All Around Vegan a monthly subscription box for vegans containing four categories of items: nutrition, lifestyle, bath and body, and activism.
This box was sent to us at no cost for review. (Check out the review process post to learn more about how we review boxes.)
About All Around Vegan
The Subscription Box: All Around Vegan
The Cost: $34.95/box + shipping. Save with longer subscriptions.
ACTIVE DEAL: Save 10% off your first box!
CODE: ADDICTION
The Products: Nutrition items (think pantry items, supplements, and snacks), lifestyle items (clothing, books, kitchen gadgets), bath and body products, and activism items (think materials to educate and inspire others), all of which are vegan and cruelty-free
Ships to: US ($7.50), Canada ($15), International ($20)
All Around Vegan March 2018 Review
All Around Vegan is a new box for me and I didn’t know what to expect. Let’s see what came in March’s box:
There was a standard information card with more details about the items in the box, including how they fit the categories nutrition, lifestyle, bath/body, and activism.
There was a card asking you to share on social media.
There were coupons and additional product information.
Happy Pits Sweet Orange Vegan All Natural Deodorant (3.2 oz) – Retail Value $8
This smells pretty good and I appreciate getting a full-size product (in stick form instead of in a tub). It has shea butter and coconut oil for moisturizing and arrowroot powder (which should absorb some moisture). It also has tea tree oil which should provide some antibacterial benefits. Unfortunately, it also has baking soda and essential oils, and I have super sensitive skin under my arms. I have to use unscented deodorant and I’ve learned the hard way to avoid baking soda in deodorant products. But, if you are interested in finding a natural deodorant and don’t have a sensitivity to baking soda, there are a ton of wonderful-sounding fragrances for this product.
Frontier Coop Nutritional Yeast Flakes (0.81 oz) – Retail Value $4.79
Advocates of nutritional yeast always claim it has a cheesy taste, which I don’t find to be true. But it does provide savory (umami) flavor that is hard to replicate in a lot of vegan food items. It also has a lot of B vitamins, which may be hard to come by in a vegan diet (this brand also adds additional B vitamins during fermentation). At any rate, I have some recipes that call for nutritional yeast and I never seem to have any in my kitchen, so this is appreciated. (In the past, I also used nutritional yeast to help with a dog’s skin and coat issues!)
Mountain Valley Seed Co. Mustard Microgreens Growing Kit – Retail Value $5.99
This is fun and a way to include a fresh food item, which is not something you usually get in a subscription box of this type. It comes with everything you need including a little soil pellet and a sprayer (pouring water over this will just move your seeds around but the spray keeps everything moist). I haven’t planted these yet because we tend to plan out meals a week in advance, prior to grocery shopping, and I want to time the planting with the harvest so that I get them at peak freshness. I’ll probably just try them in a salad the first time (I know, not very creative) and I might also share a few with my pet tortoise (this video is 5.5 years old but he looks the same still).
The Modern Savage by James McWilliams – Retail Value $22.99 (found here for $16.74)
This is the “activism” item for the month. As the information card notes, it is written for omnivores (I haven’t eaten meat since August of 1993) but the curators say it is included because there is a lot of good information about animal agriculture and the environment. It gets pretty good reviews on Amazon and based on what I’ve read so far, the writing style is pretty accessible.
In the last four decades, food reformers have revealed the ecological and ethical problems of eating animals raised in industrial settings, turning what was once the boutique concern of radical eco-freaks into a mainstream movement. Although animal products are often labeled "cage free," "free range," and "humanely raised," can we trust these goods to be safe, sound, or ethical?
In The Modern Savage, renowned writer, historian, and animal advocate James McWilliams pushes back against the questionable moral standards of a largely omnivorous world and explores the "alternative to the alternative"―not eating domesticated animals at all. In poignant, powerful, and persuasive prose, McWilliams reveals the scope of the cruelty that takes place even on the smallest and―supposedly―most humane animal farms. In a world increasingly aware of animals' intelligence and the range of their emotions, McWilliams advocates for the only truly moral, sustainable choice―a diet without meat, dairy, or other animal products.
McWilliams's The Modern Savage is a riveting expose of an industry that has typically hidden behind a veil of morality, and a compelling account of how to live a more economical, environmental, and ethical life.
Partake Foods Mini Cookies in Carrot Oat (5.5 oz) – Estimated Value $5 (Buy 6 Boxes for $29.99)
It is rare for me to discover new brands in food subscription boxes at this point, but I had never heard of Partake Foods before. These cookies are free from the 8 major allergens, plus they are kosher, vegan, non-GMO, and gluten-free. And you know what else? They are really good. They are hard cookies but they crumble in just the right way when you bite into them. I am a fan.
Gimme Organic Sea Salt Premium Roasted Seaweed (0.17 oz) – Retail Value $1.59 (found here for $1.29)
I happen to really like roasted seaweed snacks. You feel like you are getting a lot of food but really, there are very few calories (each package of these has only 25 calories). Plus, sea vegetables have tons of nutrients (iodine, vitamin C, etc.). I rarely buy them (storage is a bit of a problem because the packages are bulky) but always eat them right away when I receive them in a subscription box.
Gimme Organic Toasted Sesame Premium Roasted Seaweed (0.17 oz) – Retail Value $1.59 (found here for $1.29)
We got a second flavor as well. I was more a fan of these sesame ones than of the sea salt ones. I tend to like these more when there are added flavors.
In case you weren’t familiar, here’s what these look like inside the packaging.
Verdict: Using a value of $5 for the cookies, I calculated an overall value of $49.95 for the March 2018 All Around Vegan box. This is a few dollars over the cost of the box plus shipping on a month-to-month basis (and don’t forget, you can get a better deal if you sign up for a longer subscription). I wasn’t sure what to expect with this box but I actually think it was put together quite well. I think this definitely fills a niche in a way that purely snack- or beauty-centered vegan boxes don’t. There wasn’t too much of a focus on any one category and I discovered several new products, and of course, I was a huge fan of the cookies.
To Wrap Up:
Can you still get this box if you sign up today? No, if you sign up now, you’ll get the April box (ships April 1) as your first box.
Coupon - Use code ADDICTION to save 10% off your first box!
Value Breakdown: At $42.45 for this box (subscription cost plus shipping), you are paying approximately the following per item:
- Deodorant $6.80
- Nutritional yeast $4.07
- Microgreens growing kit $5.09
- Book $19.54
- Cookies $4.25
- Seaweed snacks $2.70
Check out lots of vegan and other snack boxes in the Food Subscription Box Directory!
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