Foodie Pen Pal

So my second month of the Foodie Pen Pal. I enjoyed it much more this time since I had a better idea of what to do and what to expect.

I sent my package to Mike at Made By Mike. He was a lot of fun to buy for.

I received a lovely package from California from Patti. Patti doesn't have a blog but she is thinking of starting one. I say go for it. It is a great way to express yourself.

In my email from her she wanted to know if I would like local products and of course I said YES. Who would pass up on that I wonder. She sent me a lovely selection from Stewart and Jasper Orchards.

First there were two different kinds of dried nectarines. I had no idea that there was more than one kind. I've been enjoying these as a snack at work to keep me away from chocolate. Yum.

She also sent two different kinds of flavored almonds. I love these things but never buy them. Maybe because I know I'll eat them all at once and I'm saving myself from that.

The Apricot Pepper ones have a little kick to them. And you can never go wrong with the classic cinnamon glaze.

So do you want to know about the Foodie Pen Pal Program?

-On the 5th of the 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 can choose 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 Penpals is open to US, Canadian residents & UK 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. So, I’m going to keep two separate lists and match US w/ US and Canada w/ Canada!

Foodie Pen Pal

This was my first month to do the "Foodie Pen Pal" swap. It's hosted by Lindsey at The Lean Green Bean. She coordinates 600+ bloggers from the US and Canada to do this swap. That is mind-blowing. Each month you get assigned someone and you send them a care package of goodies ($15 worth) and then someone else gets your name and sends you a package. You also have to write a note to go along with the box. Then everyone posts on the last day of the month so you can see what people got. Pretty exciting stuff.

I received a super nice package from Teresa at A Game of Balance. Go ahead and click the link...I'll wait while you check out her blog. She has started eating healthier and running three times a week (gasp...exercise). So she sent me a selection of foods that she has been eating plus a couple that aren't totally on the good list.

Don't those look tasty? Here's some closeups.

No one in my family had ever had organic apple chips and they are delicious. Dan said that they tasted better than a real apple. I'm sure the organic thing plays a part plus we don't get the best apples here in Oklahoma. The pretzel crisps are cool. I had never thought of a flat pretzel but they certainly pack a huge punch. And that popcorn...beer flavored. I know, who would have thought that? I have been seeing a lot of people posting popcorn recipes on their blogs but haven't seen anyone with beer popcorn. It was so tasty I ate the whole thing by myself. It tasted more like cheese and then there was a slight beer aftertaste.

Cereal bars are my go to snack at work. And that cookie is pumpkin spice and vegan. I know I haven't had anything vegan before so always curious how they made cookies without eggs. You can't go wrong with pumpkin spices. In fact I wish those flavors were used year round since cinnamin and nutmeg are two of my favorites. The cookie was crumbly more so than a normal cookie. It was quite flavorful. The pumpkin seeds will be tasty on a baseball evening.

Linking up with all the other tasty morsels sent in the mail this month.