For the Foodie: August Degustabox* and Homemade Pizza

Time for another Degustabox* unboxing, folks! Honestly, Degustaboxes (together with local produce farmshare boxes) give me a much bigger thrill than beauty subscription boxes ever did in the past - because really, as a hungry preggo with a voracious human bean inside her, getting delivered an awesome box full of ready to eat snacks and ingredients to get creative with is living the dream right now :D I'm sure fellow foodies get me on this.

The size of the actual box is the same as the last one (click here if you want to see what I got!) and again, it was packed to the brim with products neatly tucked into bubble wrap to survive shipping. I received my box about a week ago, so I already had a chance to try out some things and give you mini reviews as well. I got:

ALO Allure Pulp Free (aloe vera, mangosteen and mango juice blend), $1.99 - tasty mango flavor but a bit too sweet
Popchips Ridges snack-sized baggie in the Cheddar & Sour Cream flavor, $1.25 - haven't tried these yet but regular Popchips in the Barbecue flavor are some of my favorite chips to munch on
Goetze's Mini Cow Tales, $3.49 - haven't tried yet but they sound suspiciously similar to a popular Polish candy called krówki, which are sort of like dulce de leche/ soft and chewy caramels...?
White Lily White Grape and Wheat Flour, $5.49 - I've used White Lily Bread flour in the past to bake our sourdough loaf so I was very excited to try this; see below.

Sir Kensington's Chipotle Mayonnaise, $5.99 - haven't tried yet but I can see an awesome BAT (bacon, avocado, tomato sandwich) featuring this mayo in the very near future
Post Honey Bunches of Oats cereal, $2.83 - had it this morning with greek yogurt and berries instead of my regular homemade granola and while I loved the crunch factor, I found it (like 99% of store-bought cereal) to be way too sweet
Oregon Chai Tea Latte instant powder drink mix, $3.99 - tried once so far as an iced drink and again, too sugary for me

Loacker Rose of the Dolomite x 2, $1.76 each - OMG. If there's one thing to take away from August Degustabox, it's these chocolate pralines. They're creamy and chocolatey with a little crunch from hazelnuts and wafer pieces and they're SO GOOD (that's why there's only one pack in the photo, I just couldn't stop eating once I opened the other one I had). If you like Kinder Bueno candy bars, you NEED to try these.
Goya Maria Cookies, $0.99
Vermont Smoke & Cure Mini Meat Sticks, $4.99 for a 6-pack (we got 4) - I believe that as a Polish person, I know most of what there is to know about good sausage and maybe I'm spoilt as a result. I tried one of these 'sticks' and really did NOT like it. Your experience may vary though.
Approx. value of the August box: $33.04 for $19.99/ month

Now for the recipe, or rather what I was inspired to make with a product from my Degustabox. You guessed it - I went right for that bag of flour and set on making the perfect thin crust pizza for one (or, uhm, one and a half? How should I count the baby bean?) from scratch. I rarely eat pizza, and I almost never make it at home, the chief reason being that my husband is not only allergic to garlic but also cow's dairy (meaning, mozzarella, parmesan, asiago... all the delicious pizza cheese). But, Mr is currently away on a work trip, and that coupled with the arrival of this flour in my Degustabox, and a bulb of porcelain neck garlic in my farmshare box, is what I call the perfect opportunity.

I used the dough recipe from The Kitchn (here). My only note here would be that I suspect the grape seed and wheat flour needs a bit more moisture (water) than just plain wheat/ all-purpose, so I'd adjust that next time I'm baking with it. I let the dough rise a bit for about an hour and fifteen minutes, then halved it, used one half right away and popped the other in the fridge to make another fresh pizza the next day.

For my toppings, I made a classic tomato base using canned tomato paste thinned with a bit of water and olive oil, and added crushed garlic, lots of oregano leaf, fresh thyme, a little bit of onion powder and some salt and pepper. I decided on my favorite childhood flavor combo - ham and pineapple (I realize some people are strongly against pineapple on a pizza but I don't care, I love it), and added some onion slivers and corn kernels as well. I sprinkled a fair amount of shredded mozzarella on top and baked for about 15 minutes in a 425 degree oven.

Was it the world's most Instagrammable pizza? Not really. Was it delicious though? Oh, absolutely. The crust came out nice and thin but not too crunchy (it supported the weight of all the toppings but was still easy to bite through) and I really enjoyed my garlicky base with plentiful ham and pineapple pieces. In fact, I cannot wait for lunchtime now just so I can go ahead and make a second pizza with my refrigerated dough from yesterday. Mmmm.

All in all, I'm happy with the products that came in my August Degustabox, but I guess I wish there was a bit less candy/ sugar-heavy food in it. I have a bit of a sweet tooth in general but even more so now that I'm pregnant, and I try to be careful about it, so I know I shouldn't be having any of those Cow Tales or sugary instant chai lattes :/ If you're interested in this food subscription, you can use my referral link (click on the banner below) to get your first box for 50% off, shipping included.


Are you a pizza lover? Do you like making your own at home or do you have a favorite pizzeria where you live? What are your favorite toppings/ flavor combos? Let me know in the comments!

Disclaimer: Product marked with an asterix (*) is a press sample I received from the brand's PR for review consideration. The post contains an affiliate link, which means I'll earn a commission if you decide to sign up to Degustabox after clicking. All opinions are 100% honest and unbiased, no matter if the product featured was purchased with my own money or provided free of charge. Thank you for reading and supporting my blog!