A few years ago, Graze boxes were all the rage. I remember everyone in the office having them. In more recent times, the Graze Craze seems to have worn off a bit. But why?
Tailor your box to what you fancy – be it savoury, sweet, healthy or naughty. I’ve just re-started my account – sitting in front of a computer for 9 hours a day can be tough on your waistline (add to that, food blogger and my waistline is doomed!) and I’m terrible for snacking so I decided to give them another go. Not wanting to throw myself straight into healthy eating, I opted for the ‘nibble box’ with a mix of sweet and savoury items. As I remember, the packaging is gorgeous, recyclable and bold.
After a mini photo shoot, I packed the box into my handbag and headed off to work! Queue at desk testing… Usually these boxes are supposed to last a couple of days in the office but in the spirit of food blogging I ate them all in 1 day *ahem*…
Punnet 1: Tomato Dipinetti 97 calories – slow cooked cherry tomato relish with rosemary grissinetti.
Yummy relish and tasty little crisp breadsticks. This is the kind of snack I really love (savoury tooth!).
Punnet 2: Apple and Blackcurrant Crumble 134 calories – apple and blackcurrant crumble with blackberry compote
A little note in the box announced this as new – ‘little puds’. Unlike the other punnets, it can be eaten hot. So, I zapped it in the microwave for the allotted 10 seconds and put the compote onto the crumble slice. Personally I would have preferred custard and found it a bit chewy.
Punnet 3: Ancient Forest Nuts 229 calories – walnuts, hazelnuts and almonds
Lovely nuts, not so ancient. What else is there to say?
Punnet 4: Olive & Rosemary Bruschetta 138 calories – mini tomato breadsticks, rosemary and garlic cashews and kalamata olive croutons
This was my fave of all the four boxes. The croutons were delish and the mini breadsticks really tasty. At 138 calories, this was a good alternative to a bag of crisps, with less salt and no more calories. Yummy!
Since this box, I’ve had a second one which contained Beef Jerky with a smoky tomato dip. It was so good, I’ll definitely get it again! I like the fact that on the Graze website you can rate your boxes. Choose from Bin, Try, Like, Love and if you really like something, there’s also a ‘send soon’ button. You can tailor your boxes to your own preferences – whats in them, how often you get them and where you get them. You can even pause deliveries for when you’re away. All in all, a great little idea and… if you do it properly… a way to control the snacking and help eat healthily in the office.
The boring bit!
I pay for my Graze boxes myself and I was not asked to write this review. My opinions are my own.
I've seen these advertised but never really seen the point as you can buy many if the nuts and seeds anywhere but I guess in an office environment they look like a good idea.
They are good for portion control! If I buy a bag of nuts, I eat the lot. But yes I agree that you can buy a lot of the elements elsewhere and probably cheaper in bulk. Its a nice idea for work though, beats a curled up sandwich and bag of crisps 🙂
I get the healthy box. The variety is not so good, but I'm trying to keep an eye on my waistline! I get the box delivered to my home and take one thing with me to work each day.
I agree that you can probably get things cheaper elsewhere, but they are very convenient for busy people and offer a good variety so you don't get bored.
I think I ought to be moving onto the healthy boxes too! I do the same though Charlene, I just take 1 or 2 punnets in with me, otherwise I wolf the lot down!
It is also difficult to get the mixes from supermarkets, the crouton and breadstick selection you couldn't make yourself as easily as get it from graze. Anything that seems to "boring" like the foest nuts selection you have I binned on graze as you can easily get from the supermarket.
I have however seen nice little bags of mixed nuts/snacks in Tesco recently at 3 for £2 so slightly cheaper than graze!