February Foodie Penpal Reveal

Did you have a penpal when you were a kid? I remember having one in grade-school and it was always so much fun to receive a letter in the mail…even if it was from a stranger! So when I heard about a foodie penpal exchange, I thought it sounded like a fun idea. Here is the deal: you send a care package full of food goodies ($15 limit) to another person you are matched with. In exchange, a different person who signed up for that month sends you a box of goodies.

I was hoping to score some food goods that I can’ find in our small town here. I received a great box from a sweet girl named Carly (she doesn’t have a blog) and I loved everything she sent me! I am sorry I don’t have better photos to share, but I was distracted by my kids who were in such a hurry to tear into the food.

In my box was:

-DIY oatmeal bar kit (oatmeal, chocolate chips, coconut and cocoa nibs)- this was such a great idea; she included the recipe and most of the ingredients in separate bags so we could make them fresh.
-Chocolate z bars- boy did my kids go crazy for these. It’s been awhile since I’ve bought them and I forgot how much I like them.
-Dried strawberry & bananas- I love these astronaut-style dried fruit.
-Homemade nut butter- I adore nuts so this was perfect.
-Pineapple salsa from Trader Joe’s- a little sweeter than my typical salsa so it was a nice change.
-A can of sweet potatoes- I haven’t figured out what I want to use this for- maybe in my oatmeal!
-A bottle of Fuze (water meets juice)
-Pomegranate tea- I always love trying new flavors of tea.

It was so fun looking through the box and eating the goods of course. Thanks again Carly! I sent my box to Jessica over at Jessica is Baking.

And now it’s time for some details about Foodie Penpals from the host Lindsay:

-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. So, I’m going to keep two separate lists and match US w/ US and Canada w/ Canada!

If you’re interested in participating for March, please send  an email to Lindsay at theleangreenbean@gmail.com and include the following information:
-Your full name
-Your email address
-Your blog name/address
-Your twitter handle (if applicable)
–WHETHER YOU ARE A US RESIDENT OR CANADIAN RESIDENT. – this is SUPER important so you get on the right list!

You must submit your information by March 4th as pairings will be emailed on March 5th!

Question: Did you have a penpal as a kid?