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Bestowed
Cost: $20/month
Ships To: United States
Coupon Code: Thru 9.15 (aka tonight) use “FIRST” to get the first month of a 3 or 6-month membership free. Or use “YUM5” to save $5 off your first month.
Bestowed, who kindly sent me this box to review, is a monthly subscription box that offers 5+ amazing nutrition and lifestyle products delivered to your door every month – each one hand picked by celebrity nutritionist and author Heather Bauer. It’s $20/month and delivers around the 15th of the month.
Bestowed ships via DHL Global Mail and took about five days to arrive to me. They have used a few different shipping methods over the past year or so, but it appears they are sticking with DHL.
I received a ton of packages today, but Bestowed was one of the ones I opened first. I love seeing what snacks they include.
The September 2014 Bestowed box was all about providing subscribers with a variety of choices that will help you drink and snack nutritionally without sacrificing taste. Here is what was included:
~Balance bare Sea Salt Caramel Nut Bar: I am usually not a huge fan of these types of bars, but the caramel and sea salt has me into this one.
~Bitsy’s Brainfood Smart Cookies: You wouldn’t think lemon and broccoli would really go together in a cookie, but my kids love these. Every time we get a pack they are all gone within days.
~HelloFresh Gift Card: I have gotten HelloFresh on a number of occasions so I can’t use this gift card (it’s for new customers only). I actually think that I have gotten it in a Bestowed box in the past. It would be great if repeat customers could utilize these wouldn’t it?
~Justin’s Nut Butter Squeeze Pack: I love getting these little packs from Justin’s in my boxes. They are convenient and delicious.
~Natural Calm: Bestowed recommends trying a warm glass of this at night before bed to help you get a more restful and relaxing night of sleep. I may give it a try next weekend. I never seem to get a really good night’s sleep.
~Qure Water: This water is suppose to have the perfect combination of “pristine purified water infused with the earth’s alkaline minerals”. The information booklet also says it has a powerful and stable alkaline pH of 9.5+ which doesn’t actually mean to much to me. I am not familiar with alkaline water – this is actually the first I have heard of it – but I plan to do some reading up on more of its benefits.
~Super Eats Kale & Chia Chips: I don’t mind kale chips. They aren’t Ruffles or anything, but that’s the point. Add some hummus or spinach dip and we’re really talking!
If you are interested in ordering Bestowed, or just want to learn more, click here and use the coupon code “YUM5” to save $5 off your first box. Or you can also use the coupon code “FIRST” to get your first box of a three or six month membership free. But that code expires tonight so you need to act fast! In addition, Bestowed also has an online shop containing most of the items from this month’s box, so make sure to check that out as well!
Natural Calm really works for me, I have trouble sleeping and I am a night owl like you are, it helps quiet the mind and body for me. I even gave up my melatonin, hope it works for you!
How long before bed do you take it?
30-60 minutes. I use about 1 tbsp in lemon lime seltzer water. I used it before a stressful dentist appointment too, and thought it helped although it could have been all in my mind!
“Alkaline water” is junk science. (I have a PhD in biochemistry. I get irritated when companies prey on people without a lot of science knowledge by making up health claims that they cannot support.) Your body is optimized to maintain a pH of around 7. Drinking soda or lemonade (i.e., acid, or pH 7). You can click on my screen name for a short Q&A about it (from a source I trust).
Anyway, my tap water pH is higher than 9; I tested it with an aquarium pH kit once. I managed to develop an acid reflux problem in spite of drinking “alkaline water” from my own tap!
I’ve gotten those kale + chia chips at least twice before in other boxes. I did like them, though. I have a weakness for Balance bars so I will probably like that. My guess is, there’s so little broccoli in the cookies that it doesn’t count as a serving of vegetables. (I haven’t had this exact product but I’ve had two other similar brands.)
I don’t like coupons in sub boxes where they’re not good for the full price of the item and you have to shell out additional money. The Hello Fresh menus for vegetarians are loaded with mushrooms (which I cannot force myself to eat — they always make me gag, it’s a texture thing).
I only paid something like $11 with this box (had a good promo code) so I won’t be too upset when it comes. But I probably won’t keep it when my 6 months are up.
I am totally going to check that out. I wonder what my tap water is? I really have no idea and I had no idea this was even a “thing”.
Umm, I so hear you on the mushrooms. So slimy.
Alkaline water is supposed to help balance your body, lose weight, and some other stuff. I never paid much attention to it. I do wish that subscription boxes rewarded their regular customers. I think that if they are included a discount to a different sub that it should be useable by all.
I actually have no idea what the PH level of my water at home is. Should I know this?
Water is usually neutral with a pH balance around 7. You may be able to find the pH balance online at the water company’s website if you use public water. The public water that I use in the suburbs is 8.5 which means it is alkaline. The question is – is it alkaline for a good reason or because of chemicals. The well water at my country property is pH 7.0 which is neutral. Whole Foods sells alkaline water.
Water that is not pH 7 can make cheese making and other small business ventures difficult because recipes have to be adapted.
There’s a lot more to this, but the whole idea is that an Alkaline based diet is healthier than an Acidic diet. There are urine-strips that you can use to test the pH balance of your body which ideally should be around 7.4. The American diet is generally a high Acidic diet causing the body PH balance to be leaning more on the acidic side which can lead to preventable disease. I found out all about this when researching rosacea. Most foods that people consider to be enjoyable are alkaline foods. Hope this all makes sense!
I got my box yesterday. Better than last month but not too impressed still. I got sweet potato cookies which I am looking forward to trying! I don’t have any interest in trying Hello Fresh to be honest. It’s too pricey for me. Even with $40 off it looks like I would be paying $29 for three meals for 2 people. I’m pretty sure I can do three meals for my husband and I for less than that with my own shopping/couponing. And it’s definitely a bummer that repeat customers can’t use it! Really makes it worthless.
Was very disappointed with this box..the kale chips were disgusting..had a lingering sea food smell. It just doesn’t seem right paying 20 dollars for this. I am going to cancel.