Last month was my first time participating in the Foodie Pen Pal exchange and it was fantastic!  I definitely knew I wanted to sign up again this month.  It was just as fun this time around!

I received a package from Michelle from Push, Pump, Progress.  Make sure you follow her on facebook too!  She sent such a fantastic package!!!  I had to wait for mine because it was sent to my new address in Ontario, which made the wait a little hard, but it was the perfect “welcome home” gift!

Michelle surprised me with a wide variety of items that I have never tried, so I was super pumped (no blog pun intended!) to receive everything.

I opened up the package to see this lovely box and a hand-written card from Michelle describing everything she chose for me!

Under that layer of tissue were fun artificial flower petals amongst all the tasty items!

Here’s the loot:

In Michelle’s words, here are all the items she chose for me:

1. Enjoy Life Chewy Bars: My April foodie pen pal introduced me to these!  They are allergy free and very tasty!  <– I’ve tried the very berry one, and it’s yummy and filling!
2. Vega Electrolyte Hydrator: I love vega products and these are great after a workout. <– Looking forward to trying this after working out!
3. Pukka Organic Tea: This tea is super yummy and will help you relax after a stressful day of teaching! <– I loooove tea, and I’ve never tried this brand or flavour, so I’m excited about this.
4. Earth’s Own Almond Milk: I don’t eat dairy so this stuff is a great alternative and the chocolate flavour helps curb my sugar cravings. <– I don’t drink any dairy and almond milk is my primary milk!  I’ve never had chocolate almond milk, so I was super stoked to receive this.
5. Pure Natural Soap: This isn’t food, but it’s gentle on your skin and smells great!  I thought you could take it with you to Kuwait. <– I confess, I’ve already tried one bar of soap because I just couldn’t wait!!  I’m using the green apple one now, and it’s so lovely.
6. Buckwheat Snacks: This is raw, vegan and gluten free and is a yummy snack!  Easy to pack for a road trip. <– I think I’ll enjoy these as is but also on yogurt in the a.m.
7. Rice Pasta: Enough said!  This is a much healthier alternative to regular pasta and easier to digest. <– I’ve only made rice pasta once and I enjoyed it, so this will make a great quick meal. 
8. Green Tea Candy: I had to throw in a little something for the old sweet tooth! <– These will be perfect in my purse. :)

Now, to whom did I send my package?  Well, I sent mine to Amanda who doesn’t have a blog.  So, lucky for you and I we get a little guest post from Amanda to share what I sent to her.  :)  Here it is, in her own words:

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Hi everyone!!!  Let me introduce myself!!  My name is Amanda and I was Alison’s lucky Foodie Penpal for the month of May!!  Alison gave me the honor of being a guest blogger and to write about the wonderful package that she sent me this month.  So please bare with me, as this is my first time writing a blog post!

I am sure that you have heard Alison talk about Foodie Penpals over the last few months and I’m sure that she will post about how you can join too, either below her post or mine!!  But back to the good stuff!!  One of my favourite things about being involved with Foodie Penpals is receiving a package in the mail every month, now who doesn’t like that!!  Alison’s package did not disappoint!!

I wasn’t expecting her package so early in the month, so it came as a fabulous surprise!!  The second I tore open her package, it smelt wonderful!!  Alison had included a soap from Rocky Mountain Soap Company in Sweet Basil and Lavender and it smelt like heaven!!  Excellent choice on the soap selection Alison!!  The soap was an added surprise to the rest of my yummy food and drink selection Alison sent me!!

Alison included a wonderful little note about all the wonderful things she had sent me.  Which I now realize that I didn’t include it in any of my pictures!  Sorry Alison!!  She also wrapped each item in green tissue, which was a nice added touch!

The first two items that I opened were the chestnuts and pumpkin seeds.  Yummy!!  I’m trying to eat a clean diet so nuts are one of my favourite snacks and the Spicy Pumpkin seeds I can’t wait to devour.  I have actually never tried chestnuts, so I’m excited to try something new!

My next two items were tea.  Alison you nailed it with this package!  I love any kind of tea; I can drink it all day!!  Alison ended up sending me two black teas from Silk Road.  I loved it!  I had a cup as soon as I finished taking the pictures!  I love a nice, strong tea!

The following item was Wild Garden Hummus.  Hummus is a staple in my diet!  I loved the packaging; I wish we had things like this in Canada, so handy to have!  I believe Alison said she found it in the States, so if anyone has found something similar in Canada, let me know!

Thank you again Alison for the fabulous package, you could have not done better!!

You’re welcome, Amanda!  It was an absolute pleasure to have you as a foodie pen pal.

How can you sign up?  Here are the details:

Here are the details straight from Lindsay at The Lean Green Bean:

• 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 pen pal!
• 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 May, please CLICK HERE to fill out the participation form and read the terms and conditions.

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