RawBox Subscription Box Review – December 2015

RawBox is a monthly subscription box of raw, plant-based snacks and clean lifestyle products.  Every month, expect 10-12 products, most of which are full-size, single-serving packages.

RawBox sent us this box for review purposes. (Check out the review process post to learn more about how we review boxes.)

The Subscription Box: RawBox

The Cost: $39.95 per month on a month-to-month plan.  Save with longer subscriptions.

Good to Know: You can skip shipments by logging into your account.

The Products: Raw, plant-based, gluten-free, soy-free, vegan snacks and clean lifestyle products such as beauty products and household supplies that are free from parabens, sulfates, etc.

Ships to: US 

Check out lots of vegan and other snack boxes in the Food Subscription Box Directory! 

Included was a two-sided, full-color brochure containing information about the products.  It was so big, I really couldn’t photograph the whole thing and have it still be readable.  But it is a good, informative card.

The Wonder Seed Water Lotus Hand Lotion (2.4 oz) – Value $12.95 

RawBox is mostly a food box, but they do include a few beauty items or items for the kitchen and/or home each month.  I’ve tried the Wonder Seed hand lotion before (from the Vegan Cuts beauty box) and liked it.  This is a different scent than I had before, so that’s nice.  (The Wonder Seed products get their name from the hemp seed oil they contain.)

Redmond Clay Facial Mud (4 oz) – Value $9.99

I love clay masks for dealing with excess oil and shrinking my pores.  This one is doing a great job so far, and I like that you get enough to really see if it works for you.

WrawP Flatbreads, Spicy (3 pack) – Value $8.99

One thing I have legitimately wondered about a raw diet is how do you replace grain products?  Well, these are flatbread wraps made from raw zucchini, apple, flax seeds, and coconut (with some added spices).  As it happened, my lunches last week were wraps (with Morningstar Farms fake chicken nuggets, feta cheese, olives, roasted red peppers, and pepperoncini, so not at all vegan or raw…).  I’d been using whole wheat tortillas, but I substituted in one of these one day.  I liked the flavor but found it a little difficult to bite into these and found that the heat from the microwaved nuggets kind of made the wrap falls apart a little.  Still, if you are eating raw, that is not a problem, and I would definitely say these are better than nori or collard leaves or some of the other raw wrap suggestions I’ve seen. 

Sky Island Organics Crackers Alive in Cranberry Maple Pecan – Value $7.50

These don’t seem to be for sale online so I took the value from the information card.  (Oddly, this brand is only available in California and at one store in the Atlanta area…)  This is the raw answer to crackers, made from sprouted cashews, baby greens, and chia seeds.  I loved the texture but was not sold on the flavor (not a maple fan, I think).  I would be really interested in trying these in a savory flavor.

NaturalZing Pitted Peruvian Black Dried Olives (8 oz) – Value $13.95

I love olives so it was exciting to see so many of these.  Because they’re dried (at low temperatures), they taste a little different from the olives in brine I’m used to, but I did like them a lot and they worked well in my wraps this week.

Righteously Raw 83% Cacao Pure Dark Bite (0.35 oz) – Value $0.79

Any chocolate is gone in a half second around here…

Sunfood Superfoods Agave Nectar (sample) – Value $2 (?)

I buy agave nectar all the time so this will definitely get used.  In fact, I am thinking of adding it into smoothies made with some of the powdered products below.   (I couldn’t find agave nectar on the Sunfood website.)

Juvo Vanilla Chai Organic Raw Meal (2 packets) – Value $6

I make smoothies with almond milk and protein powders, frozen mixed berries, superfoods, etc. every morning before work.  I threw these in for variety last week.  As with most powders, for a more pleasant texture, I suggest making a smoothie rather than trying to shake with water – raw meal products have a lot of fiber and that can make them difficult to dissolve.  But they totally work in smoothies.

Sunfood Superfood Vanilla Rice Protein Powder (1 packet) – Value $1.50

I’ll admit to adding so much cacao and frozen fruit that this didn’t have a terribly strong flavor.  But, it has brown rice protein and some interesting natural sweeteners and so it could be a good choice for people looking to avoid refined sugars. 

Sunfood Raw Superfood Smoothie Mix (2 packets) – Value $6

To me, this was kind of thin and didn’t have a strong flavor.  It definitely needed something extra, so I added cacao and frozen fruit along with my almond milk.  This is the one (I still have a packet left) where I think I’ll be adding the agave nectar for sweetness. 

Two Moms in the Raw Charming Cherry Chocolate Nut Bar (2 bars) – Value $6

This is a new bar from Two Moms in the Raw.  I liked the texture a lot, but this was not my favorite flavor from this company.  (More chocolate totally would have made this work for me…)

Ello Raw Cinnamon Sugar Donut – Value $4.99

This is a repeat from the October box, but they totally acknowledge that on the information card.  These taste and look like donut holes but have the texture of nut/date bars (which is basically what they are).  I liked them before, and they are expensive to order, so I’m happy to see them again.

Verdict: I calculated a value of $80.66 for the December 2015 RawBox.  For a box that has a lot of food, that is an exceptional value, and I think this is the best value I’ve seen yet for a RawBox.  There was a lot of stuff in here and it all did a good job of fitting the general theme of supporting a raw, clean, vegan, organic lifestyle.  While not every food item was a perfect fit for me, I appreciate the chance to try all of them and to learn about some new companies.  The only people who might want to avoid this box are people with nut allergies since a lot of the products did contain nuts. 

What do you think of the December 2015 RawBox?