Foodie Penpals & My March Box

After our move from Minnesota to Iowa, I took a few months off from Lindsay @ The Lean Green Bean's awesome penpal program: Foodie Penpals.

I was a devoted participant. Every month until our move, for over a year, I was sending and receiving a package full of goodies to/from a stranger across the United States.

What is Foodie Penpals exactly?  Here's an explanation taken straight from The Lean Green Bean:

• 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.

Sounds pretty simple, right?  Well it is.  And it's fun!  You have until the 4th of the month (for instance, if you wanted to participate in April, you have until April 4th) to head HERE and sign-up to be a part of the program. This is where I try and peer pressure you into totally doing it.  So-- DO IT!

Can you really disagree with One-Eyed Wyatt?

Now it's time to share with you the box of delicious treats I received from my incredibly kind penpal, Mary.  She doesn't blog otherwise I'd totally be promoting the poop out of her.  (Hi Mary!  If you're seeing this- you were so fun to shop for and I loved our quick emails back and forth!)

-Maple Bacon Kettle brand Potato Chips (crunchy & full of flavor!)

-Salazon Organic Dark Chocolate Bar with Sea Salt & Coffee (my husbands favorite thing in the box)

-Kind Bar (seriously, who doesn't love these?)

-3 pack of Ferrero Rocher (I didn't tell her I loved these & she got them anyway- score!)

-Harvest Rice Sticks & Citrus Chipotle Chickpeas from her Nature Box subscription (I really, really liked the Rice Sticks.  The chickpeas weren't bad but they just haven't been my favorite in general recently.  Ah, pregnancy!)

-Sample of Baby & Me vitamins from MegaFood + Sample size of Salamandra Naturals Lavender Oats Soap that she received in her Conscious Box Subscription (that soap smells glorious and I'm hoping to connect with the company and get a few sample to giveaway to you awesome readers!)

I got quite the haul, right?  I unfortunately did not have the foresight to snap a photo of the box I put together for Mary but I can promise you it was equally (at least I hope!) awesome.  

Have you guys tried any of the goodies in my penpal box?

Have you participated in Foodie Penpals?

If you have not, does it sound like something you'd like to do in the future?

Foodie Penpal reveal day is actually scheduled for March 31st... but I'm posting a bit early because *squeal* I'm taking part in Melissa Maygrove's COVER REVEAL!  So, I'll see you Monday!