Hey everyone! I have a fun surprise for you all! If you haven’t heard of Lindsay’s Foodie Pen Pal program, you should definitely check it out on her blog, The Lean Green Bean. Bloggers and readers just send her an e-mail letting her know they want to participate in the next month and Lindsay sets up a list where you get a person to send a box of foodie “goodies” to. Then, someone else (not the person you sent a box to) sends you a box!
And no worries to anyone with food allergies or general hatreds of certain foods, the person giving to you gets your e-mail and asks about any allergies or things you really dislike! There’s also a price limit and you have to get it out by a certain time of the month so that they can post a recap of the box on their blog (if you’re a blogger).
I was very intrigued by the idea so I decided to sign up! And guess who I got as my foodie pen pal? LINDSAY! Haha, I got the organizer herself! I knew I was in good hands. I did, however, feel bad telling her about my intolerances! (gluten, soy, pasteurized milk and white sugar… whew! quite a list). However, she totally succeeded!
I was so excited when I got my package, and I got it very promptly! Good work Lindsay!
She also included a great note, describing a lot of the items and why she got them!
I was so pumped when I opened my box! The first thing I saw was the Udi’s granola and I immediately tore into it! Haha, pre-picture taking, if you can tell!
My box also included two Larabars (LOVE), some red lentils, pumpkin seeds, a gluten free brownie mix and several food-related magazines! Haha I was wondering why the box was so heavy, it was the magazines!
You might notice the picture only had one Larabar… I ate the peanut butter one the day after getting the package, after my long run! You might remember this photo:
It was delicious. I also ate the other Lara bar that next week, and I used the granola quite a bit, especially as a yogurt topping!
I’ve also used the pumpkin seeds as a yogurt topping, and I’ve just been munching on them plain! I haven’t used the lentils or the brownie mix yet. I have a couple recipes to use the lentils and I just need to go ahead and make them! I’m also saving the brownie mix for a special occasion, haha I don’t want to make a pan of brownies just for me, that could be very dangerous! I have quite a sweet tooth and the sure sound good.
I really enjoyed participating in the Foodie Pen Pal program! You should seriously consider doing it, it’s open to bloggers and readers, as well as anyone from Canada now too!
Also, be sure to head over to Tidbits For Today to see what I sent Julie!
Here is some information from Lindsay about her Foodie Pen Pal program, if you want to participate!
-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 me 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!
***PLEASE NOTE: if you send an email, you WILL GET A RESPONSE within 48 hours. If you don”t….please re-send your email or contact me via Twitter (@LeanGrnBeanBlog). Last month we had a few emails get lost as spam so we’re trying to avoid that!
Have you ever had a penpal or done a package-sending program like this one?
What is one item you love that you would send to someone?