Degustabox - August

Another month, another box from Degustabox. In case you're not familiar, they're a subscription service that sends a box of food various items once a month. I get the monthly box for free, so I can describe them to you.

One interesting thing in the box is that they list the retail value of all the items, so you can see that you're actually getting your money's worth.

A few times, I've wanted to buy more of a particular product, but it's not readily available in my area ... so I've checked Amazon for prices.

Those prices are always higher than the retail prices listed by Degustabox. Which makes sense, considering it's costly to ship things. I've actually been willing to pay extra for some items I've loved, and in other cases, I've stalked the local stores looking for the products.

So anyway, here's August.

Nature's Bakery whole wheat fig bars - while these sound like they could be lovely, Fig Newtons ruined my desire for figgy cookies. I passed these along to someone else who appreciated them more than me. Which, by the way, is a great thing about these shipments. There's always something gift-worthy.

Dole Fruit in Gels - Hmmm. Fruit in gelatin. Honestly, I've never been fond of gelatin, even as a kid. So here's another one I passed along. I think these are a great idea, by the way, for those who like gelatin and fruit. Just not for me.

Pasta Snacks - Rosemary Pasta Chips and Meatball Parm Pasta Bow Ties - These were fantastic. Straddling a line between savory cracker and snack chip, they were good on their own next to a sandwich, great with a dip, and a fine snack when I was feeling a little peckish. I really loved the shape of the bow ties.

Goya tostones chips - Seems like everything is turning into a chip these days, some more successfully than others. Unlike some odd chips that are made from questionable vegetables, tostones are the perfect thing to chipify. These would be great with a sandwich (I'd suggest a Cuban sandwich) or on their own as a snack.

Welch's fruit rolls - these are targeted at a much younger audience than those living in my house, so I passed them along. For a moment, I considered using them in a recipe - imagine them cut up and added to cookies or muffins - but then I decided that I'd leave that to someone else. These are super-popular, so there must be a reason.

Goya Maria Cookies - Maria cookies are super-popular at the Hispanic store where I sometimes shop, but they're not quite as well known at the chain stores. This version of the Maria cookies was filled with a chocolate cream. Nice!

Sunspire milk chocolate SunDrops - If you like those coated chocolate candies that have a pair of M's in their name, you'll like these. They have no artificial colors, flavors, or preservatives ... and they're CHOCOLATE. You'd better believe I kept these all for myself!

Sharwood's Karma Cooking Sauce - Oh dear ... here's another sauce that's based on coconut. I had to pass this one along, since coconut and I are not friends. I've tried other Sharwood's products, and they were good, but this one just wasn't for me.

Perky Jerky - Here's a high protein, gluten-free snack that's great for anyone. Well, okay, anyone who isn't vegan or vegetarian, I guess. But great for folks who are on the Paleo diet or who are avoiding grains. If you like jerky, this is one you might want to take a closer look at.

Hummustir - this was an interesting concept. It came in a coated cardboard container, and for some reason I thought it was going to be a dehydrated product. Instead, there were two pouches - one with the chickpea component and one with the tahini component. You simply open both and stir to combine. The container gives you something to mix them in, if you're on the go. At home, it made more sense to mix them in a little glass bowl. It's nice to have another shelf-stable, non-refrigerated option for hummus lovers. Of course, if you have leftovers, you'd need to refrigerate that.

Nuttzo chocolate spread (gift item) - Degustabox tossed this in as a little gift, since it's not a retail portion. It's a chocolate nut spread with no extra sugars. I mean ... it's chocolate. How can that be bad?