Vegan Foodie Penpals: VeggieGirl

I signed up again to participate in Cat’s Vegan Swap at The Verdant Life. Ever since I discovered the world that is foodie pen pals, I just can’t stay away. I love the whole process of getting matched up randomly to someone to send a package to, and getting randomly matched with someone else who would be sending to me. I literally look forward to it every month. Which is why I’ve signed up for two swaps this month again. (I’ll be posting my reveal day for Lindsay’s swap tomorrow.) Unfortunately, this was the last month you could be a part of Cat’s swap until January of next year-due to the holidays. At the end of this post I’ll still give you a link to all the information your need if your interested in participating next year.

I sent a package to a newbie, Alyssa Guerrero, who doesn’t have a blog. She was such a sweet heart and is from California like I am! She isn’t gluten-free but has been trying to incorporate more gluten-free in her diet. She reassured me that I didn’t have to get her gluten-free items but I wanted to give her what she prefers. I’ve never shopped for gluten free before but I definitely succeeded and found some great items for her! Want proof? Here is part of what she emailed to me after receiving her package.

"Sydney!!

I received your box! Thanks soooo much. I absolutely love everything you gave me. Either you have real good taste or you just knew what I like. Everything looks good. I'm excited to try everything. I hope your vegan foodie gives you a wonderful box like you gave me:)"

That's right. I have good taste. Speaking of my vegan foodie, let's see if she did in fact send me a wonderful box.

 I received my package from Dianne Wenz @ VeggieGirl. I was very excited when I found out I was receiving my package from her! I’m a big fan of her blog. It’s filled to the gore with delicious looking vegan recipes. Her blog makes me wish I could just reach into the computer screen and take all of her food creations. I’ve gotten so much vegan food inspiration from her blog. (Now I just need to remind myself to start posting my creations to my blog.)


Check out Dianne’s mad crafting skills. I admire those who are artistic. I love everything to do with art-writing, drawing, painting, crafting, editing, music. So the fact that she sent me such a beautifully crafted card really touched my heart.


 Oh. My. God. Look at it! Dianne, definitely sent me a wonderful box full of Trader Joe’s goodies! Filled with things I love and things I’ve never tried before. Let’s talk about a few shall we?

Trader Joe’s* Pumpkin Bread & Muffin Mix: Dianne wrote me that I could easily turn this mix vegan by replacing the egg with either a banana or flex egg. I opted to use the banana since I never knew you could replace eggs with bananas in baking. So I decided to try it out and it turned out amazing! The texture was perfect. Maybe even a little too perfect considering when I sliced it, some of the slices fell apart on me. Op. Crumbled or not, still tasted great!

Trader Joe’s* Fig Butter: Since I used to shop at Trader Joe’s all the time back in the day. I have came across this Fig Butter but it had never made it into the shopping cart. Probably because I can honestly say I’ve never eaten a fig before in my life. Shocking huh? I shocked myself when I tried this on a slice of Sprouted Ezekiel Bread with some Peanut Butter. Honestly, I don’t know what I was expecting. Turns out I was worrying for nothing. This spread turned out to be fantastically good! So good that I now claim it to be my favorite fruit "butter".



 Trader Joe’s* Cookie Butter: I had the hugest grin on my face when I saw that Dianne included Cookie Butter in my package. I’ve bought this one other time, months ago, and I absolutely loved it. The side of the jar recommends to try the Cookie Butter on pancakes, waffles, sandwiches, ice cream, pretzels, and celery. Let’s be honest though.. with this all you need is a spoon, and your mouth. Your taste buds will thank you. 

Interested? Well you have plenty of time to decide. Click here for all the information your need on how to get on the list for this swap in January.