Graze Box Openings and Review

Graze is a new healthy snack subscription service that delivers a box of 4 different snacks to your home or office once a week. Each box costs $5 and when you try the service you get your first and fifth weeks for free. It's so new that right now it's invitation only. There are lots of invitation codes out there but each member is limited to how many invitations they can give out. I think I have one left at my invitation code: 9V1G62J

What I like about Graze is that you can customize your boxes. They have over 100 different types of snacks in categories such as Dips & Dippers, Flapjacks (Granola bars essentially), Savory Snacks, A Touch of Chocolate, Healthy Treats, Pure Fruit, Whole Nuts, Pure Fruit Nuts & Seeds and Super Seeds. You can vote on each snack by choosing Trash if you don't want it, Try if you want to try it, Like if you think it's okay and Love if you adore it and want it again.

I went through all of the snacks before I got my first box and trashed anything I knew I didn't want to try. For example, I don't like Pistachios so I got rid of any Pistachio treats. I tried to keep an open mind and want to try as many as possible. As I get each box, I go back to my box's page (yes each of your boxes has it's own page, sort of like Birchbox) and I rate if I Liked it, Loved It or don't want it again, aka Trash. So far I have Liked or Loved everything I tried.

You can also customize your deliveries by choosing a Nibble Box or a Light Box. A Light box would only include low calorie treats whereas a Nibble box could include everything. If you are Vegan or have allergies to Gluten or Dairy, you can also customize based on your diet. Each box is a surprise but the customization helps for sure.

Below I am sharing my first boxes and each of the snacks and what I thought of them. I hope you'll give Graze a try! I am NOT sponsored by them and I only got some discounts based on their starter promotion and getting $1 off a box for each person I invite who joins the service. So basically these opinions are my own.

My only complaint about these boxes is that they take a while to arrive and there is no tracking because they are shipped via USPS ground. They are packed over the weekend and you have to set your ratings by Friday if you want to Trash anything and don't want it showing up in your next box. I usually get them on a Thursday or the following Monday.

 This is how the boxes arrive. I peeled off the label with my address for privacy.

My first box!

 Each box comes with a nutritional pamphlet, invitation codes and a 100% recycled napkin!

 Summer Berry Detox: Blueberries, Goji Berries, Golden Raisins and Cranberries

LOVE!

Cookies and Cream: Mini chocolate cookies, Roasted Hazelnuts, White Chocolate Wafers and Sunflower Seeds

LOVE!

 El Picante: Jumbo salted corn, hot chili peanuts and mini paprika breasticks

LOVE!

 Fruit & Seed Flapjacks

I almost trashed all the flapjacks as I assumed they would they would be dry and bland granola bars. To my surprise they are really moist and quite decadent in flavor and texture! These are my favorite. The sealed boxes help keep the snacks fresh.

LOVE!

 My second box

 

 Herby Bread Basket: Mini Garlic Croutons, Mini Basil Breadsticks and Oregano Rice Crackers

LOVE!

Garden of England: Mini Strawberries, Blackcurrants and Apple

LOVE!

I was skeptical but ended up loving this one. It's such a deliciously tart mix of dried fruit.

Hot Cross Yum: Mini Meringues, Cinnamon & Honey Almonds and Orange Infused Raisins

Like 

This one was okay. Wasn't too terribly impressed. I might try it one more time and trash it.

Natural Vanilla Seeds: Vanilla Sunflower and Pumpkin Seeds

LOVE!

I was convinced I would hate this one but the vanilla coating made them crunchy and sweet and delicious!

 My third box!

 

My Thai: Sweet Chili Sauce and Baked Soy Bites

Like or possibly Trash

It was tasty and spicy but not worth the money in my opinion. Too much dip too few bites.

Nacho Libre: Salsa Almonds, Cheesy Sombreros and Jumbo Chili Corn

LOVE!

 Apple Cinnamon Flapjacks

My favorite of all the snacks I have tried!

LOVE!

 Honeycomb Crunch: Milk Chocolate Coated Honeycomb, Raisins and Plain Almonds

Like

It was way too sweet with the raisins but the honeycomb and almonds were a good match.

My fourth box

Cheddar Gorge: Cheese Cashews, Baked Herb Bites and Salsa Corn Sticks

LOVE!

 Marvellous Macaroon: Amaretti Drops, Almond Slices, Coconut Flakes and White Chocolate Wafers

LOVE!

Perfect mix of crunchy and smooth!

Mango Lassi: Yogurt Coated Peanuts, Pumpkin Seeds and Dried Mango

LOVE!

My favorite of the snacks are the ones that aren't too sweet like this one!

Tutti Frutti: Blueberry Infused Cranberries, Pineapple, Cherry Infused Raisins and Golden Raisins

Like or Trash

I'm confused by this one. I feel like infusing one fruit with another is kind of strange. The raisins seem more like filler. It was tasty though so I'm torn.

Healthy Eats

Just thought I'd share a couple of healthy dinner ideas. Above is my Hoisin Chicken, oven roasted sweet potato, steamed broccoli, cucumber slices and brown rice. It makes for a very delicious and healthy dinner. I just wish brown rice reheated better for leftovers!

