Degustabox April

Another month, another box of interesting goodies from Degustabox. They send me a box every month so I can tell you all about it.

This one was pretty interesting. I've saved the most ... unusual ... for last.

Nando's Peri-Peri Sauce
This is basically a hot sauce made from Bird's Eye chilis, along with spices. I've tried Nando's before, so I didn't open this bottle, but I'm sure it will be in the hot sauce rotation soon.

Mutti Tomato Concentrate
This stuff is awesome. Since it's in a squeeze tube, you can use a little bit, then just put the cap on and put it in the refrigerator. It's great in soup, stews, rice, or even to boost the tomato flavor in pasta sauces that are a little weak. Pretty much anywhere you might use a little bit of tomato paste. A must buy. I always have some of this on hand.

Skinnygirl Peach Bellini Green Tea K-Cups
Easy-to-make green tea with peach flavor. This is sweetened with stevia, so it's zero calorie. Personally, I thought it had a bit of astringency that's common in green teas, so I added just a tiny bit of sugar. Oopsie. I guess that ruined the no-calorie aspect, but I liked the flavor better when it was very lightly sweetened.

Since not all Degustabox subscribers have K-cup machines, they could opt for the following three items instead:

Cafe Bustelo Instant Expresso
I use this sort of thing for baking - you know, when a recipe calls for strong black coffee? Or sometimes I add just a little bit into chocolate desserts. It's great to have on hand, even if you don't drink espresso, and it's great when you need that really strong cup of coffee, but don't have an expresso machine.

Zenify
An anti-oxidant drink that has all the goodness of green tea, but no caffeine, in a convenient can. I haven't popped this one open yet, but it sounds like a good idea.

Steady Energy
An energy shot with coffee and cocoa. I didn't get to sample this one, but energy shots certainly are popular.

And now, back to what was in ALL the boxes:


Wilton Candy Drizzles

Here's an interesting idea. You melt the candy bits right in the pouch, then snip the corner and drizzle onto fruit, baked goods, or whatever you like. This is a genius idea. Great for people who don't want a lot of fuss.

Lovely Candy
Chewy caramels. Can I say more? I didn't buy any Easter candy, so this is a nice treat. This particular brand doesn't use any artificial flavors or colors, and not high fructose corn syrup. Munching on one of these while sipping coffee or hot tea is particularly nice.

PR Bar
Gluten-free, carbs, vitamins, and stuff to boost performance. I almost wish I worked outside the house so it would make sense to take these sorts of bars with me for road food. I've handed this off to someone who will make more use of it.

Better Oats
Here's something different. Steel cut oats that are quick-cooking. I'm not fond of rolled oats or quick cooking rolled oats or instant rolled oats. I don't like the texture. But I totally love steel cut oats. So I was really curious about this product. Could I really have steel-cut oats in a few minutes rather than having to plan ahead to have them cooking in the rice cooker on a timer for morning ... or without waiting a long time for them to cook? The answer is ... this stuff is decent. The only quibble I have is a personal one. I'm not a huge fan of sweet foods for breakfast, and the sample I got was a maple and brown sugar version. I think I would have liked the plain version better. But ... because I'm weird, I do like this sweet one as a dessert or snack with a little pat of butter.

Bush's Hummus Made Easy 
and Bush's Chickpeas
Genius. I love hummus and I make it at home quite often, but this makes it so much easier. Hummus ingredients aren't difficult, but tahini can be a little hard to find and it's somewhat perishable, so if you don't use a lot of it, it might be one of those things you throw out before you use up. Lemons are relatively cheap and easy, but some folks don't have lemons sitting around all the time. I gave this a try - just put the chickpeas and the Hummus Made Easy in the blender and let it do its job. Pretty tasty. I thought it was just a tad salty when I first tasted it, but pita chips usually aren't salty, so when I ate it with the chips, it was fine.

This hummus "kit" is a great compromise between home made hummus and store-bought, pre-made hummus, but it's got one advantage over both. It's shelf stable. So you can have hummus pretty much any time you can summon the effort to push the button on your food processor or blender.

Wild Planet Free Range Chicken
I've tried the Wild Planet tuna and it was high quality and really good. I haven't opened this can yet, but I think it will be a great product to have on hand when I want something with chicken but I don't have a cooked chicken lurking about. Like chicken and noodles. Or chicken fried rice. Or chicken salad. Or chicken soup. I'll tuck this in the cabinet for later use.

Chiridos

Last, and weirdest. These are chips made with cricket flour. Yup, you heard it right. Cricket flour. I stared at these bags for a long time. Waffled over whether I was brave enough. Crickets are high in protein ... I know that. But ... but ... but ... in the end I decided that it would be better to pass these along to someone else. I'm sure they're tasty. Crunch, crunch, chirp, chirp.

I get these boxes from Degustabox at no cost so I can describe them to you.