It’s Foodie Penpals Reveal Day! Also known as the day I get to show off the goodies that Sara from The Paper Jellyfish sent me. I’m happy (sad?) to report that none of the contents lasted more than a few days before they were consumed, but the loot lives on in the photo. Sara checked out my blog and already had some idea of the challenges of being my Foodie Penpal before we even contacted each other: no sugar, dairy, grains or legumes make the pickings a bit slim when it comes to edible, somewhat non-perishable items to ship across the United States for a foodie blogger to enjoy. But the box was stuffed with delicious things nevertheless:

Cashew butter: so smooth and sweet! I’m planning on whipping up my own to make a dairy-free cheesecake like this gorgeous one soon.

Coconut flakes: I’m crazy for coconut in any form…be it flour, flakes, water, milk or oil. Moistening unsweetened, dried coconut flakes with a bit of water and enjoying its natural sweetness is one of my favorite snacks.

Spices: Sara sent me whole, multicolored peppercorns and cayenne from Simply Organic and I can’t wait to sprinkle them on meat or crush them into soups.

Spearmint water: the sleeper hit of the box, I was initially confused when I lifted this up to read the label. So, it’s just water with a bit of mint mixed in? Well, I’m here to tell you, there’s no “just” about it. This product is definitely more than the sum of its parts and makes an incredibly refreshing thing to take to the gym (what I did). It’s like water in its Sunday best.

Coffee: this is actually the only thing that I received that is yet unopened, because I don’t have a coffee maker! I love coffee to the extent that I think it may be better if I scaled the habit back a bit, so the past week has been an exercise in resisting coffee’s charms. I’ll pop this bag into the freezer and enjoy it someday, however, I’m sure!

So that’s what I got for the July edition of Foodie Penpals! I was matched with Dee of Happy Girl Confessions and sent her a box of fun things that hopefully arrived intact!

Curious about the Foodie Penpals program? Read on! Hosted by 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 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.