Conscious Box Review – November 2012

Hello all!

Are you guys ready for Thanksgiving?  I can’t believe it’s already Thanksgiving.  I should realize by now that once November hits, the year-end is near. Very near. 2012 is almost over!  Very scary.  I remember back in the day when time would pass by SO slowly…and now it’s just going by too fast. 😦

I received my November Conscious Box on Friday evening but didn’t get to open it till Saturday.  I wanted to post up an update since Monday but was way too busy so here I am!  I actually peeked at the classic box packing list before I opened the box and I wasn’t too impressed by what I saw on the list.  Most likely because I wasn’t aware what all these products were.  Now that I’ve opened the box, I really like what I see in there.  I noticed this box was a lot heavier than the October box, too.  Awesome!

Here’s the un-boxing:

November Conscious Box

Cool postcard

“Express Appreciation”
Also, November is also the first anniversary of Conscious Box.
They had mentioned that it was a very special box for November because of their anniversary.

Closer look at the postcard

What I saw when I opened the box.
Packed to the brim!

That’s a lot of loot! 🙂

1)  Freekeh Grains – Tamari Roasted Green Wheat:  This is a totally new ingredient to me.  From what I can gather, it’s another healthy and nutritious grain, similar to Quinoa.  It’s been around since 2000 years ago and was discovered by accident.  You can cook it the same way you cook rice and other grains.  We like quinoa and this looks like it could be pretty tasty and healthy, too!  Excited to try it.  This is priced at $2.40 per bag.

2)  Pamela’s Baking & Pancake Mix:   All Natural, Wheat-Free and Gluten-Free! Healthy Pancakes!  8 grams of whole grains per serving.  This sounds great.  We eat a lot of pancakes on the weekend when we’re too lazy to go out and grab breakfast so this is perfect.  Price:  $1.52 per 100g bag.

3)  Justin’s Organic Peanut Butter Cups – MM…organic peanut butter cups?  I haven’t shown this to Meanie yet. He’ll gobble it up!  I read on their FB page that there was a recall because the peanut butter may contain salmonella but these peanut butter cups are safe since they were sent to Conscious Box after the recall.  I’m very familiar with this recall since I had bought a box of Jamwich’s from Costco for CB and we were sent a letter that there was a recall because of the possibility of salmonella in the peanut butter.  No sicknesses have been reported but there was no way I was going to take this risk!  [I just brought in my box over the weekend and was refunded]. Price – $1.89 for 2 peanut butter cups.

4) Lush Nuts – Dark Cocoa Chili:  These sound fantastic! Dark cocoa and a kick of spice in nuts. Definitely very interesting. Indeedio!  Price:  $7.00/5 oz.  The little bag is about 22 grams = 0.77 oz.  1 oz is approximately about $1.40.  I’m just going to say that little packet costs about $1.04

5) SweetLeaf Sweet Drops Sweetener – Vanilla Creme flavor – This really intrigues me.  I can use this instead of Splenda or Agave Syrup to sweeten my coffee?  Tea?  Awesome! I gotta try this. Not only does it sweeten without all the bad stuff, it’s also Vanilla Creme flavored so it’ll go great with coffee!  Yum!  It’s stevia-based.  This sounds too good to be true! And wow, there are so many flavors it comes in, too –

 Coconut • Watermelon • Cola • Lemon Drop • Valencia Orange • Berry 
Chocolate Raspberry • English Toffee • Vanilla Crème • Hazelnut • Peppermint • Root Beer
Grape • Apricot Nectar • Chocolate • Cinnamon – 

So many varieties!  Wow, this little bottle costs $14.99!

6) Simply Organic – Minced Onion:  I know I took a picture of this twice but this little container is so cute! I’ll only count it once, I swear!  Minced onion can be very useful.  They also attached a card containing recipes with the minced onion.  Picture to come later.  This little bottle is called a Mini Spice. So cute!  It costs $2.09.

7)  Teecino! – I’ve already gotten several samples of Teecino but I haven’t tried them yet.  It’s basically caffeine free herbal coffee.  I wish I had known about this when I was pregnant.  Apparently people drink this when they want to cut down on coffee and caffeine.  You can drink this alone or pair it with milk and sugar, just like coffee!  The three flavors I have above are Mediterranean Mocha Herbal Coffee (makes 6 cups) [$2.50]; French Roast and Vanilla Nut Herbal Coffee tee-bags – $0.50 each totaling to about $1.00 for both tee-bags.

8)  Organic India Tulsi Tea – I’m actually not familiar with this product.  Tulsi is also known as Holy Basil.  It’s supposed to help with the immune system and to help with stress.  Wow, a product that will help with my immune system (much needed!) and relieve stress?  I’ll take it.  One tea bag is about $0.28

Here’s the other picture of the minced onion. I can’t get over how cute the jar is!

