Naturally Crated Review Summer 2020
Naturally Crated is a natural, organic & eco-friendly subscription box for living a life inspired. They know you spend a lot of time making conscious decisions for your family. They take the stress out of those decisions by offering a quarterly crate specifically curated with your lifestyle in mind. Their products range from grass-fed goat’s milk soaps & pure essential oils to organic throw pillows and fair trade hot cocoa.
As a member, you’ll be introduced to natural, organic, and eco-friendly products without all the research and label reading. Each item they carry is hand-selected from trusted and reputable conscious brands to give you confidence in every crate.
Additionally, Naturally Crated recently won the 2019 US award for “Best Eco-Friendly Box” from A Year of Boxes. They kindly sent us this crate for review.
A single crate comes fully curated with items valued at approximately $100 or more retail. You will also receive a crate insert with each shipment, that will help you use your crate contents to their full potential. They ship boxes mid-month every quarter so package arrive by the end of the month in March, June, September & December. Crates are $75 per shipment plus shipping.
All of the items included in Naturally Crated are natural-minded and are coded so members can be quickly informed about the conscious factors for each one. I’ve included the codes with each item below. The key is as follows: O=Organic; N=Natural; E=Eco-Friendly; V=Vegan; GF=Gluten Free; US=American Made; SB=Small Business; HC=Handcrafted
The Summer Crate Details ($109.50 total value)
“Welcome to your summer wellness crate! This crate is full of items to help you expand your home “farmacy”. Life (and especially business) has gotten a little hectic, and we are experiencing all of this chaos with you. We know that optimum wellness and health, tighter budgets, and self-sufficiency are at the forefront of everyone’s minds. That’s why we have taken a detour from our regularly scheduled “Room-by-Room: Green” themed crates. Instead, we have packed as much value as we could into this “wellness” themed crate. We focused on giving you essential items that you can lean on to build your immune system, and utilize should you come down with an acute illness.”
I had been loving the “room-by-room” themed Naturally Crated boxes that had been the last several boxes, but I’m loving this theme even more! It couldn’t be more perfect for this pandemic we are living through right now and is a great jump starter to get you thinking more about what you use for health maintenance, illness prevention and overall wellness.
Here’s a look at what’s in this season’s Naturally Crated:
Crate Insert
I always love the detailed format of this boxes insert. It always has a pretty and fitting cover image followed by the item images right inside. There are then item descriptions that include retail values and more details on how to use each one. Then there is always a little note from the owner which helps enliven the theme and gives hints at what to expect next season. After that there is always some learning information that aligns with the contents. This season’s insert includes “Delicious Ways to us Bee Pollen,” “How to Naturally Stress Less,” and a clipable sheet with common aloe uses that you can tack in your pantry. The insert is simple, yet informative and helpful!
Enviromedica Terraflora Synbiotic ($49)
0 + N + E + US
“Formulated with a combination of spore form probiotics, and advanced, foodbased, ancient prebiotics designed for robust support of gastrointestinal health.”
This symbiotic (meaning the combo of pre and probiotics) sounds really intriguing. I’ve long known the importance of good gut health and probiotics and am always curious to try a new product in that realm. This one touts including an innovative strain combination that produces highly bioavailable antioxidants and riboflavin both essential for maintaining a healthy digestive tract. I like that this one doesn’t need to be refrigerated. That makes it convenient, not only for every day use, but also for travel. I also like that aside from the pre and probiotics, the only other ingredient is plant cellulose – so super simple ingredients with no fillers or additives. Another cool thing is it’s packaged with organic cotton. I’d love if the bottle itself were glass rather than plastic, but at least it’s still recyclable. I look forward to trying this one out.
Bee Keeper’s Naturals Raw Bee Pollen ($21.99)
N + E + V + GF
“Packed with B vitamins, minerals, free-forming amino acids, and protein, bee pollen is the perfect dose of energy for active humans!”
I have read about and have always wanted to try bee pollen, but just haven’t yet so I’m really excited about this item. It’s a rich source of vitamins and minerals, protein and more! I learned in this month’s insert that it boosts liver function, kills bacteria and may even have anti-cancer properties. It’s quite the superfood! It can make for a great topping on yogurt or oatmeal, can be added to smoothies or granola, and whatever else you can think of. I want to try it on everything, but will likely start with yogurt to add a little crunch – that sounds like a tasty treat to me!
