DegustaBox - April 2019

We all know by now how much I adore the DegustaBox boxes I'm lucky enough to receive as an ambassador and this months box is no different. If you follow me on Instagram then you'll have seen my unboxing today (@ofbeautyand) and the minor catastrophe that occurred with the April delivery. I've been receiving the boxes for a couple of years now and in that time there's only been two accidents with the boxes which I think is fantastic. This months accident was annoyingly quite messy and did ruin the item so sadly you won't see the Heinz soup pot in today's post but it is one of the 'best of British' items from the box.

*DegustaBox - April 2019 

Anyway, onto the April box and the theme for this month is 'best of British' and focuses on not only British brand but lots of sharing snacks that would be ideal for a spring picnic (the weather in the UK this Easter weekend is utterly glorious) and a selection of drinks, breakfast items and cooking ingredients, but mainly snacks. There's such a great variety within the April box, from cereal, sweets and fruity drinks to snack bars, BBQ sauce, soup and chocolatey snacks. I have five favourite items from this months selection and there's one brand that I've wanted to try for so long.

*Skinny Food Co Chocolate Crispies (£1.49)

Let's start with the chocolate snacks as it is the long Easter weekend in the UK after all! I received three packets of the Skinny Food Co chocolate crispies in the white chocolate and the milk chocolate options. They are gluten free, packed with more protein than you'd think and they don't contain any added sugar. Additionally, they are only 100 calories each and before you say anything about chocolate, calories, easter and how evil calories are - calories are not the enemy, they're important to consider. I like to think of calories as petrol, you wouldn't fail to measure the amount of petrol you put in your car so why would you not count or consider the number of calories you consume. They're both energy/fuel that needs to be monitored, in my opinion. I'm always on the look out for low calorie snacks but sadly these aren't vegan, however before the start of the year I would have been so happy to receive these crispies!

*Pachamama Bars (£1.39)

Another ideal on the go snack item are two snack bars from a brand I haven't heard of before, Pachamama. I received the Andean Berry and Raspberry flavour as well as the Cacao and Cashew bar. Both bars are vegan with no added sugar and lots of fruit, grains, seeds and nuts. Healthy snack bars are always in my handbag and car for easy, mess free and healthy snacking when needed - I had a couple of Nakd bars in my bag when we went to Edinburgh last week. I haven't tried these bars yet but they sound great, especially the raspberry one.

*Candy Kittens - Wild Strawberry (£1.50)

Last Christmas my advent calendar of choice was the amazing (and huge) Candy Kittens advent calendar and it was amazing. I'm not a huge chocolate fan and I never have been but candy/sweets have always been my downfall! Sugary, sour and gummy candies are my guilty pleasure but most of the vegan options have a strange texture or consistency. However, the Candy Kittens options have all been delicious and almost indistinguishable from 'normal' gelatine sweets in terms of the texture. From the advent calendar I was able to try most, if not all of their flavours and the wild strawberry was my favourite by far, followed by the watermelon flavour. The Candy Kittens sweets along with the Robinsons cordial and BBQ corn are my favourite items from this months box.

*London Flavours (£1)

Another vegan snack is the London Flavours crisps which comes in three flavour options - you'll receive one of the three. I received the Pho flavour which is something I've never heard of but it's a traditional street food option in Vietnam with flavours of citrus. I love that so many of the items are clearly labeled as vegan and it's amazing that more and more items are being included in the box that are 100% vegan!

*Love Corn Smoked BBQ (£1.29)

Lastly for the snacks and again, it's a vegan snack! This brand is the UK's first premium crunchy corn brand. The corn is gluten free, sugar free and vegan. I do like sweet snacks but I'll always prefer savoury snacks so these are perfect. I also love smokey and BBQ flavours and these were delicious, very moreish and relatively low in calories.

*Crafted Mango and Passionfruit Drink (£2)

Along with the sweets and corn snack, this drink is my favourite item from the box as it's the most delicious, summery and refreshing fruit drink ever! I've tried this brand before from a previous DegustaBox. Mango and Passionfruit are such refreshing and delicious fruit flavours for summer which is ideal for the summery weather we have in the UK right now. I will definitely be buying this drink in the future.

*Bull's Eye NY Steakhouse BBQ Sauce (£2.49)

Another summery item is this BBQ sauce from Bull's Eye NY Steakhouse which is a brand I haven't tried before. I love the packaging and it claims an 'ultimate authentic American BBQ taste'. It isn't labeled as vegan but it is within the vegetarian category online - it seems to be vegan based on the ingredients list. I'll look into it and hope that it is suitable for vegans!

*Robinsons Fruit Cordial (£2.49)

Robinsons cordial has been a favourite of mine for almost all of my life and I love the newer flavours they've been bringing out over the past year or so and this one is no different. The Pressed Pear and Elderflower flavour is included in the box this month and I couldn't be happier with the combination as it's so summery, fresh and sweet. I love anything that is elderflower flavoured so I knew I'd love this cordial...and I do. I'll be picking up another bottle very soon!

* Heinz Organic Baked Beans (£1)

Baked beans are such a British thing and it's something that I love as a fairly low calorie, high protein lunch. They're such a healthy food with the amount of protein and fibre as well as the lack of fat. Each tin is one of your five a day and they're perfect on toast or on a jacket potato - the latter was a staple of my secondary school lunches.

*Typhoo Black Tea (£2.20)

Another very British item, tea. I'm one of those strange British people who doesn't actually like tea, apart from herbal and fruit tea (don't hate me). I love the packaging and I know guests will love them but tea just isn't for me.

Eat Water Slim Sushi Rice (£2.55)

As I mentioned before, there's one brand that I've wanted to try for a while and it's Eat Water. They have a range of pasta which is the main product I've wanted to try - there's mixed reviews of their products but I want to try them for myself. I made vegan sushi for the first time last year and liked it so I'm interested to try it again with this very low calorie rice.

*Cheerios Multigrain (£2.69)

Last but not least is another product, along with Robinsons cordial, that I've grown up with. I do like Cherrios and they have a lot of benefits but from a little research online, the vitamin D in the cereal is derived from Lanolin which is from sheeps wool so no Cheerios for me sadly. Overall, I'm very happy with the April box and I'm even happier with the consistent number of vegan items included each month!

Have you tried any of these products? What do you think of the April box? 

*Gifted