9) L’Ecuyer’s Gourmet Caveman Rub – L’Ecuyer Gourmet sells a lot of products.  This is copied and pasted from the About Me section about Renee L’Ecuyer and why she started making her own products.

“After enduring years of chronic allergies and dealing with reactions to so many foods, elements, and chemicals I decided to make things myself! Try them out! You won’t be unhappy! Why did I go this far? I have a very rare immune disorder that pushed me to find ways to survive in this chemical, processed laden world! It has helped tremendously! I am a Certified Family Nurse Practitioner through training, turned entrepreneur and only want to see people be healthy and happy. No information on this web site constitutes medical advice! As always, if you have any questions regarding your individual health care, seek the advice or your personal health care provider.“

There seems to be plenty of informative topics, too.  The blog is worth browsing!

Caveman Rub is a blend of chili powder, cumin, sea salt, various peppers, and oregano’s to make this caveman rub a must have!!  All of the rubs do not contain onion or garlic for those who may be allergic.  A 4 oz bottle costs $5.00 and a 2 oz refill costs $3.00.  I’m not sure how much the little packet contains but it’s definitely less than 2 oz, or 1 oz.  I’m sure a little of that rub goes a long way!  Just gotta figure out what to try it on.  Hmmm..so many options!

10) Bonus:  Avalon Organics lip balm. – I LOVE lip balm!  I am a fanatic.  I have several chap sticks and lip balm and I must keep my lips moisturized or else I am just not a happy camper.   This website is worth browsing.  They also create other items, too, and baby items!  The lip balm I got is a Soothing Vanilla Rosemary kind.  Here is the product description:  Organic coconut and olive oils moisturize while organic shea butter protects against drying. We use organic stevia leaf extract for a never-too-sweet flavor and organic rosemary to soothe your lips. Enriched with Vitamin E to nourish and heal.  This costs $2.99

I did not receive the Bloomers as listed on the packing list.  I do not know any other information about it and I’m sorry that I cannot share with you what the product list.  The description on the packing list is as follows:

“Bloomers – For some of us, gardening is a year round activity.  For others, it has to wait until spring…but no matter the time, getting your hands a bit dirty and growing your own food is healthy, sustainable, and fun.  Add this pack of seeds by Bloomers to your flourishing greenhouse of greatness or hey, make it the first seeds in the soil next spring!“

I’m not unhappy that I did not receive this. I do not have a green thumb. I envy those who do have it but plants tend to die on me. 😦  I wish I could have a flourishing garden and grow my own vegetables but I just do not have the knack or skill for it.  Oh, woe is me.  So these seeds would have been wasted on me anyway so it’s a good thing I did not receive it!

Additional reading material contained in box with recipes and ideas.

So the November box costs approximately…more than $30.70 since I couldn’t figure out the price of the Caveman Rub. I think this box is really worth it and I really did love it!  Next month’s Conscious Box will be last one since my subscription will be over and I really need to cut back on my spending money. I’m a little sad but I’m really glad that I jumped on this offer! 🙂

By the way, I received my Thanksgiving Cravebox yesterday.  I opened it and I’m just not happy with it at all.  Review to come.

[Note:  This post is entirely my opinion and I was not paid or compensated in any way to state my honest review]

Conscious Box Review – October 2012

Wheeee, I received my first Conscious Box on Friday!  To those who are not familiar with Conscious Box, it is a monthly subscription box that’s sent to your door.  It costs $12/month plus you need to pay for shipping which costs $7.95 so it’s about $19.95 a month.  You can also purchase 3-month subscriptions (total $56.85) or a 6-month subscription (total $111.60) That’s not too bad considering the amount of stuff you get in the boxes.  I hopped on an offer Plum District was offering and purchased a 3-month subscription for only $14 because I had a coupon, too.  Click here to read all about it.

There are two kinds of boxes – The Classic box and now there’s a Vegan box available.

Signing up for Conscious Box is very easy.  You just click onto whatever subscription you’re interested in (single box, 3-month subscription or 6-month subscription) and then you’re in the PayPal page where you just pay right then and there.  No need to create an account with them or anything like that. I was a little worried about that because I couldn’t log in to the account to see when a box was coming.  People have mentioned they get an email with a tracking number with it but I never received one.  I do know a box is supposed to arrive by the 15th of every month though so that was good to know.  Imagine my surprise when I found the box in my mailbox on Friday evening!  Yay!

