First Graze Box! Overview

 Oh hello, internet. I didn’t see you there.

(Lies.)

I just figured I should launch in and talk about the very first box (Julep Maven excluded) I received as part of my new addiction: Graze.

I was so freakin’ happy, you have no idea.

You see; as a college student on a tiny campus in the middle of nowhere, I’m not exactly spoiled for choice when it comes to healthy snacks. While I may be able to do three square meals a day, the food at the dining hall is lacking in variety and slacking in well-rounded nutrition. Breakfast means eggs, bacon, sausage – even the variety of fruit is severely lacking! And lunch and dinner are so oil-drenched or sodium-packed that I usually just choose one – and, often, it’s lunch.

Okay, so a late lunch - that works - but what happens when dinner rolls around? To be honest, I’m rarely hungry. My hunger usually sets in around 8 or 9pm, when I’m hanging out in my dorm. And what’s right there, beckoning to me with it’s delicious, non-nutritious goodness? That would be the vending machines, packed full of chips and candy.

I need something that doesn’t make me feel like a fat slob!

And that’s where Graze comes in.

When I first heard of Graze, I was intrigued and delighted (1^st and 5^th boxes FREE? [follow the link!] $6/box otherwise?? Every week, two weeks, or month for delivery???). I signed up right away.

My love only continued when I discovered the great scoring system Graze has for semi-customizing boxes. Each snack they offer, from “the big cheese” (cheese croutons, cheese cashews, and salsa corn sticks) to “twist of black pepper popcorn” (exactly what is sounds like, in a snack-sized microwaveable packet), has four buttons: trash, try, like, and love. Not a fan of pecans? Trash the mixes with them. Newly addicted to the “apple & cinnamon flapjack”? Like or love it! Intrigued by the “salt and vinegar nut selection”? Keep it set on try.

Before I ever received a box, I went through the whole list of snacks and trashed all the things I found unappealing (sorry, nut mixes! – oh, wait, pistachios, you guys can stay) and liked the things I found especially appealing (oh, yep, here it comes: a-peel-ing!) like YUM “toffee apple” dippers.

Trashed items are banned from your box - and the items are sorted into some convenient dietary restriction groups, too, meaning vegan, gluten-free, and dairy-free customers can find the non-vegan, non-celiac, and dairy/milk items and trash them all in one fell swoop. Items marked as try are possible options to end up in your box, while liked items are marked to “send occasionally” and loved items to “send regularly.”

Now, where were we? Oh right: my first box!

I went into Graze with no expectations in terms of delivery time, and that was a good thing, because it took a while. Supposedly, my box was meant for the week of March 23^rd, and was “being prepared” around March 17^th, but it didn’t arrive until the 26^th (some of this can probably be blamed on how tiny this city is, it seems like a lot of my boxes take forever to get here). And while, okay, I don’t actually know the precise date of shipping, it’s kind of irritating that it takes more than a week. Then again, they ship from… 

Now wait just a gosh darn second! The sticker on this box says Jersey City! I was about to say they ship from the UK, since that’s where the company started. But Jersey City? That’s not so far away to justify 9 day shipping! Aw man, Graze, why did you do this to me? ….But, on the bright side, now I know when to expect my packages, and I can just reset my standards for a Wednesday delivery. Problem solved!

So Wednesday afternoon I pick up my box from the package office, and it’s a bit smaller than I was expecting (perspective is a liar, keep that in mind when watching unboxing videos; these portions are on the adorably small side). But – wow – those snacks inside looked great! “Key lime pie,” “pina colada,” “bonnie wee oatbakes,” and “lightly toasted pistachios”: they all sounded so very appealing (no more puns, I promise).

How were they?

Well, for the extended reviews, check out these pages (linked as I write them):

- Key Lime Pie from Graze

- Bonnie Wee Oatbakes from Graze

- Lightly Toasted Pistachios from Graze

- Pina Colada from Graze

Final verdict: Solid A.  

Totally keeping this subscription. In fact, I switched from bi-weekly to weekly, because these snacks went FAST! Will one box even last a whole week here, where I look for a healthy alternative nearly every night, and sometimes during the day? ….Probably not. The first one didn’t even last 36 hours. But I can’t blame the box for that: I was hungry, and it was delicious.

‘Til the next box!

-BoxxyGirl

PS: Graze is a $6/box snack subscription. Interested in trying it? Use this link to get your first and fifth boxes free! Tallying it up to 4 boxes a month, that makes each of your first two months $18 – cheaper than a lot of other monthly snack boxes!

*EDIT* I forgot to mention a couple other things about Graze. First, on their website, there are healthy benefit buttons featured on each snack, as labeled by their (very personable) nutritionist, Jess. Every snack has at least one, and they include stamps for "1 serving of fruit," "graze light (100-150 calories)," "whole oats," "source of protein," "only 90 calories," "vitamins & minerals," "fiber," and "nutritionist pick." (Pretty spiffy labeling system, if I do say so myself.) 
The second thing I neglected to mention was their optional donation project in Uganda called the Graze School of Farming. If you refer a friend, you can choose to take $1 off your next box or donate it to the charity, which helps locals in deprived rural Uganda start their own orchards. Definitely a worthy cause, and one I intend to contribute to.