Foodie Penpals: FPP Turns 2!

It’s birthday month for Foodie Pen pals that Lindsey over at The Lean Green Bean created two years ago. Since it’s a special month, Lindsey changed the swap just a wee bit this month. Matter of fact it could be a permanent change. Instead of you sending to someone then a totally different person sending to you. We are just simply being paired up with one person.


For the month of September I was matched up with Pamela. She doesn’t blog, but she does have a twitter.  It was fun shopping for her at my favorite natural food stores, since she's a vegetarian who takes care of her body as I do myself. So I sent her some of my favorite healthy snacks plus an indulgent cookie, because, well, you know. Who doesn't love a good cookie every so often, right?

In return, Pam sent me some local goodies from Pennsylvania! Very fall appropriate, which I like!


She got me all my local goods from Frecon Farms. First up we have some Cider Applesauce. Drinking cider(hot or cold) is a PA Dutch tradition and Pamela really enjoys this applesauce. I only ever crave applesauce every so often but I'm already almost half way done with the jar! If that tells you anything.Yum!

Apple Butter, Yellow Peach Butter, and Apricot Butter all in this cute eco-friendly bag that Pamela included for me. I love it! Fruit spread on toast is one of the best things ever in my book.

I’ve thanked Pamela, but she deserves another thank you! So Pam if your reading this thank you! I love the choices you made and I’m happy to have been paired up with you this month!


Interested in becoming a Foodie Penpal yourself? Here’s the details:

• 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 penpal!
• 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.
• Foodie Penplas is open to US & Canadian residents. Please note, Canadian Residents will be paired with other Canadians only. We’ve determined things might get too slow and backed up if we’re trying to send foods through customs across the border from US to Canada and vice versa.

If you’re interested in participating for October, please CLICK HERE to fill out the participation form and read the terms and conditions. You must submit your information by October 4th as pairings will be emailed on October 5th!

Foodie Penpals: Ilona's Kitchen

This month marks my own personal, one year anniversary, in being apart of the Foodie Pen pals that Lindsay has brought to all food-lovers back in September of 2011. Bloggers and readers are welcome. As long as you dig food, your dig this program.


For this month, Ilona, who blogs at at Ilonas Kitchen sent me a box of goodies from New Jersey! Which was yet another fantastic package! Her blog is all recipe-based. Her Green Bean with Toasted Walnuts and Quinoa looks so delicious! Is it sad that I’m craving it at 6 in the morning as I’m typing this? Definitely need to make me some. Check it out for yourself!


First up. We have some Sea Snax and the pretty card Ilona sent me. The Sea Snax are Classic Olive flavored. I’ve tried Sea Snax before(toasted onion-ick!) and I wasn’t too impressed. Which is strange because I love the Trader Joe’s Seaweed Snacks. Anyway, I was very skeptical about these, just because my first experience with this brand wasn’t all that great. I haven't gotten myself to try them yet but I will soon.

Next up.. tea! We have Organic White Pomegranate, Organic Strawberry, Oregon Chai(which unfortunately has milk product in it) and Decaffeinated Green tea, which I can never get enough of. Love it!


And.. some loose-leaf Blueberry Tea! Which I tried out in my brand new tea-infuser.


Isn't it awesome? Just one of the many things I obtained when I was traveling last month.


Back to the goods I got: Organic Drinking Chocolate which I'm ecstatic about! Basically, it’s vegan hot chocolate. I loved hot cocoa when I was still just a vegetarian and I never knew vegan hot chocolate even existed. This made me a happy girl! I'm saving it for the colder months ahead, but in the meantime I really need to find someplace that carries this asap!


Dark Chocolate and some Justin’s Maple Almond Butter. Nuff' said.

Organic Fruit Lollipops! I haven’t had a lolly in a very long time! Love that these have real fruit extracts instead of chemicals/dyes that just alter the taste of them.


Saved the best for last- these freaking Sugar-free Vegan Cookies! My goodness, they were good. Crunchy, and loaded with delicious flavor! I honestly couldn’t even tell they were sugar-free. I’m trying to savor them but they are almost gone.

Nom. Nom. Nom.

Big thank you to Ilona for giving me such an awesome package!

For this month I sent a package over to Megan, who blogs at  Who me, Run? I hope she's enjoying her package since she never did tell me if she got it or not.

Interested in becoming a Foodie Penpal yourself? Here’s the details:

• 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 penpal!
• 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.
• Foodie Penplas is open to US & Canadian residents. Please note, Canadian Residents will be paired with other Canadians only. We’ve determined things might get too slow and backed up if we’re trying to send foods through customs across the border from US to Canada and vice versa.

