This week's Graze Box (7/25)

Had some tasty things this week, as well as some drama!

Natural Vanilla Seeds. These were tasty as heck, sunflower and pumpkin seeds with a sweet vanilla glaze. BUT there was a big nasty crack in the container bottom! I ate them anyway, and shared them with my vegan guy.  This is one of my favorite types of snacks because the pieces are tiny and it takes awhile to eat. At 172 calories and only 13g carbs with a nice 4.93g protein, this is one of the better nutritional "values" Graze has to offer. Grade: A+

Tomato Dipinetti. This pummet had a saucy tomato dip with rosemary bread dippers. I was mad at this one!! All the rosemary breads were broken but ONE! The tomato "relish" dip was savory and spicy, and the (sad, broken, pathetic) dippers were still tasty aside from their shameful appearance. 97 cals and 16g carbs make this well worth the drama. Grade: B+

Scrumptious Blueberry Swirl.  This snack boasts a whole serving of fruit. Nice, even though I'm not a massive fan of dried fruit. There were those tasty black currants with blueberry yogurt raisins, and raspberry-flavored cranberries. 157 calories makes this a nice snack, but not if you're watching your carbs! For 30g of carbs, you might be better off saving the carbs -- maybe grab an apple and a cheese stick instead! Grade: C+

Eleanor's Apple Crumble.  This is a better fruit snack choice for carb-watching Grazers, at a friendly 19.9g of carbs.  114 cals is just right, plus you get a nice hit of protein (2g) from the decadent honey-cinnamon almonds. The raisins are a little boring, but I liked the chewy apples so much that I just may investigate drying my own. This is a keeper! Grade: A

This week's Graze box! (7/17)

Hi all! Got some goodies from Graze this week...

First up: My Thai, soy crisps with sweet chili dipping sauce. Holy shit! These were delicious!! At 84 calories and a scant 18 carbs, this pummet hit all my favorite taste points of sweet, hot, salty, and savory. Most people know I am a big fan of sweet chili sauce, so this was divine! Grade: A+

Orange & Ginger Flapjack. I'm just not a flapjack fan, sorry. However, the piece I sampled was very orangey and gingery. So if I was more into flapjacks, this is the one I'd choose. I gave the rest of the pummet to the vegan guy next to me, and he said they were so good he'd wished he could buy them directly from Graze. Also 241 calories is as much as a Lean Cuisine meal, so have to take points off for that. Grade: B-

Summer Pudding. Black currants, cranberries, yogurt sunflower seeds, and spongey cookie bits make a delightful combo.  The spongey bits are rather superfluous IMHO, but damn those sour currants are deeeeeelicious!  137 calories isn't bad for a nice little snack, but I can't always justify 27 carbs no matter how delightfully sour those black currants are! Maybe good for a "sometimes" treat.  Grade: B

Salt & Vinegar Nut Selection.  Oh man, these were yummy. I could have used more vinegary flavor on the mix of almonds and peanuts.  I don't eat peanuts too often, but if I did, this is just how I'd do it.  We've got a scant 8 grams of carbs here, and even though the sodium is a bit high (269), there's also 8g protein in this yummy 200-calorie powerhouse.  Grade: B+

This Week's Graze Box! (7/14)

So, here's what I got from Graze this week...

Nacho Libre: Salsa almonds, "cheesy sombreros," and jumbo chili corn. I think this was about 140 calories. It was pretty good, except for the sombreros which seemed kinda stale to me. Grade: B- 

Salsa Fresca: More "cheesy sombreros" and a spicy tomato sauce for dipping. A paltry 51 calories! The sauce was tasty but again, the sombreros taste stale to me. If they'd just give me something else to dip, we'd be all set!!  Grade: B

Summer Berry Compote:  Wholemeal shortbreads which were dense and tasty, with a buttery flavor, coupled with a red berry compote for dipping. It had 114 cals and about 15 carbs, which isn't bad.  While I will give this one a high mark because of the quality, taste, and texture, combined with its efficient nutritional info,  I don't know if I'll put it on my "LOVE" list simply because I'm not ordinarily a short read person.  We'll see, though, I may crave it in the future!  Grade: A

Jaffa Cake: Hazelnuts, dark chocolate buttons, & orange-flavored raisins. YUM! This one was great!  I really like Graze's flavored raisins. They are tiny but pack a huge punch! 208 calories (a bit high because of the nuts) but an impressive 19 carbs which makes this a nice snack. Love it. Grade: A