How many of you have had delivery of a snack box? Have you ordered more? Do you like the idea of healthy snacks being delivered to your door for a set price? I can see that it takes the hassle out of choosing your own healthy snacks – and presumably the snacks are a wee bit different from those that you might buy in the supermarket? Perhaps you like the idea of a box of snacks popping through your door every week or month?

Last month, I was sent a new snack box, a Nutribox. This one is a box of sports snacks. Nutribox actually sells Classic, Vegan and Sports Nutrition snack boxes. There are two box sizes, nine or 18 snacks. You can have them delivered weekly, fortnightly, monthly or bi-monthly. Their emphasis in all products is “natural, low GI products”.

Each box includes an “ever-changing variety of snacks”. In my box I received a range of what I would call “healthy” snacks, such as Ludlow Fruit and Nut Mix (Turkish Delight);  Simply Stawberries, Seed Stack’s Flapjack, Choc-Free Fruit & Nut and various sports nutrition bars, such as protein bars and post-training snacks.

The selection included many brands I had not heard of, including Pulsin’, Bounce, Beond and Seed Stack.

Some of these snacks I really liked, such as the Ludlows and the Seed Stack Flapjack. They were really tasty and I’d not tried these before. The Bounce Cashew and Pecan bar was also  more palatable than many other sports bars I’ve had before. I liked the Beond Organic Raw Choc Bar, too.

But there were others I wouldn’t bother with again because I didn’t like the taste, including the Pulsin’ Raw Chocolate Brownie and the Pulsin’ Protein Sport bar. I didn’t find that any of the sports bars were especially brilliant, or offered anything that my “normal” sports training bars already do (see below).

If I was so inclined I might take note of the healthy snacks I really liked but I didn’t and I would happily buy something else or similar when doing my shopping at the supermarket (I know, I know, the supermarkets aren’t lovely indie stores run by really nice folks but I hate shopping and if I can go to one place and buy everything conveniently then I do tend to go for that.)

With the sports nutrition bars there is a problem for me. While I found some of them fairly tasty I already know what my sports bars of choice are. Over many years of doing sport I have tried lots of different bars and found the ones that work for me – and give me the best physical results. I am not so inclined to try new ones. But other people might be.

In this way, I might be the wrong person to send a box filled with a mix of new sports bars because I already know the ones that work for me.

Who might like the Sports Nutrition Nutribox?

I think, if you are new to sports and you are looking for good and fresh ideas for sports nutrition, the Nutribox could be a place to start. But would you then receive the same bars the following week, fortnight or month? It says the snacks are “ever-changing” so they might be on a similar theme but not exactly the same.

What Nutribox had to say

I put all this to Nutribox. They were happy to reply and took my points on board. They said: “Our focus on natural, low GI products presented something of a dilemma with the sports box as we accept there is a demand and arguably a case for some high-glucose products for endurance training.

“Ultimately we didn’t feel these snacks provided a great ‘fit’ with our ethos so steered clear. We accept this left us with a product that may appeal less to the more hard-core fitness market.

“We’ve nevertheless tried to present a selection of high-energy snacks for post-training glycogen replacement and high protein snacks to aid muscle growth and repair.”

Concluding thoughts on Nutribox Sports Nutrition snack boxes

The mix is good. There’s a range of healthy and sports training snacks. I like that they are natural and low GI. If you are looking for new ideas and a change of sports bars every so often – and you really can’t be bothered to go out and buy them yourself – these boxes are a nice idea. I think, on reflection, I might have preferred more of the simply “healthy” snacks and less of the sports training bars.

And I can also see that there is something rather lovely about a surprise box of healthy snacks coming through your door each week, fortnight, month, or bi-monthly. Prices are from £12.95 a box. There is 25% of your first Nutribox so it might be worth a go just now…