If you’re interested in participating for August, 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!

Foodie Penpals: Hoosier Edition #2

I got to tell you guys, I’ve been so incredibly lucky here lately with the foodie pen pals I get. I just keep getting perfect packages. (I hope I just didn’t jinx myself.) Seriously though, I don’t just say a package is perfect unless I truly mean it. And this month’s package was indeed just that. Perfect-o.


This month’s package came from blog reader Christiana. She’s actually a fellow Hoosier, such as myself, and she put together a killer package.

She’s from Bloomington, Indiana and got all my goodies from a local co-op called Bloomingfoods. (She even got herself a little vegan treat while shopping for me. She got some vegan carrot cake that the co-op has and she informed me that it was “freaking delicious." It was her first deliberately vegan food she has ever tried and she thought it was great! Yay! That seriously puts a big smile on my face. I’m so happy to hear she enjoyed her first vegan experience!)

Now. Check out this awesomeness!

First up: Bloomingfoods* Coco-Nuts-0 Granola! Christiana warned me that this stuff is addicting, and she wasn’t lying. This granola is seriously da bom! It’s made with all things wonderful: Organic oats, coconut, cashews, almonds, safflower oil, maple syrup, brown sugar, cinnamon, vanilla, salt. Love in a bag.

You can’t go wrong with Justin’s Nut Butter in my opinion.

Alternative Baking Co* Double Chocolate Decadence Cookie that I brought on the journey across the states in case I needed a special treat. Winky face.

Greek Seasoning, Applewood Smoked Sea Salt, and Vegetable Seasoning. I’m so excited to give these new spices a try when I get back from my trip across the west-side of the United States! (Should be back this Sunday or Monday!)

I saved the best for last! This Eat Me Fruit and Nut Bar. I love Alice and Wonderland! Heck, it’s one of my dreams to get a full tattoo sleeve going on my left arm that is Alice and Wonderland themed. Isn’t the packaging amazing? I absolutely adore it. I haven't eaten it yet because I'm still in awe about the packaging but I will get it too eventually. It sounds delicious!

Christiana.. all I can say is THANK YOU for such an amazing package this month.


Interested in becoming a Foodie Penpal yourself? Here’s the details:

• 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 penpal!
• 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.
• Foodie Penplas is open to US & Canadian residents. Please note, Canadian Residents will be paired with other Canadians only. We’ve determined things might get too slow and backed up if we’re trying to send foods through customs across the border from US to Canada and vice versa.

If you’re interested in participating for August, 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!

1st Farmer's Market!

 
 I was so excited this Saturday when I got to go to the Wabash Farmer’s Market for the first time. I missed going to it the first time it was open the week before due to feeling ill, so I was excited to go this weekend and get some local produce. Ryan and my grandmother went with me. It started at 8 in the morning but we didn’t make it there until around 9. Some stands had more than others but I dove right in! I love me some good deals.

First thing I did was tour around and see what everyone was selling. Lots of local produce, bird houses, plants, signs, soap, baked goods, and jelly.

First stand I walked over to was an Amish Bakery stand. I was looking at all the different kinds of jelly, and Ryan was intrigued with the baked goods. I told him that I knew for a fact Amish people know how to bake up some good stuff so Ryan insisted we get some. I got myself some homemade Wheat Bread and I got Ryan a couple things. He told me that the weirder they sound the better they taste so he insisted we get some Jalapeno Cheese Bread. (For him, of course, not I) Then we looked at the more desert type of breads and he wanted a small loaf of Pumpkin Nut and I also got a Zucchini Bread for him and his family since they tear up Zucchini Bread when it’s in the house. All that bread cost $14. Not too bad.



 I love how they use agave nectar in exchange for sugar. Way to go- for looking after the people who have high blood sugar.

Onto my produce. There was a good amount of it which I was thrilled about. All for reasonable prices. Honestly, I’ll probably continue going every Saturday just for the fresh local produce and only go to the grocery store if need be.


















The first produce stand was amazing. The man had so much and it was all at killer prices. I snagged up 3 Orange Bell Peppers,(he told me I could get as many as I wanted for $1!) 10 Red Baby Potatoes, 3 Golden Delicious Apples, 2 Containers of Blueberries, and a Pineapple. All for $9. Steal! (The snap peas that are pictured my lovely grandmother gave me for free)





 My hands were already full but I wasn’t done yet. I noticed a stand that was across the street from everything else and I saw a big line of people around it. My immediate thought was: “They have to have some awesome stuff." So I walked over there and I was dead on right. This stand carried the more “unique" items and herbs. First thing that caught my eye as I was just browsing around the people. Kale! I needed that so I immediately got in the back of the line and waited patiently. I did, however, shout at a few people(in my head of course) who looked like they may know what kale was. (I know, I know.. how judgmental of me.)


