Reveal day!

Hey y'all! Guess what? It's Foodie PenPal reveal day! If you didn't read my first post about this program, this was my first month as a Foodie PenPal. Later in the post, I will describe the exact mechanics of it, but in short, I was assigned someone to send a package to, and someone else was assigned to me! The last day of every month is reveal day, the day that I get to tell you about the wonderful goodies I received from my PenPal. Well, today's the day, and I'm so excited to tell you all about it and about who and where I received my package from. My package came from Chantilly, Virginia. The first thing in the box was a letter from my PenPal. She describes herself as a retired grandmother named Sue who always cared about eating healthy. She has a daughter who is a dietitian who keeps her up to date on food happenings. I noticed that the box was packed with newspaper, which I really appreciate because I'm a huge fan of reusing and recycling! Once I reached the bottom of the box, there were several goodies to be found! First, I pulled out a homemade loaf of banana bread, but this was no banana bread like I've had before. Sue added a special ingredient--cocoa nibs that taste like chocolate! Then, I was excited to discover a jar of homemade orange marmalade. The next item I found was a "bear" of honey. Even the honey has a story! My PenPal purchased the honey from Red Gate Farm, from a beekeeper that harvests honey from local bees. The beekeeper's wife raises sheep that she uses to make yarn. How cool! Last, I found a bag of granola. This was also no ordinary granola! Sue receives a box of healthy snacks from NatureBox every month. The proceeds from these packages help feed hungry children in America. I am definitely going to look into ordering from NatureBox myself. Healthy snacks delivered right to my door while supporting a good cause? You just can't beat that!

First of all, everything in my package was absolutely delicious. Not only did everything taste wonderful, but every flavor was refreshing and new to me. I love trying new and different things, and everything in this box was just that. Hands down, my favorite treat was the Agave Citrus Granola. It is unlike any granola I have ever had before. Rather then being hard and crunchy like any granola I've ever had, it was soft, moist, and slightly chewy. Expecting a semi-sweet honey flavor like the typical granola my taste buds are used to, my taste buds danced with pleasure at the taste of the refreshing citrusy-sweetness! This is the most amazingly-delicious granola ever. I ate the entire bag of granola by myself; I didn't even add it to any yogurt or use it as any sort of topping. I ate it by itself, by myself. I had a spoonful or two a day, every day, until there was not a single crumb in the bag. Coming in a close second, the banana bread was simply heavenly. Since I was selfish with the granola, I figured the least I could do was share the banana break with friends and family. Everyone really enjoyed it, and most came back for seconds! My favorite way to eat it was to heat it up in the microwave and then add a scoop of vanilla ice cream to the top. The contrasting flavors, textures, and temperatures complemented each other so nicely. I have been enjoying and continue to enjoy the delightful orange marmalade. It is a wonderful addition to some toast or an English Muffin. I haven't gotten into the honey yet, simply because I want to use up the honey I already have before I open this one. I want to make sure it has its day in my pantry! 


Sue ended her letter with, "Hope you like it." Well, I hate to tell you Sue, but I didn't like it. I loved it!


Thank you so much, Sue! I was thrilled for you to send me my very first Foodie PenPal package! I can't wait to do it all over again next month. For those of you who aren't familiar with the program, look below to learn more about it, and feel free to check it out and sign up at Foodie PenPals!       

• 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.