July Foodie Penpals

For those of you who haven't heard of foodie penpals - it's an awesome idea where you get matched with two people and you basically send food to one person and the other person sends food to you. There will be more in depth details at the end of this blog post!!

This was my first month participating and  I got matched with Olivia and Emily. Olivia was the person who sent me my box and Emily was the person I sent the box to.

Olivia emailed me and asked me what I liked and didn't like etc. I told her I preferred savory snacks that were healthy as I was following weight watchers, she did an awesome job picking out treats for me.

 

I was super excited when I got home to find my parcel waiting on the doorstep from me and the first thing I saw when I opened it was this lovely hand written note from Olivia. Then the yumminess....

 

 

 

                            

As you can see I had a glorious box of super yummy things.  The salsa went down a treat at a party we had the other nice, everyone commented on how nice it was. The popcorn seasoning is something I have been wanting to try for a long while, but never purchased. I haven't actually got round to trying it yet, but will do soon. Olivia said the pita chips were here favorite so of course I had to try them first, and ended up eating the whole bag!! They were super yummy. The oat bran sesame sticks are also very yummy, but I have managed to resist eating them all :) The gum I have put in my purse for 'emergency needs'. I am a big fan of almonds, and had a big bag open which I have almost finished then I plan to try these, I'm a little nervous about the wasabi flavoring, as Ive never had that before, but I will let you know. Olivia wasn't aware I'm from England, so it was a nice surprise getting some nice Twinings tea. The jam was super yummy, and strawberry jam is my favorite, I enjoyed trying this on toast for breakfast one day.

Olivia, thanks again for such a fantastic box and all the thought you put into it.

The box I picked and packed went to Emily (@blissforEM) who blogs at Finding Bliss. She has kindly written the following guest post for me about the items I sent her.

I had the pleasure of Sarah picking my name for the swap!!! After I got over my excitement of her English roots (my best friend is from England) I could fully focus on the wonderful bounty I received in my box.  

Where should I start???  All the dried fruit! Amazing stuff! I shared with my dad (usually I hide the best stuff when my parents are visiting) but he loves dried fruit and gave it a big thumbs up.  However, I'm not sure he is the best judge since he will eat and love everything. But I am not so easy to please and I LOVED the fruit.  Next, the pumpkin seeds!! I haven't had many BUT, naturally, I had to sample them.  They have a fabulous flavor.  I also received some larabars which are my FAVORITE!!! But see that little uberbar???  I have yet to try any of the uber bars.... I've wanted to try those new bars since the second they came out so I'm waiting for the perfect moment! I'm pretty confident I will be in love.  And the Justin's squeeze packets? Girl! You read my mind!!! I love those squeeze packets! Did you know you can get them through security in airports?  Well don't hold me to it, but I have : )  I hadn't tried the maple almond one yet.  I may have ate half (more than half?) directly by squeezing it into my mouth the second I could shut my apartment door and have a private little moment with my box  : )  Amazing! There was also some tea in there but it's been too hot to have any!  Good thing is that 9 out of 12 months I consume ridiculous amounts of tea! Can't wait to have some!!! 

If you are doing to swap box thang you should really hope Sarah is the person to send you a box.  She takes this very, very seriously! 

Thanks Sarah!

And now it's time for some details about Foodie Penpals.  In case you’re a new reader, here’s a reminder of what the program is all about:

-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!

*If you're from somewhere besides the US, Canada or Europe and want to participate, send me an email and I'll see if we get enough interest this month!