(That’s basically what was inside my head at that point. My inner Gollum was shrieking)

Fortunately, they did didn’t pick it up. (Common, it was the last one, and it had my name written ALL over it!) On my way over to my precious green beauty, I grabbed up some parsley. Then I moved a little more and grabbed up some radishes. Then there it was. My precious.

I picked it up and felt so relieved. The man asked me after I had picked it up if I was done shopping or if I was going to get anything else. I told him I was done with a big smile and he told my total after he bagged up my vegetables. $6.25 it all came out too. Not bad, not bad at all.

 For my first ever Farmer's Market experience in Indiana, I had a blast. I scored some awesome deals and got some amazing bakery goods for Ryan and his family. 

Foodie Penpals: On Tap For Today! Plus, a Special Surprise!

I know it seems that I’m posting this a few days before the end of the month, which I am. Why? Because Lindsay(The Lean Green Bean) doesn’t like to post reveal days on weekends. So she wanted all of the FPP gang to post their reveal days today. So here I am with another Foodie Pen Pal Reveal!
I received my package this month from Elizabeth @ On Tap For Today from Boston!
 
It got here a little late, so I haven’t been able to try anything yet but I definitely will keep the blog posted and updated when I go along and get everything nommed down. When I finally got the package though, you could only imagine my excitement and when I saw that adorable Frenchie on the cover of my package I couldn’t help but smile.
 
 
She also made me smile with the adorable card and pencils. One cant have too many of those laying around, now can they? The lighter pink one reads “Wear Sequins At Breakfast." The darker ones reads “Be Silly." I like the messages a lot. Sometimes I do need to let loose and just go with more of the flow and just get silly! I’ve been so stressed lately with figuring schooling out and everything that I just sometimes want to rip my hair out. Don’t even get me started about my day today. Let’ just say.. nut jobs shouldn’t be able to get behind the wheel of a vehicle. (Elizabeth, I want your handwriting-gorgeous!)
 

Elizabeth may just be a mind reader because she sent me things that I’ve been dying to try! I even told her that the package just screams my name because it’s just absolutely perfect! This is the stuff I like to see in my packages.

I’ve tried the Lightly Salted Edamame before(I got that in a previous package) and I loved em’ so these I’m feeling pretty confident about loving these just like the others. I’m familiar with the Peeled Snack brand but I haven’t tried their dried fruit yet, so I’m excited to try it out! I love my tea, so the Green Tea Kombucha Decaf sounds fantastic!

The Good Bean brand is another brand I’m familiar with and I have always envied those who received some in their foodie packages. Well, finally I get my share thanks to Elizabeth. The flavor is right up my alley- sweet cinnamon with a hint of vanilla! Gin-Gins, yet again, I have heard of, but have never got myself to get at the store on my own. So now that I have no excuses I’ll definitely be trying em’ out.

Elizabeth even thought of Lilly - how sweet!  This was seriously a marvelous foodie pen pals package.  Thank you so much, Elizabeth! Lilly says thank you too! These are Banana chips that Elizabeth gives her Frenchie and he loves em’. Lillian, my fur-daugher, likes to just lick and sniff em’. So she’s a little unsure about em’ but if push comes to shove I’ll just eat em’ for myself. Lilly told me to tell you, Elizabeth, that she does appreciate the thought though!

I sent a package over to Jeniffer @ Jen’s Journey with a Mexican “flare" to it. Check out her blog to see what I sent her.

Now you all may be wondering what “the special surprise" is.

Remember my awesome foodie penpal from last month, Reneé ? Well, to my surpirse(and must I say delight!) she sent me another package this month. Last month she had asked me what I was craving from Trader Joe’s and I had brought up the roasted coconut chips from Trader Joe’s. Unfortunately for me, at the time, they were out of them. So I had to do without. Fortunately though, Reneé had left the chips on her grocery list that she had given to her daughter and her daughter bought her a few packages of the coconut chips. The lovely Reneé thought about me, and sent me three packages of the deliciousness my way!

I told you guys, she was awesome didn’t I? I was so surprised, giddy, and appreciative about the kind gesture. I even sent her out a thank you card.

Reneé, if your reading this just know that your one wonderful person and I hope you got your card. Thank you so so much! You seriously made my day!