I’ve heard a lot of raves about the Conscious Box and how people are always happy with their subscription.  According to Subscription Boxes, Conscious Box is the most top-rated box right now out there.  Conscious Box is a little more unique compared to other subscription boxes available now since all of the products they send out are all eco-friendly, which is a big plus!  I was a little reluctant to jump on this because of the price tag and I already have a subscription with Citrus Lane but I couldn’t pass up on the offer through Plum District (it’s not available anymore).  I was also a little reluctant because it’s an eco-friendly box.  I don’t consider myself as a totally green person. Maybe here and there but I’d like to improve on that.  So I was a little worried that I wouldn’t like the products in the box.  I was worrying for nothing!

I opened my box on Friday evening, after the kiddies have gone to bed so I haven’t shared the goods yet.  I’m tempted to hoard these goodies but I’d be a bad Mama Bear if I didn’t share!

The box itself seemed a little small to me. I always pictured it to be a little bigger. It really doesn’t matter though since it was packed to the max!  The box had 11 items total, plus coupons!  I heard Conscious Box stopped enclosing a packing list in their boxes but now it’s online. Click here for the list.  I haven’t ripped into the goodies yet so I don’t have a review for the munchies yet. They look good, though!

Here are my pictures.  I apologize in advance if some are blurry.

The box that was sitting in my mailbox.

What I saw when I opened the box.
A welcome note from Conscious Box. 🙂

The other side of the card – it gives you some ideas to re-use the box.
I would probably use mine to hold some of CB’s crayons or something.
I would even re-use the box for gifts!

The actual box where all the goodies are hidden inside.
It looks so pretty!

What I see when I open the pretty box.
Everything is packed so neatly!

The theme of the box – Autumn, Halloween, October!

A closer look at the pretty postcard included, on top of the hidden goodies below.

First exposed goodie – RW Garcia Dippers –
3 Seed Curry & Mango chips.
Sounds good but haven’t tried yet.
They say these chips go very well with avocados.
I’ll have to get some next week to try these chips to the fullest!

These look good.  I’ve only tried one thing from a past Bluum box.
They are:  Clandestino – Banana Bar (the packaging looks really hip!);
Larabar – I see these everywhere but haven’t tried yet.
Bumble Bar Organic Sesame – I’ve tried this before. It’s very tasty!
Crum Creek – Soy Nut Mix – I actually received this in my Book Lovers Cravebox. Haven’t tried it yet though.

VitaRocks – Vitamins that are just like Pop Rocks!  They’re for kids but I want to try it too! 🙂
Yummy Earth Organic lollipop – I am very familiar with these since I was noshing on them while preggers.
They’re very good!  I actually bought them in bulk from Amazon and passed them out for Halloween and included them in CB’s birthday goodie bags.  My MIL also loves these!
Teatulia – I love tea! Looking forward to trying this.
Zarbees – cough syrup for kids.  This is great because CB often catches a bad cough from daycare and he’s too young for other meds.  I’ll be sure to try this out this winter to see how it goes.

Pretty postcard
GoodLight Natural Candles – I love candles!
I just haven’ t lit them in a while because I have gremlins munchkins running around.
Geo Deo Island Natural Deodorant – This is great.  No, really, I’m serious. I’ve been looking around for something like this.  In fact, I already bought some in bulk from Amazon (Gah) but a different brand.
I just started using both products over the weekend and so far, I’m pretty happy with both!
I’m not sure how effective they would be in the summer (Me = sweaty pig = oink) but for right now, it is effective and my armpits don’t feel gunked up with crap, which is the last thing I need.
Geo Deo Island has a nice pleasant smell, which is not too overpowering.
Something on me smells really nice but I’m not sure if it’s the the deodorant or the new shampoo I’ve been using that SheSpeaks sent me – Clear Shampoo and Conditioner.

Whatever it is, I smell awesome, like flowers!  🙂

Coupons and stuff.

There it is, all the contents in my box.  I’m not sure how much all of this costs but I’m pretty sure it’s more than $12.61/month (how much I paid for my subscription with the Plum District Offer and $5 coupon I had).  I was so pleased with this box that I actually jumped on the Super Mystical Magical Mystery Conscious Box for only $19.95 (shipping included).  Honestly, I’ve been eyeing this box for a while but wasn’t sure I wanted to.  Right after I opened my October box, I jumped on that Super Mystical Magical Mystery Conscious Box.  I mean, how could I not, with a name like that?  LOL  It’s still available if any of you are interested in it. I hear all the boxes are different so no box is going to be the same.  They should be shipping soon so I’ll be looking forward to receiving it.

My verdict?  Two thumbs up!

[This post is entirely my opinion and I was not paid or compensated in any way to state my honest review]