REVIVE VoxBox Product Reviews

So, I mentioned on Facebook that I had received a goodie box full of fun stuff to try and was going to be writing reviews about them.  And you may have seen some of those posts on Facebook and Instagram, but in case you didn't, here is a list of everything that I got to try.  Remember that all of these things were sent to me free to try but the opinions are my own because you are my friends and I would not want you to try something that wasn't any good!

I wanted to take a picture of the whole box...you know, unopened and then me opening it and then it all laid out.  But the mail came early that day so it got stuck on the table and my boys opened it.  I thought, "Wow, that must not have had very strong tape on it."  But then Josiah informed me that he had gotten the scissors from the drawer and cut the tape so that they could open it better.  I intervened before Nate opened the cookies and the protein drink powder was dusted all over the entryway!

The Snackwell's Biscuit Thins were the first thing I tried.  Honestly it's because they were cookies and I wasn't sure how long I could keep Nate out of them!  And they have coffee in them which is the LAST thing a 2-year-old needs!  They are so cute with little words on them.  Like my Dutch Bros. lids.  Or a fortune cookie.  Or the little papers on tea bags.  Apparently I need my food and drinks to tell me nice things.

Roses courtesy of Danny for my un-birthday. 
Mug courtesy of a great friend when I needed it.

And they tasted good.  I had the French Vanilla Latte which is exactly what they tasted like...only crunchy.  So they are perfect if you want a cookie, and coffee, and protein all in one crunchy package.

Tell me you don't like your snacks to say nice things to you! ;)

I received three single serve coffee pods to taste test as well.  (Coffee cookies and coffee itself!  These people know me well!  It must be the surveys I filled out telling them all my secrets.)  There was a slight problem though...I don't actually have a K-cup style brewer.  I planned a coffee tasting with a friend who does, but then the boys got sick so we had to cancel.  :(  Instead I just opened one up and poured it into the cutest little tiniest coffee maker you've ever seen.  My dad bought it to make one cup of coffee at a time, which is exactly what it does.  I tried the Kauai Coffee (because I LOVE this coffee when my  brother and sister-in-law bring it from Hawaii) and the Chock full o'Nuts (because I've wanted to try it ever since I started couponing with my mom in late elementary school).  I still love Kauai Coffee but the Chock full o'Nuts was pretty strong for me because in reality I don't actually drink coffee because I like coffee but because I like it as the base for yummy coffee drinks!  Full disclosure on this here blog.

A yummy coffee drink made with a Kauai Coffee Pod.

But the best thing about these coffee pods are that they are compostable!  That's cool whether you have worm beds or compost piles or not.  It turns out that coffee pods are the new water bottle of the Earth.  Remember when bottled water first came out and plastic bottles were everywhere until a deposit started being charged on them so they would be recycled?  This year alone, enough coffee pods will be sold to circle the Earth 13 times!  That's a lot of times.  So, compostable is cool and worms really like coffee grounds FYI.

 

 

This is the bottom of the coffee pod.
Kind of like a mini coffee filter instead of a plastic cup.

One of the other things I received to try were some protein and meal replacement powders from The Vitamin Shoppe.  Now, I am not a fan of protein powders to begin with.  I would rather just use natural sources of protein and I can taste fake sweeteners so they always taste off to me.  I tried the Body Tech Whey Tech Pro 24 in Strawberries & Cream blended into a strawberry banana smoothie.  I didn't like it, but Danny said it tasted fine.  (He does like protein powders and uses them often.)

Then I tried the Next Step Fit N' Full Shake in Cookies n Cream because I like cookies and cream.  I made it mixed with water and blended with a little ice so that it would be more shake like.  I could barely get a quarter of it down.  :P

Cookies n Cream

For the Plnt Plant Protein in Vanilla, I decided just to add a scoop to my Orange Creamsicle Smoothie.  That was much better.  It added a little extra flavor and didn't taste fake.  Plus, there are no GMOs in it so you know I like that.

I realize this Orange Creamsicle Smoothie does not look wonderful, but it really is good. 
And the leftovers make yummy popsicles.

Here's the recipe for the Orange Creamsicle Smoothie:
 

1 can frozen orange juice
1 cup milk
1 cup water
10 ice cubes
1/4 cup oatmeal (optional)
1 tablespoon chia seeds (optional)
1 scoop vanilla protein powder (optional)

If using oatmeal and chia, blend them to a powder. Add remaining ingredients and blend until slushy. Omit protein powder if serving to kids, pour theirs and then add the powder to yours. Makes enough for two adults and two small children.

This is the last product I got to try.  Some of you may know that I once had hair down to my knees.  Having it to my feet was my goal.  It goes back to my childhood and watching Elvira on commercials around Halloween.  I now realize she may not have been the best role model for a five-year-old, but all I knew was that she was beautiful and had incredibly long hair.  Actually, that's about all I still know about her.  Is she famous for something other than being a Halloween mascot?

Anyway, my hair is now to the middle of my back (the shortest it's ever been by the way, which goes back to being bald until I was two and pictures in which I look like a boy after my mom hacked it off when I was three for not letting her brush it.  All my hair issues stem from childhood.  I won't even get started on bangs right now!).  So, even though my hair is shorter, it is still a thick, curly, {often} frizzy tangle.  I only wash my hair a couple of times a week or it would never dry.  All of that to say I had to wait for hair washing day before I could try this shampoo and crème rinse, which I adore!

Those are great curls and I had nothing to do with them.  I just washed like normal using the SheaMoisture shampoo and crème rinse and used a little hairspray like I normally do after washing because it makes me feel like I did something to my hair.  And the shampoo smells nice according to Danny (and me too but it's nice when someone else notices).

I love it!  And it's sulfate free and other gunky stuff free so you don't have to worry about that!

Like I said before, I got all of this stuff free to try from Influenster.  I participated in a few online reviews of products I had already tried on my own and filled out a few surveys.  That was it.  Then I got this box of goodies, tried them and wrote the reviews where they asked me to.  Easy and fun!  (Well, except when I wrote this blog the first time and almost all of it self-destructed...but the rest was fun!)  If you'd like to sign up and try it out, follow this link and I get some points for referring you: www.influenster.com/r/2032137

And, if you follow any of the links below so that you can try these products yourself, I get a small percentage back, which is fun for me and costs you nothing extra.  It's a little way for me to make money and not have annoying pop-up ads which drive me bonkers.  :)  So, thanks!




Do you like your snacks to tell you nice things?

Who was a role model for you when you were young?

I received these products complimentary from Influenster for testing purposes.