Interested in becoming a Foodie Penpal yourself? Here’s the details:

• 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 penpal!
• 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.
• Foodie Penplas is open to US & Canadian residents. Please note, Canadian Residents will be paired with other Canadians only. We’ve determined things might get too slow and backed up if we’re trying to send foods through customs across the border from US to Canada and vice versa.

If you’re interested in participating for July, please CLICK HERE to fill out the participation form and read the terms and conditions. You must submit your information by July 4th as pairings will be emailed on July 5th!

Noms of the Week #8 and Kitten Love

Meals and snackage from the past three weeks. I know, I know. Talk about late. I’ve been busy then I starting not feeling well for a few days. I'm talking about constant nausea and exhaustion. My bed was pretty much the couch for a good number of days. So these meals aren’t my best but their something.

Speaking of me not feeling well- when I was sick to my stomach and nauseous and laying on the couch. I had a few wonderful companions with me. Slyvester and a couple kittens kept me company when I wasn’t feeling my best. Warmed my heart a bit.


My favorite(sssh) little Nigra slept with me the whole time. Never left my side.

She's such a little sweetheart.

Then Avi joined in on the sleep session. If I could keep any of the kittens it would be these two.

(Yes, we have kittens. Eight of them. They are growing up so fast. 3-4 months old already. Soon I'm going to have to find them homes. Actually, I need to find them homes NOW. I'm in the process of doing so though. So I'm hoping I can re-home them all in the next couple weeks.)

*If you know anyone in Central Indiana who would love a little furry companion, please let me know! We have three pure black ones(2 boys, 1 girl) and the other 5 are black and white. They are all so adorable and loving. They all deserve wonderful homes.

Now that my "please take one of our kittens" talk is over. It's time to talk about what this post is really all about. My food from the past three weeks.

1. Organic Romaine Salad with Organic Quinoa, Cooked Organic Mushrooms, Organic Red Bell Pepper and Organic Summer Squash. Fat free Balsamic Vinaigrette, Edamame Hummus with Roasted Red Pepper.
2. Quick and easy dinner. Ryan’s choice. Rigatoni Pasta with Tomato Sauce and Edamame Hummus. Yes, I like hummus mixed in with my sauce on my pasta.
3. Lazy day. Amy’s* Light and Lean Sweet and Sour Asian Noodles with bowlful of plain Organic Romaine Salad. No dressing or anything added.
4. Spaghetti Night! Spaghetti with Tomato Sauce and Vegan Parmesan. Garlic bread made with Earth Balance Soy free Margarine and Garlic Powder. Salad with leftover Quinoa Mixture and Edamame Hummus.
5. Boca* Vegan Patty with 1/2 Avocado, Green beans,Roasted Red Potatoes.
6. Date with Ryan @ Chiptole. I got a Vegan Burrito Bowl with Brown Rice, Black beans, Fiesta Vegetables, Pico De Gallo, Roasted Chili-Corn Salsa, Guacamole, and Romaine. I decided to try something new. The bowl was yummy, but next time I’m going to do without the corn salsa. I’m just not a corn fan, but I figured I’d test my test buds just to be sure. Still a corn hater.

1 & 2:  Dream Water. I got couple of these waters in my last month’s Conscious Box and just now tried them out this week. Hard to say if they work or not, considering the first time I drank one I was already exhausted. As for the second time, I did feel more relaxed but it was still a little difficult to fall asleep.
3. Whole Wheat Uncrustable, Seedless Grapes. I got Ryan’s mom hooked on those PB&J sandwiches. So she bought us three boxes of them! Not the healthiest thing in the world, but they don’t hurt if I have them every so often.
4.  Homemade Pasta Salad(with loads of vegetables) with a Fruit Cup over at my grandparent’s. My grandmother actually brought me back a couple fruit cups back from this Church Picnic she went to before I made the pasta salad for her and my grandad. (yes, it’s vegan)
5. Quaker* High Fiber Maple Brown Sugar Oatmeal, Small Organic Gala Apple with TJ* Raw Almonds.
6. Big Fruit Bowl! Watermelon, Melon, Cantaloupe, Pineapple, Grapes.



