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Tuesday, July 31, 2012

July Foodie Pen Pal Reveal


After missing Foodie Pen Pals last month due to my travel schedule, I was so excited to join again this month.  I really love this program!  Foodie Pen Pals is entirely Lindsey of the Lean Green Bean's creation.  I LOVE this program.  Each month that I participate, I meet new bloggers and discover fun new foods.

This month, I was paired with two non-bloggers, and I had so much fun both sending and receiving my packages.  I sent goodies to Becky, who is vegan.  I had so much fun picking out her treats.  Since Becky doesn't have a blog of her own, she wrote a guest post for my blog.  Here's her write-up on the exchange:


This was my first month participating in Foodie Pen Pals and I was lucky enough to receive a box from Willow! 
I am vegan and she was careful to include only delicious vegan treats for me.



In my box, I got a nice note from Willow and...

All Natural Pop Chips
I love potato chips.   I have seen these at my grocery store for ages and have always wanted to try them.  They are really good- different- light and airy but they still taste like potato chips and are healthy too!

Archer Farms Simply Balanced Berry Blend Freeze Dried Fruit
I just tried this is and it is so yummy - I have a feeling it will be even better mixed with vanilla soy yogurt for breakfast tomorrow!

Archer Farms Pecan Sticky Bun Granola
I have a serious granola addiction.  I tore into the bag immediately and it is awesome!

Archer Farms Roasted Almonds
Who doesn’t love nuts?!!?

Tazo Iced Green Tea
The insanely hot summer we are having demands cool drinks in mass amounts.  This will be perfect.

Justin’s Maple Almond Butter
I love this stuff so much that I sent it to my pen pal in her box this month too.  Great minds...

Perfectly Simple Cranberry Almond Bar
I’ve never seen this bar before, but I already know it will be the perfect pre-gym snack.

Willow- Thank you again for putting such a great variety of treats together for me! 

Becky 

I'm so glad you like the box, Becky!  I really had so much fun putting it together for you.

My box came from Ruby, who lives five minutes from the Mexican border!  She was great about putting together some fun treats for me that I could not get in my region. 



This first item is like sheets of candy apple coating, but it looks like it might have some spice to it.  Ruby wrote in her note that I should cover apples with it, so I'm saving it for a few weeks when the apples in my region will be in season.  I can't wait to try it out!


The is some kind of hot sauce that is typically drizzled over fruit (as per Ruby's instructions).  I tried it over watermelon and it added just the right amount of spicy kick.  I loved it!


Ruby also sent two granola bars, which I immediately added to my snack drawer at work.  I already ate one of them :)




I haven't tried the noodles, honey, coffee or tea that Ruby sent yet, but I'm really excited to!
































Thank you for a wonderful package, Ruby!

Foodie Pen Pals is such a wonderful way to get to know other bloggers and blog readers and discover fun new foods.  If you aren't already part of the Foodie Pen Pal Program, I encourage you to join!  Lindsey does a great job of pairing everyone up each month and organizing the whole program.  Here's what she has to say about it:


-On the 5th of every month, you will receive your penpal pairing via email. It will be your responsibility to contact your penpal and get their mailing address and any other information you might need like allergies or dietary restrictions.

-You will have until the 15th of the month to put your box of goodies in the mail. On the last day of the month, you will post about the goodies you received from your penal!

-The boxes are to be filled with fun foodie things, local food items or even homemade treats! The spending limit is $15. The box must also include something written. This can be anything from a note explaining what’s in the box, to a fun recipe…use your imagination!

-You are responsible for figuring out the best way to ship your items depending on their size and how fragile they are. (Don’t forget about flat rate boxes!)

-Foodie Penpals is open to blog readers as well as bloggers. If you’re a reader and you get paired with a blogger, you are to write a short guest post for your penpal to post on their blog about what you received. If two readers are paired together, neither needs to worry about writing a post for that month.


If you’re interested in participating for June, please CLICK HERE to fill out the participation form and read the terms and conditions.

You must submit your information by August 4th as pairings will be emailed on August 5th!

If you want to see what all of the other participants sent and received, head over to this spot and check it out.  Over 1000 people participated this month.  That's a lot of food love!