Degustabox - February

Another month, another box full of goodies from Degustabox, so I can tell you all about it.

The interesting thing about this month's box was that either I was very familiar with the foods, or I'd never heard of them. There weren't any where I had heard of them vaguely, but hadn't yet tried.

So here we go:

Popchips Ridges

I've tried a bunch of the different flavors of regular Popchips. If you're not familiar, they're like potato chips but they're baked and puffy, so they seem more substantial than regular thin potato chips. Still great for dipping, though. These new ones have ridges. Yum.

Grace Foods Coconut Chips

Oh dear. Coconut. Not my thing. I gave these away to someone who was totally thrilled with them. So that's good. If you're a fan of coconut, you might want to look this up. If you're me, it's good to have friends.

Walkers Shortbreads
I totally adore shortbread cookies and these are the real deal. They're traditional shortbreads, with just butter, flour, sugar, and salt, so there's no preservatives, colors, artificial flavors, or anything else to detract from cookie goodness. Shortbread cookies also make a great crust for cheesecakes, if you've got extra cookies.

Nando's Peri-Peri hot sauce

I have a bottle of this in the fridge. It's pretty hot. So I'm more likely to use it sparingly than to slather it on something. But along with the heat, it's got good flavor, which I think is important. Besides putting it (sparingly) on tacos, it's good as part of a marinade or a sauce. Or added to chili. Or soup. Or whatever.

Slendier pasta
This is konjac pasta, which is gluten-free, high in fiber, and very low in calories. I have a ridiculous amount of pasta in my pantry, so I decided to pass it along to someone who is avoiding gluten. If you're gluten-free and/or looking for something lower in calories, this might be a good alternative to traditional wheat pastas.

Ricola losenges
Great for when you have a sore throat or when you're in that pre-cold, tickly throat stage. This has a bunch of different herbs along with ginseng. It's a unique flavor, but I happen to like it. This sort of thing is nice to have on hand, just in case ... because once you're starting to feel cruddy, you don't want to be running to the store, right?

PR Bars
Vitamins, carbs, whey, soy protein. Gluten free. This bar is supposed to be balanced to give you fuel and "keep you performance ready." I don't eat a whole lot of bars like this since I work from home and there's usually something more meal-like at hand, so I passed it along to someone else to sample. It sounded good, and they're not crazy expensive, so if you're not happy with your current energy/snack bars, look for these.

Jones Soda
Ooooh. Orange and cream. Jones Sodas have some interesting flavors and they use cane sugar rather than corn syrup. I've bought this before and I have to say it's pretty good.

Green & Black's dark chocolate with sea salt
I've bought a lot of Green & Black's chocolates over the years, and they've always been good. I've also baked with some of them. Anyway, this is a dark chocolate with sea salt, so it's got a little crunch and then the saltiness that makes the chocolate seem sweeter for just a moment. This is the kind of chocolate bar that lasts me several days, in little indulgent pieces. So good.

So there you have it. The current box. I get these boxes from Degustabox at no cost to me, just so I can describe them to you. 

UrbanTrend Reverso Measuring Cup and Funnel

I have a pretty large collection of measuring cups and spoons, and I use all of them. I like the idea that I can just toss a dirty cup or spoon in the sink or dishwasher and grab a clean one for the next recipe. I don't have to stop what I'm doing to wash and dry the same cup and spoon over and over.

So, when the nice folks at UrbanTrend offered me their measuring cup with a rather quirky design, I said sure, I'll check it out.

Measuring cups have been around for a while, and the vast majority of them are very similar to all of the rest. A cup with a handle, a spout, and graduated measurements.

This one is different.

The Reverso name should be a hint. There's an integrated funnel that snaps into the bottom of the cup. The funnel has the measurement markings, so it needs to be there for measuring, but it snaps in and out easily.

It's an interesting idea. It takes a few seconds to remember where you need to look for the measurements, but it's not difficult. The one downside, is that the funnel needs to be attached to the cup when you're measuring. The upside is that you get two tools in one, and they store neatly together.

If you check out the UrbanTrend website, there are a couple different versions of the Reverso, including on that has measuring spoons that also snap into the bottom, as well as a mini version.

Who's it for: People who need a measuring cup and funnel.

Pros: Two tools in one.

Cons: If you're washing in the dishwasher, the funnel area gets filled with water, so you'll need to drain that.

Wishes: I think I'd like it better if the measurements were on the cup rather than the funnel.

Source: I received this from the manufacturer for the purpose of a review.

Bai Beverages

I quit drinking the usual sodas quite a while ago, and now they just taste cloyingly sweet to me. Once in a while I indulge in root beer, but it's more of a treat than a beverage. When I'm thirsty, I usually just drink water.

But when the folks at Bai Beverages contacted me and asked if I wanted samples, I figured I'd give it a shot, particularly since they said that their sodas (Black, Bai base, Superteas, Cocofusion and Bubbles all had "5 calories, 1 gram of sugar and no artificial sweeteners."

Well, okay then. I figured that they wouldn't be super-sweet, so I said, sure, I'll take a few, but skip the Cocofusion (it's coconut-based) and the Superteas (I'm not that crazy about canned tea).

They hooked me up with plenty of the other flavors. I've been drinking one pretty much every day, as a little treat. So far, I think I like the canned fruit-flavored sodas the best, but the Black are kind of fun, too. There's a cola-flavored drink, a gingery one, and a cream soda type. The fruity bottled ones are nice, too. Fruity flavor, refreshing, but not like dessert in a bottle.

I have to say that I'm glad that these sorts of drinks have appeared on the market, for the times when I don't want to make my own flavored fizzy water. These are sooooo convenient. And tasty.

Who's it for: People who want non-sweet sodas.

Pros: Low calorie.

Cons: If you drink a lot of soda, I suspect these could to be an expensive habit.

Wishes: Root beer, please!

Source: I received this from the manufacturer for the purpose of a review.