I have been a vegetarian for about 8/9 years and also have multiple food allergies, and with this laundry-list of dietary restrictions there has always been a back-of-the-mind worry that I wasn’t meeting all of my nutritional requirements. I am reasonably careful about watching what I eat and making sure I’m getting the protein, vitamins, etc. that I need for a day, but let’s be real, I’m also a mid-20’s millennial. As much as we millennials love to post Instagram pics of fresh Açaí bowls and intense meal prepping for the ‘likes’, we also love Five Guys french fries and that hungover trip to Chipotle for a burrito bowl that could feed three.
In search of a way to cheaply and conveniently meet some of my nutritional requirements I came across an ad for Care/Of vitamins (on Instagram, of course). The idea is that you visit their website and take a little quiz that assesses your diet, lifestyle, environmental factors, etc. to best determine where you might need a little vitamin/mineral boost. After you’ve decided (with their recommendations in mind) which supplements you’d like, they will send you a one month supply of daily packets. Honestly, the branding had sold me (what can I say I’m a sucker for a solid brand) but the decent pricing and convenience really convinced me to go for it. I’ve also done plenty of “subscription” services in the past having cancelled them after the first month, but I had hopes for this one.
Alright, first box arrived and I ended up paying less than $10 for a handful of daily vitamins for the month, not too shabby. They come in these adorable boxes with a new design each month, and everything about the package seems wholly personalized. Every daily pack has your name and a fun quote/fact/trivia type message along with occasional reminders that you can reach the Care/Of team at any time with questions or concerns. (Flash forward, I’ve emailed them a couple dozen times now and they are great people!).
Another great thing about this subscription is that there is this handy app you can download to track your “streak” of how many days in a row you’ve kept up with your vitamins, and with each passing day you can work up to varying rewards including free packs in your next box, gifting friends $25/$50, and even free supplements to try out for a month. I don’t wanna toot my own horn but, I’ve been going strong for 120+ days now and I get such a little rush every night when open the app and confirm I took my vitamins for the day. Healthy habits aren’t hard to form when they come with cute packaging and fun rewards!
So, on to the supplements themselves. For the last few months I have been taking Iron, Probiotic, and Evening Primrose. I have also also tried the Multivitamin, and I have recently added the Zinc. I had to remove the Multivitamin from my pack due to the fact that they have ‘improved their formula’ to make the pill smaller and easier to digest, and in the process had to use soy. But, because I marked my allergens and things I was trying to avoid in my initial profile they reached out to me and let me know the situation and offered me a free month of something else to replace it. Guys, the people at this company are amazing, and I’m not even mad that I couldn’t take the supplement anymore because I know it means they are constantly working on improving their products and listening to the feedback from their customers. They have treated me so well, and so personally, and honestly I cannot say enough good things about them. And with all of my rewards I’ve racked up, I don’t think I’ve ever paid more than about $15 or so for a month of vitamins (It would be at least $10 for one of those supplements bought at a store on it’s own!) and I’ve gotten a few chances to get my family and friends on board with the generous gift rewards I’ve been able to share.
Outside of the obvious health benefits of taking these supplements, I have noticed a lot of other great, positive effects from this new healthy habit I’ve formed. I’m not only feeling more energetic from the Iron, and have less issues with stomach aches thanks to the Probiotic, but I think the Evening Primrose really makes my skin glow and I’ve formed some other habits along the way like committing to my gym membership and drinking more water. Getting into the mindset that these vitamins are helping me on the inside, I felt it was my duty to do all I can to help my outside get into better shape as well.
Hopefully this review helps anyone who might be on the fence about subscription box vitamins, and hopefully I can inspire some others to join in on forming a new healthy habit! It’s never too late to get yourself hooked on something that’s actually good for you!
I don’t plan to quit my occasional late-night stops at Five Guys for a sack of greasy french fries, but I know that going home and following them up with a liter of water and some vitamins are helping me achieve a little more healthy balance in my life.
I am in no way being sponsored or paid, this is just my honest review of a brand I’ve come to love. If you’re interested in trying them out, here’s their site: https://takecareof.com/
– Moss & Mango
mossandmango.wordpress.com 