Nutribox review – gluten free, healthy snacks for the workplace

Many offices will often rely on their vending machine – or in our case the tuck shop – for something to get them through the mid afternoon slump. It also doesn’t help that at my workplace, we have a McDonald’s down the road which often gets repeat daily visits for coffees and pep-me-ups.

So when I was contacted by Fruitdrop and asked if my office and I would like to sample one of their brand new Nutriboxes filled with healthy treats and snacks, I was intrigued. The idea is kind of like a Graze box but a lot bigger – you buy a certain number of boxes between you as an office which are delivered either weekly, fortnightly or monthly – or you can trial it as a one off too.

In the Artisan Box, which I was sent, I was sent the following:

• Dried Fruit and Nut Mixes
• Energy Bars
• Veg Crisps Packs
• Fruit Crisps Packs
• Freeze Dried Fruit Packs
•  Olive Packs

There was an instant buzz in the office the minute I opened the box (hey, we’re journalists, who doesn’t love a freebie!?) with everyone gathering to see what was inside. We didn’t know where to start – so we quite literally dived right in and scoffed as much as possible!

Some of my favourites from the box were…

Nookie bars

There were my absolute favourite thing in the whole box! I think I might have eaten about four of them, oops! They were kind of like a healthier version of a chocolate brownie, with a nutty crunch – I honestly couldn’t believe how tasty these were!

Raw strawberry balls and dried strawberries

Two strawberry treats in one! The strawberry fruit and nut balls were yummy – a similar idea to Nakd bars (see review here). They were really sweet and a bitesized treat which was perfect at 4pm when my energy was draining.

The simply strawberries were also amazing – they taste just like sweets! A few colleagues weren’t so keen but my boss and I rated these highly and made our way through all the packets!

Air-dried apple crisps

I really didn’t know what to expect from these, but I was pleasantly surprised. I couldn’t work out if they were going to sweet or savoury – they had an interesting crunch and then a burst of sweetness as you chewed them up. I was really impressed! It made me want to get a dehydrator and have a go at making my own…

Parsnip and manuka honey crisps

I’ve had vegetable crisps before but these could be the best ones yet! There was a hint of sweetness to the parsnip and munka honey, with a spicy flavouring which was the perfect contrast. There were only a few packets of these and they were the first item to disappear – I’d definitely buy these again.

Other items

The rest of the box concluded of fruit and nut mixes – these were the last to go and I think there are still a few left – and olive packs which went so fast I didn’t even manage to get a photograph! The fruit and nut packs had different combinations, though I was a bit disappointed at the fact they all had added sugar and sunflower oil – not particularly healthy!

NB: Since publishing this post a fellow blogger pointed out that the fruit and nut packs cannot be guaranteed gluten free. Best save those ones for your colleagues then….

Overall though, I thought this was a good idea. It’s so much healthier than relying on the vending machine and it’s always nice to open a surprise box and see what’s in store. You can find more information on Nutribox and on their website.