Chocolate dipped granola bars and a review

Do you like surprises? I'm generally a little wary about surprises particularly when it comes to food as I'm a bit of a picky eater. Degustabox sends you a monthly surprise box with 9 to 14 surprise products, most of which are new to the market. A monthly subscription including delivery costs £12.99 which is less than what you would pay if you were to buy the items individually. They also give you a chance to feedback directly to the brands about whether you like the products or not. 

I thought it sounded like a good idea so I was pleased to be offered a box to review. The box is simple and tasteful and the products were well packed so they all arrived in pristine condition. There's a cute sticker which says" Open me, eat me... enjoy me!" when you open the box which is a nice little touch.

The contents of the box vary from month to month. I received this box in October but have not had a chance to write a review until now. My box consisted of :

• 3 x Burt's Lentil Waves in 3 different flavours - sour cream & chive, Thai sweet chili and Lightly Salted. 
• 1 x Jordans Simply Granola. 
• 2 x Pick up! - Milk chocolate sandwiched between 2 crisp biscuits and white chocolate sandwiched between 2 cocoa biscuits.
• 2 x Crabbie's alcoholic fruits - Raspberry and Rhubarb and Black Cherry. 
• 2 x Little Miracles- organic tea and fruit juice with ginseng and acai.
• 2 x Carnation Cook with It!
• 1 x Elixabeth Shaw's dark chocolate Mint Thins
• 1 x La Vieja Fabrica marmalade 

It was a good mix of snacks, drinks and cooking ingredients. I used the Carnation Cook with it! to make a chicken and leek stroganoff which turned out beautifully. The drinks and snacks were handy for our lunch boxes. I also decided to bake something with some of the ingredients and found this recipe by Edd Kimber for Honey Nut Bars.  The only change I made was to use simply granola which is what I had instead of the Super Nutty Granola in his recipe. I also added some mixed dried fruit.  I actually baked this recipe twice as the first time the granola bars stuck to the paper as I didn't spray the paper after lining the tin and I just couldn't peel the paper off no matter what. I then found my silicone individual tray bake tin which was perfect apart from the giant sized granola bars that it produced! However, they were very tasty and the chocolate added extra indulgence. 

My verdict - This is quite a fun and interesting way to try out new products for a reasonable price. Everyting is readily 'usable'- nothing gets relegated to the back of the cupboard to be forgotten. It would make a good gift for a foodie friend or relative. As I've only had 1 box, I'm not sure if items get repeated in future deliveries but looking at their website it looks like they have new products each month. Some brands are repeated but the products are different. The products are all of a reasonable quality and there's some money off vouchers in the box for certain brands. There's also a handy leaflet reminding you what's in the box with the RRP for each product. 

 mix the dried fruit and granola

 melt butter, sugar and honey 

 First attempt with a square tin

 second attempt with my silicone tray 

 no problem getting them out of the tin bu they are huge!

 dipped in chocolate for extra decadence 

Recipe adapted from Edd Kimber's Honey Nut Bars

300g Jordans simply granola
50g mixed dried fruit
125g clear honey
50g butter
25g light brown sugar
200g dark chocolate

• Mix the granola and dried fruit in a bowl and set aside.
• Heat the butter, sugar and honey in a small saucepan until completely melted.
• Pour the honey mixture over the granola and stir well.
• Press into silicone tin or a lined baking tray after using lots of cake release spray.
• Bake for 25-30 minute or until lightly golden.
• Allow to cool completely then place in the fridge if you want to dip the bars in chocolate.
• Melt the chocolate and dip half the bars in chocolate and place on parchment paper to dry. 

Disclaimer: I was sent a Degustabox for review purposes. A positive review was not required. All opinions expressed are my own. This is not a sponsored post.