a deck of cards.

Inside are your four snacks:

The box is well made, as well as pretty! Based on other pictures I saw online, I think the image changes month by month (or random for each box?).

It's even decorated under the snacks!


Each snack is about the size and shape of a deck of cards.

My best snack by far was the "apple and cinnamon flapjack" ("rustic rolled oat flapjack with apple and cinnamon"). Apparently flapjack is the name of a type of cookie over in England? They're pancakes here, so I was a little confused. Either way, these were AMAZING. Sweet, apple-y, cinnamon-y, so moist and good! It's a darned good thing they sent only one serving of it, because if I had a whole box of them, I would have eaten them all in one sitting.

"billionaire's shortbread" (the site has some major issues with capital letters) confused me as well. I thought shortbreads were cookies? Or at least bread-ish? Instead it was a trail-mix type thing of "fudge pieces, blanched almonds, milk chocolate drops and cranberries". Good, but not amazing.

"tropical daiquiri" (arg no caps!) was okay as well. "pineapple, lime infused raisins and green mango". I couldn't tell the dried mango from the dried pineapple, which is odd since I LOVE dried pineapple. Good enough that I enjoyed it, but I didn't love it.

"olive and rosemary bruschetta" was "mini tomato breadsticks, rosemary and garlic cashews and kalamata olive croutons". It didn't work for me. Too herb-y, too strong flavors.

Was there $6 worth of food in the box? Maybe not, but to get such a variety of it, healthy and good quality, packaged well, in containers that make it easy(ish) to eat only one at a time, and free shipping? I think all in all, it's well worth $6.

I have four friends code that will get you your first box free! (And your fifth box as well, if you stick with them!). (Codes gone)

Disclaimer: I get $1 to use towards boxes for everyone who uses the code. This is not a paid review! I did get my first box free, but it was through someone else's friend code, not to review. Happy snacking!

Comments

[daltontrix.livejournal.com]

Oh hey, the wife and I get something similar. Healthy Surprise boxes once a month, generally a pretty nice variety of vegetarian/vegan snack offerings which is good for us because she's very much a vegetarian.

Might look into these ones too, though. Can never have enough random food around to stick in my mouth!

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Hope you enjoy it, if you do check it out! Checking the site, they do have a vegan setting, so it would work for you folks too. :)

It really is fun getting random snacks on a regular basis!

[kamalloy.livejournal.com]

Oh, this looks fun! I'm claiming a code. Thank you!

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Yay! Hope you love your box!

[kamalloy.livejournal.com]

I'll post comments about how I'm liking it, since the no-comment-thing on my LJ is still not fixed. ^_^;

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Every time you make a post, I try it! Lately it's been taking longer before it errors, so I keep getting my hopes up. :P

[kamalloy.livejournal.com]

Well, I'm super-excited about this! Do you remember how long it took you to get your first box?

I went through the website today in more detail and pretty much everything sounds appealing. The only things I'm skeptical about are a couple with dried bananas. I don't like regular bananas, but then I also don't like regular tomatoes but like sun-dried tomatoes, so we'll see how this works out. I figure it's worth trying if they come in one of the boxes.

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

For what it's worth, I don't like bananas either, but I like the dried ones okay. (Same with tomatoes, too!)

It seemed to take longer than I expected to get the first box. Two weeks? I know there's a preview function on the site where you can see what you will get, but I never used it. I'd rather be surprised.

[kamalloy.livejournal.com]

Yeah, the surprise seems like a large part of the fun.

[kamalloy.livejournal.com]

Box #1 arrived today, so about a week after I signed up. Mine shipped from New Jersey, so if that's their US distribution warehouse, then it makes sense that I got it a bit faster than you since I'm on the East Coast.

I've got the Billionaires' Shortbread, plus Key Lime Pie, the Cheeseboard, and Chili/Lime Pistachios. Looking forward to trying my first one today!

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

It's killing me how long it takes to get mine. My last one was sent out on 11/4 and I still don't have it!

Sounds like you got a good collection! I'll post what I get in my next one when it arrives (Hopefully today!).

[tersa.livejournal.com]

I've been getting this since early summer. I love them. :)

Flapjacks remind me of soft granola bars, but I haven't had one I didn't like (I just had apple ones this afternoon. Braap. :)

I love the olive and rosemary bruschetta, but I'm not surprised you don't :). Brooklyn Bites are another one in that vein I really enjoy. Fiery Seeds. Seedsational. Cheddar Gorge (which may be 'The Cheese Board' now). And I was surprised I liked the Salt & Vinegar nut selection.

