Foodie Pen Pal Reveal Time!

Holy poop!  Did you know it’s already May 2^nd?  I was supposed to post my latest Foodie Pen Pal package on the first of the month, and completed forgot that the calendar changed!  So here goes…

I got a package from Katie, who blogs over at Baking and Swimming.  I let her know that I would like to try new things, but in reality, I’m a super picky eater.   As in the past months, I let my pen pal know that I LOVE popcorn, and Katie did not let me down!  The first thing I took out of the package was a popcorn ball, which is the Monkey’s favorite.  She is always asking me to make them, and I don’t out of pure laziness.  Thanks for brightening up her day, Katie!

She also sent Wild Blueberry muffin mix, which I haven’t made yet, but will soon.  I love blueberry muffins…especially when they are having the HUGE sugar crystals on top.

Funky Monkey banana chips were tasty – freeze dried bananas with cinnamon.  It’s like healthy candy, so eating the entire bag is okay.

I have no idea what this stuff is.  The label said Popcorn Papa.  I like to call it “crack”.  Oh.My.Gawd.   It’s totally delicious.  It’s popcorn, covered in powered sugar and something else (maybe caramel, maybe heaven, who knows.  UNBELIEVABLE.  

Thanks a lot Katie for hooking me up with all of these tasty items!

I'm going to take a break from the program for May because the calendar is getting full.  But that doesn't mean you should.  Are you interested?

Here’s the down and dirty on the Foodie Pen Pal Program:

• On the 5th of every month, you will receive your pen pal pairing via email. It will be your responsibility to contact your pen pal 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 pen pal!
• 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 Pen Pals 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 pen pal 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 Pen Pals is open to US, Canadian & European residents.  Please note, Canadian Residents will be paired with other Canadians only. Same with Europeans. 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.

Until next time.....

March Foodie Pen Pal Reveal

It’s Foodie Pen Pal reveal today – well, it was really yesterday, but I took a little break from the computer.  This month I got a care package from Kate, who blogs at What a life…..By Kate.   Not only did she send me an assortment of tasty goodies, but she included a handwritten note to explain what everything was and why she included it.  Thanks Kate for sending me this great package, and for forcing me to try new things!

Here’s the cool stuff she sent

Baklava – She bought this at a local market in her city.  It was very tasty!

Spicy Carrot Chips – I stepped out of my comfort zone, and tried this snack, and I have one word for you.  Yuck.

Rhubarb-Strawberry Preserve – Super sweet, and good on crackers.

Chocolate/Toffee Covered Almonds – One word can describe these.  YUM!

Energy Chunks –Exactly like they sound.

Almond & Hazelnut Butters – Again, I stepped outside of my comfort zone, and I’m glad I did.  These were awesome.

Peeps – You can never go wrong with Peeps! 

So tasty!

You can see what I sent to my pen pal Jordyn over at A Jew Broad Cooks (could that name be any cooler? It's a great Goodfellas reference!)

Here’s the down and dirty on the Foodie Pen Pal Program:

• On the 5th of every month, you will receive your pen pal pairing via email. It will be your responsibility to contact your pen pal 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 pen pal!
• 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 Pen Pals 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 pen pal 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 Pen Pals is open to US, Canadian & European residents.  Please note, Canadian Residents will be paired with other Canadians only. Same with Europeans. 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.

Until next time.....

January Foodie Pen Pal Reveal

It’s Foodie Pen Pal reveal day.  Ummm….do you have any idea that that means?  It’s this really cool program where you send a food package to someone, and in turn, someone sends you a package.  Before you send your package out, you contact your pen pal to get a little information on them: their likes, dislikes, preferences, etc, etc. etc.

You send the package in the mail.  O…M…G….  People still use snail mail.  It's so exciting to find something in your mail box that isn't a bill.

Here’s the package I got this month from Ilona, who blogs over at Ilona's Kitchen.  I let her know that I LOVE POPCORN, but never mentioned my unhealthy infatuation with Cracker Jacks.   Jiffy Pop!  I’ve been telling my monkey about this for months and never bought it.  Thanks to Ilona, we get to try it! The gummy worms were great too -- I actually threw them in the Monkey's lunch bag.   

I wish I had taken a picture of what I sent to Lauren, but guess what? I don’t have to, because she wrote about it here.  I found from her site that she is a health enthusiast, and she told me she liked peanut butter.  It only made sense to send her peanut butter Girl Scout cookies!

If you are interested in becoming a Food Pen Pal, click here.  You do not have to be a blogger -- you just have to love getting surprised in the mail, and be committed to sending a box to another pal.  The maximum you spent on the package is $15, plus the shipping.  It's so worth it!