The subscription box fad looks like it might be here to stay, at least for a while longer. From beauty products to food products – you can order just about anything for a monthly subscription. Out of curiosity, I went ahead and ordered a few boxes just to try them out.
HelloFresh – hellofresh.com
I was a little bit skeptical of this, if I’m being honest. What if I didn’t like the flavors? Would they really send me enough food for two people? How does it stay fresh? Well I have to say, I was completely floored by this box. They sent us three meals, Wasabi Lime Salmon, Pan Seared Chicken with Herbs De Provence, and Rustic Beef Ragu. All the meals were packaged in dry ice and insulated to keep them cool until we got home to open the box.
Highs:
The first two were completely amazing. I can’t stop singing their praises and we are definitely adding these recipes to our repertoire. The third was our least favorite, but still pretty good! All of the meals take only 30-40 minutes to make and are super easy to follow. The ingredients are pieced out in exact increments, so there is less measuring to do. When HelloFresh says that it sends you “everything,” for a meal, they MEAN it. Spices, vinegars, seasoning, little tiny jars of mayo, soy sauce in a cute fish shaped container, literally everything. You only need to have salt, pepper, water, and olive oil on hand. We seriously loved this box.
Lows:
You do need to eat the meals within the week. They are not designed to last because of the fresh produce and meats. Cost is also a factor – the box is $60.00 a week ($10 per person/per meal.) We got our first box for $20.00 – which you can too with our referral code. For $20.00 this was the most “worth it,” thing I’ve purchased in a long time. There are not any clear “lows” here; its just a matter of how you want to spend your meal budget!
Cost per week: $60.00
Value of Box: ~ 93.00*
- Wasabi Lime Salmon ~ $32.00
- Pan Seared Chicken with Herbs De Provence ~ 33.00
- Rustic Beef Ragu ~ 28.00
*Approximate value determined by if you had no items on hand and had to buy a full size of all ingredients. You could potentially make multiple batches of these recipes with store bought ingredients.
Discounts: Use our referral code: ARIEMATTA for $40.00 off your first box!
Datebox – getdatebox.com
This is exactly what it says – its a date in a box. For those of you who know Tony and I, we have a weekly date night scheduled into our calendar. Sometimes, planning an activity together is hard. DateBox sends you a fully planned date that you can do from home. If you have kids, this would be a total win when it comes to cost!
Our box was inspired by Japan! It included a sushi making kit, complete with bamboo rolling mat, recipes, rice, and chopsticks. Also included were sheets to do origami and two sudoku puzzles.
Highs:
I loved that the box came with food and an activity – both are important for a date! It changed up our dating habits a bit and got us out of our comfort zone – big plus! Also – it was fun that the box had a theme to the night – it even had a Japanese inspired playlist for us, which was odd but super fun!
Lows:
We like to keep our date nights to about $25.00 a week, so this as a monthly expense is about $15.00 over budget. Also – the box didn’t (more like, couldn’t,) include the fish for the sushi. So that was an added $15.00 expense. If you’re a family with kids, that $25.00 is probably less than (or equal to) what you would pay a babysitter, so it might be a great option for you!
Cost per month: $39.00
Value of box: $50.00
- Sushi for 2 – $30
- Origami Kit – $10.00
- Sushi prep materials – $10.00
Discounts: Use our referral code: d8P6x for $10.00 off your first box!
BarkBox – barkbox.com
This subscription is for your pupper! We love our dog and love to spoil him with toys and treats. This box comes monthly and includes two toys, treats, and a bone. This month’s theme was New York City. He got the cutest statue of liberty ball and a pretzel chew toy. It was actually super cute to watch him try to decide which toy he liked best!
Highs:
This box is customized to your dog. Ours has a wheat allergy, so we were able to get treats to accommodate that. They also have toys and bones for strong chewers, and different toys depending on the size of your dog. Samson was a big fan and took everything out of the box on his own!
Lows:
We just don’t need that many toys for our dog at this point. He has a whole bin full and its sort of a mess. There are no real “lows,” to this box if you are wanting to lump a few of your puppy costs together instead of buying things as needed!
Cost per month: $30.00
Value of Box: $41.00
- Lady Liberty Ball: $12.00
- Pretzel Rope Toy: $12.00
- Treats: $13.00
- Deer Chew: $4.00
Discounts: Sign up for their mailing list – they send out promo codes for $1.00 and $5.00 boxes for first timers!
fabfitfun – fabfitfun.com
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