A foodie's quest to turn up the heat through strength and conditioning with whole food and a hungry mind.

Thursday, August 30, 2012

August Foodie Penpal Reveal and Go Friday!


It's time for another (my second) Foodie Penpal reveal! This is such a fun way to meet new foodies and share great food and drink.  You can also learn about the food others consume around the country.  Let's give a great big thanks to Lindsay at The Lean Green Bean for putting this exciting foodie event together!

This month my FPP Package came from Melissa VanEvery, and I'd say she hit all of my tastes in one box! If you've read my blog before, you probably know I tend to keep most processed, packaged foods to a minimum.  Even then, they undergo my scrutinous ingredient and nutrition label examination before getting in my basket.


I like love treats, and for that reason must make them myself so I don't have the convenience of just opening a packaging a mindlessly eating the whole thing!  I say this because I have.  Not proud.  Now I make what I want to treat myself to and can control all ingredients to omit the fat, sugar, and nutrient-stripped flour.

Melissa's note from the package said she wasn't sure what unprocessed meant to me, but all of the items she sent are things I would and do buy.  Lets go over my August Food Penpal Package.....

A box of green tea from Trader Joes - Perfect! I drink multiple cups of green tea with stevia a day, one less thing I have to buy at the store on my next trip!

The Wizard's Organic Original Hot Stuff - Cayenne is listed in the ingredients twice! 'Nuff said. Love it!

Bottle of Cayenne Powder - This is my salt and pepper; goes on everything not cereal! I buy the stuff in bulk, but now, like the tea, I can skip this on my next few trips.

In-Shell Roasted Peanuts - Melissa got these from a local farmer's market and they are simply wonderful! I told Kelley I wanted to make peanut butter with these, but then I started to open and eat them instead of putting in the food processor.  Oops.  At least I saved some to top our plain Chobani Greek Yogurt alongside a chocolate version of my microwave protein bread. If you ever wondered what awesome tastes like, this is it!

World Market Italian Roast Coffee - Like tea, I love my caffienated beverages....no cream or sugar, thank you.  I served the coffee with my microwave protein bread for a wonderful Sunday breakfast with Kelley. We both agree, the coffee was very good; great choice, Melissa!

Thank you, Melissa, for literally delivering on some of my favorite foods! These won't last long in our house since they are all daily staples! Melissa doesn't have a blog of her own, but she was a wonderful Foodie Penpal.

After reading this post, head on over to Natalie's blog at Fresh Life Findings to see what I sent my August Foodie Penpal.

Happy Friday, Enjoy Your Weekend!


The Lean Green Bean


Is this the first time you’ve heard about Foodie Penpals? Would you like to join? Here’s the info right from Lindsay’s site; I highly recommend joining in on the fun!

-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 September, please CLICK HERE to fill out the participation form and read the terms and conditions. 

-You must submit your information by September 4th as pairings will be emailed on September 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!

8 comments:

  1. isn't foodie pen pals just the greatest? It's a package of pure happiness every month! love me some green tea! haha- how fitting you received cayenne!

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    1. I know, FPP really is something awesome and only "foodies" can truly appreciate!

      I can never have too much cayenne, so it's always a welcome item in my package.

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  2. Looks like you got some good treats! Especially spicy! Pretty much everything you gave us is already gone, we loved our treats!

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    1. Yep, I'm enjoying some green tea and roasted peanuts right now...perfect! Oh, and I have a cayenne dusted dish baking right now too.

      Very glad you guys enjoyed the treats....maybe I should make some of those now....hmm.....

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  3. Love Drew's salsa! It's amazing!

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    1. It's hard to find a good jar of salsa with clean, whole food, ingredients and Drew's gets it right! Have you tried their dressings? The smoked tomato is pretty much the best and is great to add to any grain you cook on the stove, as a marinade, or just mixed with some steamed veggies for a quick and delicious dish.

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  4. Green tea with stevia is awesome isn't it- my hubby drinks mate with the natural green stevia and it also goes together very well :) Ellie

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    1. Agreed! Green tea is awesome; stevia is awesome; together they're.....awesome squared?

      I just got 2lbs of the green powdered stevia, it has more of a bitterness to it, but I'll take it if it's less processed. Thanks for reading!

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