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RawSpiceBar September 2015 Review + Coupon – Spice Box
Disclosure: This package was received free for review. This post contains affiliate links.
Guest Review Alert- Gigi! I’m back again in the guest review chair with a new RawSpiceBar review! I like to cook homemade, healthy dinners a few times a week and I was excited to see this month’s selection! September took us on a journey to Turkey with the Istanbul Spice Box.
RawSpiceBar September 2015 Review
RawSpiceBar is a spice subscription box and costs $6.00/month. They source high-quality, whole spices. Every month you get 3-4 premium blended spices and coordinating recipes, enough to make 3 separate dishes serving 8-12 people. Each month spotlights a different region of the world.
The Details:
Cost: $6.00/month
What’s in the box? Each month you receive 3-4 spice blends which are enough to create 3 separate dishes serving 8-12 people. Each spice blend weighs between 2-3 ounces.
Shipping: RawSpiceBar ships to the US and Canada. Free shipping for both countries.
When does the box ship? Subscriptions ship the first week of the month
RawSpiceBar comes in a little flat envelope and ships via USPS. Inside is 3 different spice blends along with a large, folded glossy paper with an introduction to the spices and the coordinating recipes printed on the other 3 sides.
First Look: For September, RawSpiceBar featured recipes and spices from Istanbul, Turkey. Spices of the East combined with flavors of the West mesh perfectly to form traditional Turkish cuisine – and this month’s recipes highlight a few favorites. They are a little different that what is normally featured and RawSpiceBar urges you to “explore this off-the-beaten-path way of cooking” with these selections.
The menu features recipes for Lahmacun (Baharat Lamb Pizza), Roasted Beet & Urfa Pepper Hummus, and Za’atar & Pita Crusted Cauliflower.
Lahmacun (Baharat Lamb Pizza): This recipe calls for making a flatbread (active dry yeast, sugar, flour, and salt) and the toppings (olive oil, tomato paste, ground lamb, garlic, tomato and onion, along with the Baharat Spices). Just like a traditional pizza – with a twist!
Baharat is a spice staple in Turkish cooking and the name actually means “spices” in Arabic. It’s used in all types of recipes from seafood to soup. I’m anxious to try this recipe – just not quite sure if I’m brave enough to try it with the lamb… Here’s a closeup look at those beautiful spices:
RawSpiceBar’s Baharat blend features coriander, cumin and black peppercorn with warm spices like cinnamon, allspice, cloves and paprika.
Roasted beet & Urfa Pepper Hummus: I LOVE hummus – and I’m anxious to try this recipe. It calls for a can of chickpeas (garbanzos), roasted beets, garlic, lemon, tahini, olive oil, salt, and of course the Urfa Biber spice mix. The Urfa Biber (a Turkish chile) is a dark color and turns anything it mixes with a red-maroon color. It’s often described as “raisins meets coffee” and that’s exactly what it smells like – a smoky, almost sweet scent.
Urfa chiles pair well with braised meats, eggplants and red peppers and help spice up dairy or hummus spreads.
A closeup of the Urfa Biber spices.
Za’atar & Pita Crusted Cauliflower: This recipe calls for only a few ingredients (flour, pita breadcrumbs, pepper, cauliflower, eggs and salt). The spices smell AMAZING and I can’t wait to try this.
Ingredients include thyme, sesame seeds, oregano, salt and sumac.
Za’atar is a Turkish cook’s closely guarded secret and I can see why – the spice blend smells amazing. Thyme and sesame seeds provide a nutty flavor, balanced with the oregano and acidic sumac. RawSpiceBar suggests stirring into olive oil and serving as a dip for bread, dusting on eggs or oatmeal, or using as a dry rub on chicken or veggies.
A closeup of the Za’atar spices.
Final Thought: September’s visit to Turkey is a bit exotic, but fun. I’m anxious to try the different spices, although I’m not sure I’ll follow the recipes exactly – I may use the Za’atar as a dry rub for chicken, which sounds delicious.
As with previous months, it’s great that RawSpiceBar gives you recipes that don’t call for a lot of crazy stuff you wouldn’t have on hand and everything seems pretty simple to make. What a fun way to introduce new meals to your menus! For $6.00/month it’s definitely worth trying – you might find a new food you can’t live without! I also love the fact that RawSpiceBar introduces things that I wouldn’t normally try (in this case, lamb pizza or baked cauliflower bites). If you want to try RawSpiceBar, use this link to try this subscription. Coupon: Get a bonus month when you subscribe for 6 or 12 months. Just use this link with the code MOM2015. You will get a total of 7 or 14 months.
I hope you enjoyed my guest review – stay tuned and hopefully Erin will let me review another one soon! 
Do you like FREE SUBSCRIPTION BOXES? Click HERE to see my free subscription box list.
You can see my full coupon list HERE.
Here’s my experience – RawSpiceBar’s product quality was not what I had expected (I had heard great reviews) and the individual spice packets contained less than what was promised on the label (I individually weighed each packet – even if you include the weight of the mini brown envelope, the product delivered was less than what was promised).
I canceled after 1 month – I think, it was a waste of $6 for less than 3 spoons of spice!