Foodie Penpals: July 2012

I have a problem.  Well, two problems actually.

“Bethany, what are your problems?”

I’m glad you asked.  Hunger and laziness.

You see, every month when my Foodie Penpals box arrives, I eagerly tear it open.  I look forward to penpal day every month.  It’s a great way to find new products I would have previously passed right by at the store.  But, in my excitement to see and try the products, I often put off photographing my goodies until I have eaten some all of the contents.  Whoops.

(So, even though the products in the above picture look full and ready to eat, it’s a ruse!)

This month was no exception.  I tore open the box and peered curiously inside at the contents.  It looked like Lauren went with a local snack theme for my box.  The first thing that caught my eye was the box of brittle.  I love brittle, so before I could snap any pictures, I had to pop a sweet candy in my mouth.  It was the perfect balance of sweet and chewy.  Yum!  The downward spiral of devouring before photographing commenced.

Next I saw the pretzels and chips.  Both made locally, they looked delicious.  I hadn’t had lunch on penpal day, so I started munching on a pretzel.  They were very crunchy!  I think they would be great crushed up over a salad.  Salty and crunchy.  What else do you want in a pretzel?

I actually didn’t try the chips until Sunday night while watching the Olympics.  (This is how much I procrastinate my picture taking.)  They were good, but not my favorite chips I’ve ever had.  That honor belongs to Charles Chips from Cleveland, OH.  My, that’s a blast from the past.

(A little side story:  I was born in Cleveland but moved to Tennessee when I was 3.  Every few years, we would travel back to Cleveland to see various family members.  While there, we always had to pick up a few Cleveland staples:  Malley’s chocolates, some kind of bread (I forget the name…Mom, do you remember?), and Charles Chips.  I don’t think we were allowed to leave until all three were in our car.)

Anyhow, after I saw the brittle and the other snacks, I came across a dip mix.  Lauren says this dip is her favorite and she serves it with homemade baked tortilla chips.  She was sweet enough to include the tortillas she uses so I could make them myself!

Of everything I got, the only thing I haven’t tried is the dip, but I plan to remedy that soon.  Perhaps I’ll add it as a side dish or appetizer for this month’s meal plan!

Are you interested in participating?  It’s really very easy and fun!  Just head on over to the Foodie Penpal page and sign up.  Lindsay is so sweet and organized.  She does a great job coordinating everyone.  Here’s some more information about the game:

-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.

I hope you consider joining!  It’s great fun and you get something in the mail every month!  Who doesn’t like getting mail?  I also want to give a big THANKS to Lauren for putting together such a great box of goodies!  She’s the sweetest!

Have a great day, everyone!

Foodie Pen Pals (June 2012)

You want to know something cool? (Do people still use the word “cool” or am I showing my age?)  My little bloggy post about last month’s Foodie Pen Pal swap encouraged two other people to join this month’s swap!

If this is your first time hearing about it, the Foodie Pen Pal swap is a huge swap between tons of people.  It’s organized (quite efficiently) by Lindsay at The Lean Green Bean.  Basically, you send your name to her and she sets you up with a pen pal.  You send a box of food to your pen pal and receive one from a separate pen pal.

It’s a great way to connect with people from all over the country.  My last pen pal and I found out we have a great love for Hawaii and have chatted several times since last month!  Unfortunately, this month her pen pal burned her by not sending a box.  VERY UNCOOL BEHAVIOR.  Word to the wise…if you sign up to participate, then participate.

My pen pal was great however!  Her name is Beth and she (coincidentally enough) has a son named Jacob!  Beth has lost over 75 pounds in the last year, so she knows a thing or two about healthy eating.  She picked out some treats for me (and Jacob) that were not only delicious, but healthy!

The first thing that caught my eye was the Almond Berry Snackle Mouth granola clusters.  I love granola (and almonds and berries), so I popped these bad boys in my mouth and was not disappointed!  They were quite yummy!

The next thing I tried was the New Tree Superfruit chocolate.  I am a milk chocolate lover at heart, but have started eating darker chocolate because it’s better for me.  I usually choose Dove Dark Chocolate Promises or Hershey Special Dark bars, but they aren’t as high in the cocoa % as I have been wanting lately.  This 65% cocoa chocolate was just the ticket.  And you know what?  It wasn’t half bad!  I mean, it wasn’t milk chocolate, but isn’t that the point?