Thanks to Athena for the heads up on the website and publication Clean Eating Magazine. I found this Ginger-Lime Kale recipe on there. It had Kale, ginger, lime, Butternut Squash, Chickpeas and Pomegrantes. Such an unusual combination but so delicious! It's a very hardy side so you only need to pair this with a protein for a complete dinner.

On Weight Gain

 Image Source

On November 2008, I decided I really needed to lose some weight. I started changing my diet and worked out a whole lot. It took me from November ’08 to June ’09 but I lost 15 pounds. In June ’09 I met my soon-to-be-husband Carlos. Suddenly I was going out to eat a lot, spending a lot of time with him developing our relationship and less time at the gym. I also started taking bc pills (as you do). Not only did I gain back those 15 pounds, I gained 15 more on top of that. The biggest mistake on my part was not buying a new scale immediately when my old one broke. When I finally did get around to buying a new scale was when I noticed the 30 pound weight gain. If I had gotten a replacement scale earlier I could have nipped this in the bud earlier. But I didn’t.

Now it’s September 2012 and I still haven't lost any of that weight. It took me over a year to gain the 30 pounds and I’ve been trying to lose it for 2 years without any success.  The most I lost was 5 pounds and I would gain it back within a couple of weeks. I have not surpassed my highest weight from 2010 but I can't maintain any weight loss either. Why can't I lose the weight? I really don't know. I just know I have some obstacles in my way:

Metabolism – My metabolism has slowed as I’ve gotten older. It started to slow when I was a teenager. I noticed that I started gaining weight even though I hadn’t changed my eating habits. Unfortunately, my eating habits back then were really bad. Lots of fast food restaurants including Taco Bell, DQ, McDonald's and Wendy's. With each year, I’ve learned more and more about nutrition and exercise and my lifestyle has improved immensely. However, my metabolism keeps getting slower and I find it just too easy to gain weight, very difficult to maintain weight (I work on it daily) and almost impossible to lose weight.

Time Crunch – I used to be able to devote a full hour to exercise every evening. That included cardio and strength training. Now that I’m in a long-term relationship, I find I have less time. I devote at least 30-45 minutes on weekdays to exercise and try to do more than an hour on Saturday and Sunday. If I can get 2-3 hours on a Saturday or Sunday, even better! I’ve had to put some of my hobbies aside in order to devote time to exercise. I read less, watch fewer movies, blog less, spend less time online (when I’m home) and don’t hang out with my friends as much. All of these sacrifices have been made just to be able to make time to make dinner and exercise.

Medicine – I know that there have been studies that show that bc pills don’t cause weight gain but I think it’s all based on some sort of technicality. I really do blame a lot of my weight gain on my medication. It’s increased my hunger immensely. I never used to be this hungry all the time. Also, I’ve read studies that say that the pill makes you more efficient in digesting carbohydrates. They turn into fat a lot more easily than if you are off the pill. The bloat and the mild depression that it causes doesn’t help much either especially with comfort and with motivation.

Hypoglycemia – A low blood sugar drop is dangerous and it's an every day worry for me. I always have candies or chocolates on me in case of an emergency. I can not go more than 4 hours without eating. It’s just not possible. As soon as I break my fast in the morning, I have to eat every 2-3 hours. This makes me feel like a total pig. I’ve switched my snacks to healthy options. My in-between meal snacks are fruit, plain almonds, dark chocolate, etc. They used to be more carb and sugar-based options so I’m glad I switched them out. But I still have to eat all damn day. I'm sure my coworkers think I'm some kind of food addict. And the increase in hunger from my medication hasn’t helped either. Also in the past, the pill has made my hypoglycemia worse. I’m sure that's what's happening now too. I’ve stopped drinking caffeine altogether as it causes my insulin to rise and blood sugar to drop triggering my hypoglycemia.

Picky Eating & IBS – There is a really severe conflict between my appetite, my mind and my digestive system. I get bored with food really easily and have to constantly find new recipes to make for meals. My mind tells me I should have grilled chicken/fish for veg each dinner but when I try to do that my appetite gets repulsed. And my digestive system, because of my IBS, just doesn't like anything but cereal. The biggest problem I have is with chicken which I tend to be grossed out by in texture even though I enjoy the flavor. My mind tells me grilled chicken with veg, my appetite tells me meatballs, spaghetti and green beans and my stomach tells me “none of the above”. Trying to pacify my appetite, mind and stomach is very difficult sometimes impossible. It’s something I struggle with every day.

Stress - I don't want to go into this too much but my current situation isn't very good. My relationships are all fine but I do need to make some other life changes so I can move forward. Also, I have a bit of a medical emergency that is weighing on my mind (I go to the hospital for treatment next week). All the stress makes me snack more.

I have a lot of obstacles ahead of me if I really want to lose the 30 pounds I gained plus the other 10 pounds I was originally intending to lose.

Have you ever struggled with weight gain and weight loss? What worked for you? What didn’t?