Hello hello, this month I'm excited to have quite a few Japanese themed crates to show you but this one is a special one to me because it was the first crate I ever received in the mail. They gave me the whole idea to start unboxing and writing about these boxes and the folks at Japan Crate sent me a Premium box and one of their Doki Doki boxes to unbox so let's see what these guys are all about.

Starting at $12 a month for the mini (4-6 items), $25 for the original (8-10) and $30 for the premium (12-14). Their Doki Doki crate comes with 8-10 Kawaii themed items (cute anime style gifts) for $30 per month.

Check them out over at:

https://japancrate.com/

As you can tell I think the theme this month is a fruity/citrus-y theme.

They even do their own artwork for their stuff

Final Thoughts

Doki Doki crate is a cute box for bae or for yourself if you're into anime/kawaii things. Lots of keychains and things you can decorate your living space with or just to show off your anime street cred. Share some of the keychains with your friends and you can start a kawaii street gang. In all seriousness it's a cute box if you're into collecting things and cute things!

Check out these boxes at:

https://japancrate.com/dokidoki

WowBox is a Japanese snack and candy subscription service that sends Japanese treats all the way from the Mogmog company in Japan. They offer 3 sizes and 3 different themed boxes of your choice. Boxes range from 14.99 for smalls, 24.99 for mediums and 34.99 for large. Their three themed boxes are: Original Fun & Tasty, Kawaii & Beauty, and The Classic. They offer free shipping to 70+ countries so check them out over at:

WowBox

Unboxing / Impressions

I've tried a few Japanese snack subscriptions in the past but I was excited to review my first one here today. The snacks were all neatly tucked into this box, with the chips or (crushables) on top and the rest on the bottom. I really liked that they included several informative papers telling the nutritional information and giving a description of all the snacks in the box, the thing about foreign snacks is that it's often hard to figure out what you are eating if you end up really wanting to try more of it later on. 

Cabbage Taro: These were little puffballs with cabbage and taro flavoring, it had a mild cheesy flavor with a veggie taste all with the texture of cheese puffs, reminded me of soft croutons.

Horadekita!: I was hoping to see something like this in the box. There are a lot of miniature Japanese kits where you make miniature foods and you get to make miniature chocolate and sprinkled covered banana candies with this kit.

I made the mistake of eating several of these in a single day to take a few notes but I ended up getting really jacked up and wired. Now that the buzz has worn off I'm happy to tell you today about my experience with Picky Bars.

What is Picky Bars?

You can check them out at their website over here at https://pickybars.com/ 

Picky Bars is a monthly subscription service that specialize in their own type of energy bar that balances both "performance" that are jam packed with proteins and energy giving power foods and "real food bars" which are the snacky snacks that everyone seeks to cure them of the daily munchies. Picky Bars is a company run by a bunch of athletes who are pumped up about sports and pumped up about their bars.

Picky club is their monthly subscription offer and it begins at 29.95 a month for 12 bars, 39,95 for 18 and 49.95 for 24. They offer seven different flavors in packs of three.

Picky bars come in this snug little box, I like to be surprised so I never look up what is in the boxes. I was surprised at how many bars they managed to fit into the box, Inside were 14 bars (2 of each flavor), 1 t-shirt, an alligator clip and a letter from the company.

Selection of Bars

The Bars

The bars packed a wallop of ingredients ranging from fruits, nuts, seeds, nectars and chocolate. The texture was mixed between a brownie with crunchiness provided by the crispy brown rice cereal that is in every bar. The flavors had the backbone of a chocolate brownie, fruit/power bar and some nuttiness. Each bar had their own accents, peanut butter, coffee, sunflower seeds, blueberries, cookie dough, fudge and almonds. It tasted very natural and the ingredients looked and felt fresh. You can eat 1/2 a bar every day with a single box and it provides a nice energy boost for a while. With 200 calories per bar, you probably want to sparse these out throughout the month as well. I tested all of these in quick secession and was feeling pumped for hours.

Need for Seed

Sunflower Butter Sensation

Nutty and warm flavored, the sunflower seeds and butter stood out with a nice honey taste in each bite.

Hello one and all, this week I've been getting my daily dose of vegetables, proteins and carbs thanks to the cool dudes over at MealTimeBox a meal subscription service than can be sent bi-weekly (20 meals every 2 weeks) or monthly (20 meals per mid-month). The 10 meal box costs 85 dollars and the 20 meal box costs 165 dollars so ranging 7.25 - 8.50 per meal depending on the option.

Their selection is quite varied this month, based off the four staple meats: Chicken, Beef, Pork, and Fish. Each meal consists of the protein, the starch (rice, potato or pasta) and a side of vegetables. Their menu is easily recognizable, classics like lemon chicken, blackened tilapia, apple pork chops. Even a few with their own Asian twist to it, Chinese and Filipino to be precise.

Meal Time Box currently ships on the East Coast to the following states and Washington, DC: CT, DE, IL, IN, KY, MA, MD, ME, MI (Lower Peninsula), NC, NH, NJ, NY, OH, PA, RI, SC, TN, VA, VT, and WV. We also ship to Atlanta, GA and Savannah, GA.

Initially I was skeptical, fearful almost, like most people the idea of meats, chickens, vegetables cooked and mailed to you is a cautionary tale in the making. For the readers who are curious about trying this experience for themselves I'm here for you today to show you what I found inside.

Check the menu out at:

http://www.mealtimebox.com/pages/menu

Lemon-Pepper Chicken

buttered vegetables and brown rice

The first meal I tried was the Lemon-Pepper Chicken, a very malleable meal that is made in some shape or form in every culture. The aroma was palatable and the microwave managed to heat everything up to a nice warm temperature. The chicken was a nice thick cut of breast and wasn't too dry. The rice was surprisingly soft, unlike the stale toughness of most frozen/packaged pre-cooked rice. I'm no fan of brown rice but it seems the vacuum process softened the rice a little which took away the grainy/nuttiness of the brown rice. The vegetables were crisp but a little bland. A little salt and pepper and the meal felt like old fashioned comfort food.