It's a good thing they have a lot of options, because I have found some that simply didn't work for me: I didn't care for the Tropical Dacquiri you reviewed and have that on my trash list now. Super Berry Detox. Bonnie Wee Oatcakes (and I wanted to like them!). Pear Tatin. Boston Baguettes.

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

I'm not surprised I didn't like them either, but I left a lot of snacks on my 'try' list that I was questionable about, because this seemed like a good way to try new things.

Everyone seems to like Brooklyn Bites! I'm looking forward to them appearing in one of my future boxes.

Not only do they have a lot of options, new ones get rotated in and others out. I saw a list of snacks from a couple years ago, and there were lots of different options that we don't have now. (Also, they seem to have originally been a British company, and nearly all the snacks were different over there.)

[tersa.livejournal.com]

left a lot of snacks on my 'try' list that I was questionable about, because this seemed like a good way to try new things.

That's kind of how I approached things, and I've been pleasantly surprised. I've been anti-almond for forever, but I'm finding a few of their snacks where I don't mind them.

Not only do they have a lot of options, new ones get rotated in and others out.

Yeah. I had a couple chocolate ones late spring that got temporarily discontinued during the summer months (and given that they arrived in half-melted lumps, this was probably a wise decision) but have been recussitated now that it's cooled off. A couple I got over the summer are no longer available. Etc.

And I can't count how many new ones have been introduced since I started. Brooklyn Bites is one of them, though. :D

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

That's kind of how I approached things, and I've been pleasantly surprised. I've been anti-almond for forever, but I'm finding a few of their snacks where I don't mind them.

Once I'm getting mostly snacks I like, I'm going to move things from my hate list onto my try list. I blocked all things with pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds. I wouldn't mind giving them a try sometime, I just don't want to end up with a box of three or four things I don't like.

I spent most of my life not liking almonds, but they're so good for you, I finally started eating them on a regular basis a couple years back. It's amazing the difference quality makes. Old ones are dry and woody, it wouldn't surprise me if Graze used good new quality ones -- much easier to like!

[tersa.livejournal.com]

From my experience, the boxes tend to contain a pretty wide variety of things. It's not perfect, but it generally seems to be: one seedy/nutty, one fruity, one dipper, and one carby. Given how I've rated things, I seem to get some kind of flapjack almost every week. ;) Unless your trash list is pretty skewed, I don't think it's likely you'll get a big glut of things you'll hate the majority of.

That said, that's also not a bad way to approach it. :)

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Ah good! I'm looking forward to a dipper -- I haven't seen a bad comment about those!

[ani-mama.livejournal.com]

It looks neat, but I have to buy snacks in bulk around here because of the boys... A box like this will disappear in 2 seconds, before I even get a chance to get a sniff, haha.

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Yeah, people with growing kids say either they have to keep the box hidden or it doesn't work at all for them!

[socksofjello.livejournal.com]

Ah, do you have any more codes for this? I've really been wanting to try it, but I don't want to beg them off of SA or something. I think I could afford to eat one less pizza a month to try some interesting snacks.

e: Oops, hahah, hadn't actually clicked the link! I thought it was something you needed to send privately.

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

I had four originally, now one left as of this morning. Feel free to use it if you like! They'll give me more to hand out, too. (Plus hey, I get a dollar off a box if you use it, so it's all good!)

[peppygrowlithe.livejournal.com]

Wow, this looks great! I'd love to sign up for it.

I didn't see it in the 'about us' or the 'how it works'... It's $6 per box? Plus how much for S&H? If it's reasonable, I'll definitely contribute, and get you a buck!

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Shipping and handling is included! I had to email them to find out the price, and they said $6 per box. There's one code left, so snag it as soon as you can!

[pure-trance.livejournal.com]

Got a friend code thanks! I lied and didn't check the "allergic to nuts" box lol...I was able to "trash" anything with peanuts in it, so I don't see why they have to be such jerks about it :P. I am not allergic to nuts, just peanuts...and it's fine if it's packed in the same factory!
Anyway, I am excited to try it out, I've been curious about it for a while since another friend of mine has had it, and lord knows I need more healthy snacks (though I doubt a box would last for those 2 weeks lol).

BTW I finished Dark Lovers yesterday, I think I'll buy the next one it was good! I don't think I loved it as much as you did but I enjoyed it a lot although at the end I thought maybe Beth fell for Wrath a little too completely and even though he was going on about how fiery she is I feel like maybe her fire cooled a bit once she fell for him? I also thought it was odd how Butch kind of just fell in with the vampires so quickly...but I did enjoy it! It did feel a little romance novel-esque to me (I know you asked before what I thought about that) but not as "bad" as the period romance novels I usually read... I think it definitely had great worldbuilding which was nice, though I never really got in with the Brotherhood guys' names, it's just too dumb lol. I mean I got used to them but I can't condone them, it's so stupid xD

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Haha you sneaked right around them! And this way you'll get things with almonds and such.

