This was my first month participating in Foodie Penpals. If you’ve never heard of this before, each month you get assigned a different person to send a package of foodie goodies too (someone also is assigned to you). The spending limit is under $15 dollars so it’s not terribly expensive. This is open to bloggers and non-bloggers so don’t worry if you’re not a blogger and want to participate.
Your encouraged to put together boxes of foods you like, or local foods that are tough to find elsewhere. You can also make something! I don’t have much access to different kinds of foods around here so I tried to focus on foods I like. This month’s box was also kind of easy since there were so many holiday goodies out there.
I put together a box of some holiday candy (like candy canes), Lara bars, Self magazine, Nugo bars, and holiday cookie cutters. Honestly, it was hard for me to stay under $15 dollars because it kind of gets fun shopping for someone else :). I sent my box over to Brooke: Not on a Diet.
Sending boxes is fun, but receiving one is even better :). I got a great box from Samantha over at RunningandCupcakes.com. Her box was so sweet because she actually took the time to bake me homemade goodies: butterballs and dream bars.
Dream bars are like everything delicious in the world mixed into one bar. Anything involving coconut and I’m good to go.
The crust on these is so good. So butter and delicious…kinda wish I had one right now.
Anything called a Butterball cannot taste bad. These included. They’re definitely different than your standard cookie. Basically, they taste like sweet almonds coated with powdered sugar. Mmm..so good!
She sent them in this cute, festive container too.
Along with the cookies, she also sent me Johnny Cake White Cornmeal, Dark Chocolate Dreams PB, and a Clif bar. I’ve never heard of Johnny Cakes before but she recommended I try it out so I think I’m going to have to. I believe they’re like a pancake. Since I love me some pancakes, I’m sure I’ll love Johnny Cakes! We all know how much I love Dark Chocolate Dreams PB too so I’m pretty psyched to have that back in my life (I’ve cut it out recently since I have zero self control when it’s around).
It was definitely a great box of goodies!! I think this exchange of foods is such a great idea. It’s fun to try new products, foods, or recipes that other people enjoy. The spending limit makes it doable too. Here’s some more information on it:
-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. *US Residents only please at this time- hopefully we can expand soon!*
If you want to participate, shoot Lindsay an email at theleangreenbean@gmail.com and include the following information:
- Your full name
- Email address
- Your blog name/address
- Twitter handle if you have one.
If you want to participate in January, make sure to email her by the 4th!
On a side note, happy New Year’s Eve!!! We won’t be doing much this new year’s because I’m pretty sick :(. We’re heading to dinner then maybe a movie and I’m actually perfectly fine with that.
(I couldn’t resist…that cracks me up).
What are your NYE plans?
glad you had fun your first month!!! hope you feel better soon!
Your box you sent me was great! Yours looks like it was filled with some pretty delicious goodies too!
Happy New Year!
Yeah… any cookie deemed butterball HAS to be good! You are correct.