Foodie Penpals October

Foodie Penpals is coordinated by Lindsay at The Lean Green Bean. Participants send off a box of food stuffs to their assigned partner and in return they receive a box of goodies. How fabulous is that? (You can read more about it - and sign up! - HERE.)

My September partner was Ruthie from New York City who blogs at The Tasty Truth. She's a food reviewer/journalist and a health food advocate, and all of that was evident in the treats she sent me. According to the note she included in the package, all the things she chose were things she'd splurge on for herself. Um, Ruthie, do you need a roommate? *smile*

Just look at all the delightful healthful yumminess she mailed me:

Gluten free chocolate almond Bobo's Oat Bar. The taste and texture of this was very similar to the cookies my grandmother used to make. That made my heart so very happy.

Coconut Maple Vanilla Superfood. It's called an "oat-based cereal" and you just add water (hot or cold) to the cup for a breakfast-to-go. It's gluten free, organic, and has no refined sugar or additives or preservatives. I can't wait to try it!

Orange-Ginger Almonds. Non-GMO, no refined sugar, and so delish. Ginger is one of my favorite flavors! I'm totally thinking about tossing some in the food processor to make almond butter. How amazing does that sound?

*not the actual product

Macaroons!!! Piña colada macaoons, to be exact. OMG. I opened the container and was overwhelmed by the scent of coconut-rum amazingness. According to the label they're "all natural, no sugar added" and the company is New York based so I'm guessing it's a local treat (?). To prevent myself from eating the entire batch of these myself, I took them to a party - having dipped them in dark chocolate. Sooo tasty.

And, finally, an apple pie flavored Larabar! Such a simple list of ingredients: dates, almonds, unsweetened apples, walnuts, raisins, cinnamon. Larabars are so nice. And what a perfect fall flavor.



THANK YOU SO VERY VERY MUCH RUTHIE! SO MUCH YUMNESS.....YOU'RE SIMPLY THE BEST!

Foodie Penpals September

I recently learned about this nifty program called Foodie Penpals that is coordinated by Lindsay at The Lean Green Bean. Participants send off a box of food stuffs to their assigned partner and in return they receive a box of goodies. How fabulous is that? (You can read more about it - and sign up! - HERE.)

My September partner was Julie from Brooklyn. (She doesn't have a blog so I can't link to her.) She sent me oodles of yumminess!

CRACKSEED

Weird name. Weird stuff. It's dried plums coated with licorice and salt.
The bizarre thing is the pits aren't removed, they're cracked into smallish pieces (hence, the name)
so it's like dried fruit with crunchy bits  I don't think I'll rush out to buy another bag of them
but I did like them and I enjoyed learning of this strange product.

SALSA FROM THE BROOKLYN SALSA COMPANY

Remember those Pace Picante Sauce commercials where the guys are all horrified by the salsa that was made in New York City? That was my first thought when I saw this jar in my goodie box...lol.
This is some seriously GOOD salsa...heirloom tomatoes, jalapeños, and mangoes. Yumyum.

KIND BARS

Two Kind bars with dark chocolate, nuts, and sea salt. I first had a Kind bar at the Color Run 5K
and fell in love. I was pretty much ridiculously excited when I found these in the box from Julie.

Also...

a very adorable tiny tin with the message, "Chocolate is good for you." It's filled with coffee beans coated with dark chocolate. Be still, my chocolate-coffee loving heart. 

assorted candies (including the best gummies I've ever had)  in a cellophane gift baggie

chile-garlic powder

a copy of Shape magazine, a very fun addition to the box which I really enjoyed

Thank you ever so much Julie. Everything is PERFECT and I loved my goodie box!