And for me, a box lasts four days. I can keep myself to one snack per day, but I don't think I could stretch them out more than that.

Thanks for letting me know about Dark Lovers! I haven't deleted the second book yet, I suspect one day I'll get back to it. Agreed on both of your points, about Beth and Butch. And of course about their horrible names, ha!

[pure-trance.livejournal.com]

Yup yup! Almonds and other nuts are fine (I am trying to learn to love nuts, usually I don't eat them...but these seem more interesting at least) except for cashews but they very rarely use those and I trashed that one.

Yeah that makes sense. Unless you only snack like a TINY bit there is no way it could last that long. It'd be cool if they had one you could order weekly if you really liked it, that would make a lot of sense!

No problem xD. Yeah I am not rushing to read the next one but I do want to know what happens.

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

I wish you could order a larger size of a snack you like. Sample it in the box, then if you like it, you can order a half-pound or a box or something. If course, then I'd eat nothing but flapjacks all day long, so maybe it's for the best that you can't.

[pure-trance.livejournal.com]

Yeah exactly...it seems like you should either get more per box or be able to buy "full size" of the snacks you like. I'd personally prefer a weekly box though, still (or even better, both options) because I like the idea of having some variety and $6/week isn't too bad on snacks.

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

I was thinking about weekly. I bet you could have two accounts and thus get 2/month x 2...

[pure-trance.livejournal.com]

Yeah, but I'd like it to be staggered if that was the case, otherwise I'd have to save one. I mean I COULD do it myself, but I'm lazy and I also might be tempted lol

[bouteillebleu.livejournal.com]

Apparently flapjack is the name of a type of cookie over in England? They're pancakes here, so I was a little confused.

Yeah, flapjack in the UK means bars made of rolled oats, butter, sugar and golden syrup (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flapjack_%28oat_bar%29). Also fruit and other nice things, and sometimes a layer of jam. But mostly oats and butter and a whole lot of sugar.

I'd never really thought of them as cookies because cookies come in, well, individual cookies, whereas flapjack you usually make a whole tray of and it does get sliced into pieces if you're being civilised... but you could just tear bits off if you're not. :)

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Yeah, that's just what these were! No jam in them though, but they were amazing as is. Gah, now I'm thinking about them again! So good! (And thanks for the link!)

[spike7451.livejournal.com]

Looks like fun, but somehow I doubt they ship to Australia. :D

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Alas probably not! Sorry!

[kishenehn.livejournal.com]

I've seen ads for that in the past, and it looks really interesting ... but knowing me, I'd have the entire box consumed about three minutes after the mailman left. :)

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

That's a big challenge, yeah. I try to keep it to one snack per day. I seem to be able to keep myself to that!

[liedra.livejournal.com]

I have these too in the UK, it's delish. They've started a "breakfast club" too, with 4 random porridge mixes which are AMAZING. I think I love these even more than the snacks. Definitely give it a go when it comes up in the US. I've never had so tasty porridge!!

My favourite graze snacks are the "tea and cake" ones though - where they give you a teabag and a slice of cake. You may not have that in the US as tea seems pretty British, but the cakes are so scrumptious!

BTW billionaire's shortbread is a type of biscuit here - but they're recreating the flavours of it from fruits/nuts. They do it with other things too - I had a jaffa cake which in graze-speak was chocolate buds & orange infused raisins & almonds or something, yum yum!

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

I believe they started in the UK. Originally they had been shipping from there to the US, but now they opened warehouses here too.

We don't have any tea and cake ones at all! The UK selection is wider than the US, and has a lot of options that look better. Like the jaffa cake one! I wish we got that one, too.

Mmmm if they start the breakfast club one here, I'll totally sign up for that as well.

[pure-trance.livejournal.com]

Man I hope they get the tea and cakes here that sounds awesome.

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

I suspect their boxes might be bigger than ours, because at one point UK people got popcorn, too. (Unless it's unpopped, which would be fun if it came in a little mini bag to pop it in.)

[pure-trance.livejournal.com]

Hopefully as Graze grows maybe we will get larger boxes/more options as well!

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Yep!

[socksofjello.livejournal.com]

The "chocolate orange" flavor seems to be about the same as the Jaffa Cake one described! It just uses hazelnuts rather than almonds, which doesn't sound like a terrible trade-off to me.