Love With Food April 2013 Review

My much anticipated Love With Food April box arrived yesterday and I couldn't open it fast enough. If you are not familiar with this sub, here's more information: 

The Box: Love with Food 

Get a box of gourmet food shipped to you monthly, with new flavors curated with a different theme every month. 
Price: $12 / month ($10 + $2 / shipping) 
Highlights: *gourmet food; *shop full-size products at a discount; *meal donated with every box; *earn credit points from reviews

This month's Love With Food box has teamed up with "the master of bizarre foods" Andrew Zimmern to celebrate the launch of his "Field Guide to Exceptionally Weird, Wild & Wonderful Foods". He has selected some of his favorite bites to feature in the box. The box was packed full; take a look at all the included treats:

There was a total of eight items from seven brands, and I wasn't familiar with any of them (that is a good thing as it's all about discovery). Here are the details:

Air Popped Sorhum Grain from Mini Pops
Very similar to popcorn, these mini grains are much tinier, with a buttery flavor and all natural. Sorghun is said to be the 5th most harvested cereal grain on the globe - didn't know that and have never had it before - certainly not instead of popcorn. This is the first snack I tried and I loved it! It tastes very much like popcorn, however it's crunchier and more buttery, and incredibly cute since it looks like "mini popcorn". Also, I specifically liked the fact it was not salty at all - I usually buy the unflavored all-natural popcorn... My daughter loved this snack, as well. The Mini Pops website lists other tempting varieties... I'll definitely be looking for sorghum grain pops on my next grocery store trip.

Cocomels from JJ's Sweets
There was one original and one sea salt cocomel included. These are all-natural coconut milk caramels. They are dairy-free, gluten-free, soy-free, GMO-free and vegan, and... apart from all that, they are (well, were!) absolutely delicious! I liked both varieties - smooth and not overly sweet like some of the regular caramels. The included card said the cocomels were available in eight "mouthwatering flavors" - well, I might just have to try all of these. These do look yummy!

Organic Fennel Polled from Pollen Ranch
There was a tiny packet of fennel seasoning included in the box - the smell of the fennel is definitely overpowering... It's said to be "hand-collected from the wild" and that you can use it in both savory and sweet dishes; also, there was a meat recipe included, so I might give this a try.

Lemony Lover Olives from Oloves
I love olives so I was excited to see this pack included in the box. These are green olives marinated with lemon, garlic & oregano. While I prefer black olives (Moroccan & Kalamata are among my favorite), I'm curious to try these green ones as the flavors combination does sound like something I'll like. Oloves seems to be based in the UK and says its products are sold in 14 countries.

Salty Pepper Nuggets from Somersault Snacks
I really like the packaging design of this snack, although I'm not so sure I'd like the snack itself. These are said to be "crunchy crackers made with sunflower seeds, toasted grains and a touch of garlic, onion, salt & pepper". I love crackers but I don't like pepper and onion in my crackers, so I'll see how I like these... The  company website lists other cracker varieties that seem more to my liking.

Creamy Buffalo Ranch Dip from Buff Lo Dip
This is a good-sized sample jar of buffalo wing & ranch dressing dip which I'm not sure how much I'll like as I typically don't use or buy either dressing... Still, I'll give it a try and I know my husband will probably like it on his chicken wings or even next time we have hotdogs.

Smoky Chilli & Lime Chickpea Snacks from The Good Bean
I really wanted to like these as I like chickpeas, however these were simply too spicy for me and way too sour. They are supposed to be really good for you because of all the fiber, etc., but I just did not like the flavor combination.

My verdict: Overall, I am happy with my April Love With Food box as I got to discover new and definitely different foods and flavor combinations. While not all of them were "wins" for me, I still enjoyed the process and I did discover two great new snacks - the Cocomels and the Mini Pops. If you want to learn more about Love With Food and sign up, you can do that through my invite link here. Thanks!

What did you think of this month's Love with Food selection? Did you find these wild,weird or wonderful?