Modern Sprout Healing Aloe Hydro Grow Kit ($19.99)
N + E + V + GF + US + SB
“This terracotta kit has a glazed interior and is outfitted with a passive hydroponic system known as “wicking,” which brings water and nutrients up to the plant’s roots. So whether you forget to water, overwater, or both, this planter’s got you covered. Comes equipped with everything you’ll need to start growing your non-GMO aloe plant. Just add water and set in a sunny window.”
How cool is this?! It’s a self-watering aloe growing kit that’s perfect for those that love indoor plants, but might have trouble keeping them alive (that’s often me!). Not only is the product concept super awesome, but aloe itself is such an amazing plant too. It is so useful for the skin and many other health ailments too. My grandma always kept the plant in her kitchen to quickly aid with cuts and burns from cooking. This will be going in my kitchen window right away. I can’t wait to see how quickly it grows!
Chicken Coop Botanicals Restless Night Tincture ($13)
0 + N + E + V + GF + US + SB + HC
“An organic, herbal formula to help the body move towards rest, before going to sleep at night.”
This is the perfect item for me! I’ve been working on getting better sleep lately and love having little helpers in my arsenal like this. This tincture is a blend of lavender, lemon balm, linden and passion flower infused in organic alcohol and is said to help calm and relax the mind and body. You just take a half to a full dropper in some water before bedtime and the herbal remedy will do the rest. I’m guessing it wouldn’t have too much of a flavor when mixed with water, but could probably be mixed with a tea too I’m sure. I really look forward to testing this one out!
Chicken Coop Botanicals Calming Temple Balm ($10)
0 + N + E + US + SB
“This blend of arnica and essential oils is prepared to relieve anxiety. Apply to the temples or back of the neck, and inhale deeply to get the most of the healing aromatics.”
Oh, I also really need this item! It’s another great tool for calming the mind before rest and sounds like it will soothe and calm muscles too. Of course it sounds like it also helps with general calming of the mind at any time of the day too. Arnica helps ease tension and reduce muscle pain so this is great for neck pain at the ned of the day. I’m not sure what the essential oil blend that’s in it is, but it smells kind of like and herbal mint, lavender and citrus – so good! I think it’s mildly cooling on skin too which feels extra nice. I’ll be putting this one by my nightstand for pre-bedtime use and will be using it a lot for sure!
Big Heart Tea Co. Cup of Sunshine Herbal Tea ($8.99)
0 + N + E + V + GF + US + SB + HC
“Turmeric, ginger, and Malabar peppercorn pack a triple punch of anti-inflammatory power. Not to mention, Cup of Sunshine is great for building your immune system and stimulating digestion.”
This tea sounds so delicious! And their packing is so cute! I’m an herbal tea drinker so this is right up my alley. It’s a blend of organic golden turmeric and ginger along with tulsi, malabar peppercorn and cinnamon. It sounds like a warming and soothing blend. It says this tea helps with inflammation and digestion – two things I always have in mind with my health choices. I take turmeric daily so this will supplement my supplements nicely and be a more enjoyable way to consume a bit extra too! I love hot tea even in the summer, but this might taste refreshing iced as well. I’ll have to try both!
Naturally Crated Review Summer 2020 – Final Thoughts
I think I actually squealed out loud with delight when I opened this season’s Naturally Crated box! It’s such a bright, cheery, fun and super useful collection of goods. I especially love that the theme is health and wellness related. Like I mentioned up top, there really couldn’t be a more perfect theme for what we are living through right now. Even when you feel well, it’s important to build up your health resources and take care of your body so you can avoid illness. Wellness includes so many things from physical wellness, internal health, mental health and more and this season’s box covers all areas. There isn’t one product I’m not excited about and want to use right away. I must say I’m a bit partial to the aloe plant though because it’s such a cool concept and is made here in Chicago. I love supporting local companies and I’d never heard of this one before. Overall, this box is top notch like always. It’s an awesome way to get your lifestyle on the healthy and green track. They said that next season’s Naturally Crated box will continue the theme of wellness because they had too many awesome items to include in this one box so I cannot wait to see what’s in store!!
The Botanic Gal – http://www.botanicgal.com