After that, I saw the Strawberry Pepper Jelly.  What the heck?  She included a little note telling me she got this at the local farmer’s market.  Apparently, she gets a sample when she goes to the market.  They serve the jelly with Ritz crackers and a little cream cheese.  She absolutely loves it, but is doing the Paleo diet, therefore she hasn’t bought any for herself.  I’m still on the fence with this one, but I haven’t tried it with crackers and cream cheese yet.  We shall see…  I wonder how it would taste with the chocolate almond Justin butter she included? 

She also included two bars for me to try:  a Pecan Pie Larabar, which I had had before, and a Almond and Coconut Kind bar, which I hadn’t.  I’m not a huge fan of Larabars, but that Kind bar was ohmygosh delicious!  I googled where to find them and was pleased to learn they were available at both grocery stores I shop in!  Definitely gonna have to pick some of those up.

Finally, Beth was so sweet to include a little something for baby Jacob.  Her little guy loved these spinach, collard greens, and kale puffs when he was learning to self feed, so she wanted my little one to try them.  I cheated and tried one and I thought they were pretty tasty!  I have been so blessed to have gotten ladies that include my boy in the fun!

If you want to participate, it’s quite simple.  Head on over to this post and sign up.  You will receive a pen pal on the 5th of July and will be responsible for sending a box of goodies around $15 to that person.  That’s all!  If you’re a blogger, you will be encouraged to blog about your goodies on the 30th of the month.  It’s really fun and it opens your palate to lots of things you might not ordinarily try (like the Kind bars for me).

Wanna play?

Foodie Pen Pals Bonus Post

If you’ve been a loyal reader for pretty much any amount of time, you probably know I’m not a consistent poster by any means.  If a subject interests me or I find a recipe I like, I’ll post about it (if I remember to take pictures, mind you).  Recently, I decided to take a different approach to posting so as to become a little more predictable to my readers.  I don’t know how well this is going to work, but so far, so good.

My new tactic is to post every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, taking weekends off to enjoy what time I have with my little family.  I typically work two out of every three weekends, so whatever time I have off on the weekends are reserved for them.  You blame me?  I didn’t think so. 

For the first time in quite a while, I am finding I have too many subjects to post about to adhere to this MWF schedule, so today I am posting a “bonus post” if you will.  A few days ago I wrote about my first experience with the Foodie Pen Pal swap.  Since that time I know of at least two other people who have joined the game!  What fun!

I wrote about what I received from my penpal, Lauren, but didn’t mention what I gave my penpal, Anne.  I asked her if she would be interested in writing a post and she agreed!  Here’s what she had to say:

This was my first month participating in Foodie Penpals and I’m so glad I did! I recommend it to anyone who looks forward to getting mail but never receives any (except bills) because it’s all about email and texts! This concept is so fun and I’m glad I was matched with Bethany for my first month. She was so fun and nice and I’m jealous of who gets her next!!

I received my box on a day that I was thinking that I didn’t want to participate next month and then I instantly changed my mind. Of course, that was mostly because my box was awesome. The food was amazing and I loved the note that described each part of the box and an amazing recipe! I only provided her with a short list of my likes and she nailed it!

Here is what was inside:
First, a delightful, delicious peanut butter cup brownie. I had 2 bites and then decided it would be nice if I shared it with my husband and he was equally excited about it. It was from Dorothy Lane and I will be ordering some in the near future!

A grilling rub from Dorothy Lane. So far, we have used this on steaks, chicken and veggies and it adds just the right amount of flavor! She was kind to note that you only needed a little which was very nice of her.

I love Trader Joe’s and I’m so sad that we don’t have one near us (yet). Just when we were running out of our Trader Joe’s Crushed Garlic…I received one in my package! It was perfect timing. The flavor is amazing and it’s really convenient when I don’t have time (or patience) to chop garlic.

Montgomery Inn BBQ sauce – I am familiar with this as my SIL is from Cincinnati and we cannot wait to use it this summer on the grill! This BBQ sauce packs a lot of flavor.

My Foodie Penpal also sent me a recipe for her favorite pasta dish and included garlic basil linguine, pesto, sundried tomatoes and Italian mini-toasts. I cannot wait to make our Italian night in dinner.

The entire package was a dream come true, but the brownie hasn’t left my mind since!

I’m so glad Anne liked my box and I hope my next Foodie Penpal enjoys it as much!  I guess I need to go shopping now…