1. Fresh Market* Cranberry Broccoli Slaw, Whole Wheat Uncrustable.
2. Still loving Silk* Fruit and Protein Strawberry Banana Juice. A must for when I was sick.
3. Izze Grapefruit Sparkling Juice/Water. I’ve been wanting to try Izze drinks for awhile. When Ryan was ordering something to eat, I noticed that the place we were at sold them so I asked for one to try out since at that time I wasn’t hungry. I loved it. I mean, I really loved it. It has almost 3 servings of fruit in just one bottle and it’s only 160 calories. I’m sold. Need more. (Not my picture. I take no credit in it, I simply got it from the internet because my camera wasn’t with me and my phone was died)
4. Strawberry Banana Smoothie for on the road nausea. Does wonders, I’m telling you. (I have a friend that words at BK and I told her to not add milk, just a little water, into my smoothie. She laughed and told me she actually had brought some almond milk from home for her lunch and offered to put some of that into it in exchange for the dairy milk. I happily agreed! I love her.)


Ryan and I also munched through this entire bag of Light Salted Snap pea Crips one night while watching television.
 

Foodie Penpals: Illinoisian Love.

You know how I was paired up with two local Hoosiers last month right? Well, guess what. Pretty much the same thing happened again. Only this time I was a paired up to send to and receive from two lovely ladies from Illinois.

I sent off a package filled with a couple Dark Chocolate bars(one had expresso beans in it!) Vanilla Chai mix, and The Fresh Market* Banana Split Trail Mix and Vegetable Chips to Christie in Chicago IL.


I, in return, received the best package I’ve received so far this year, from Reneé in Alton IL.

From the amazing questionnaire that Reneé gave me right at the get go when we first made contact, to the beautiful package, and finally the final product: My wonderful foodie package that was literally filled to the brim with so much. I just kept pulling stuff out getting more and more excited by the second. Reneé, you outdid your self. You spoiled me rotten!

First looks of the package and a beautiful postcard of Eveleen Myers. Speaking of postcards, that’s not the only one she sent me. (Is that trek mix I see?)

She sent me three! Can you believe it? Awesome. Two postcards, the other of where she lives in Illinois. Then an actual card that she wrote in for me. I go to say, I may have to actual travel over to Illinois whenever I get the chance to. Alton looks like a beautiful place to visit.

Was I right about that being trek mix? I sure was! My favorite one at that(also Reneé's daughter’s favorite) plus an awesome assortment of dried fruit and nuts. The cranberries will make home in beds upon beds of dark greens. I’ve never tried dried blueberries before (shocking, I know, since I love my blueberries) so I’m still in the works on what it is I want to do with them. I want to bake with them, but making some sort of trail mix or granola with them also sounds good. They could even maybe possibly join the cranberries and be a part of a salad. Mmm. The possibilities are endless. The raw almonds are already practically gone, thanks to Ryan. I got in a couple handfuls for a snack but he’s been chomping down on them like they are going out of style.

A new spice called Dukkah that I’ve never even heard of before. Apparently it’s good to dip into bread with a little olive oil and then the dukkah. It’s also good for seasoned vegetables. The ingredients list states its made from: almonds, sesame seeds, fennel seeds, coriander, anise seeds and kosher salt. Sounds wonderful doesn’t it? I told Reneé I’d take a new type of spice over a ready-meal any day. Reneé definitely saw through my blog that I enjoy a good cup of tea, so she included a few packets of some of her Vanilla Chai as well. Which is great since I hadn’t received tea in a package in a long time and this flavor is amazing iced with some almond milk on a hot, humid, Indiana day.

Reneé had asked me what a treasured family dish of mine was. All I could think about was pasta dishes that my grandmother and mother had made me back when I was little and while I was just a vegetarian. So she kindly included a new pasta for me to try plus a cute little game that I played with Ryan's sister's boyfriend's daughter, Cadence, one day when I was babysitting her. Which I thought was very thoughtful since she didn’t have to include anything other than food items. I’m not going to lie though, I love to be surprised with fun, random, unexpected items in my boxes so I loved it.

I saved the best for last. This jar of pure heaven. I could just smell the aroma leaking out of the jar. I told Reneé that I’ve been wanting to experiment with more lavender products since I’ve always been fascinated with using lavender in baking. She kindly made me this sugar and explained to me what to do with it in her card. I cannot wait to find a recipe so I can start baking with it. I’ll definitely keep you guys posted on how my experimenting turns out and if I make anything worth sharing since I haven’t posted an actual recipe in months.

Are you interested in becoming apart of this trendy, addicting, and downright awesome swap? Yes? Then please keep reading!

Interested in becoming a Foodie Penpal yourself? Here’s the details:

• 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 penpal!
• 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.
• Foodie Penplas is open to US & Canadian residents. Please note, Canadian Residents will be paired with other Canadians only. We’ve determined things might get too slow and backed up if we’re trying to send foods through customs across the border from US to Canada and vice versa.

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 June 4th as pairings will be emailed on June 5th!