Foodie Penpals!

In the back of my mind I have always wanted to have a penpal. I have just always thought it would be so fun! I love the idea of new and different places and new and different people. When I mentioned this to a friend, she gave me a link to The Lean Green Bean's Foodie Penpal program. I was intrigued. How could I go wrong? Not only would it be a penpal, but a Foodie one at that! So new and different places, new and different people, AND new and different food? Um, yes please. I wasn't sure if I wanted to commit right away thinking I might not have a lot of time, etc. (having had baby #2 in August), but I figured what the heck. Any reason not to do it would really just be an excuse. So I submitted my information and waited for a match.
This penpal program is really neat because you are paired with one person that you send a package to and a different person that you receive a package from. So each time you participate (which doesn't have to be every month, btw) you meet two new people! My first match was a woman from Michigan. I had fun sending a taste of Pittsburgh out to the mid-west! She even sent a cute thank you note in the mail back to me. The foodie paired with me was from Delaware. She is a super sweet college student studying dietetics... which is great because i have some baby weight to lose! We emailed a few times back and forth and then she let me know my package was on its way. I couldn't wait. Once it arrived, I was shocked! It was ginormous! I opened it up and under the tissue paper was a ridiculous amount of stuff!! On the very top was some homemade pumpkin granola- a super tasty healthy snack! She even included the recipe so I can make it again- which I plan to do! There was some crimson blossom herbal green tea, multigrain and flaxseed crackers (which my husband promptly found and paired with cheese!), fruit leathers, banana chips, wild rice mix, a can of soup for a quick lunch, healthier brownie mix, mango butter (um, yum! this will be a super new find for me), and some sea salt and caramel chocolates (which I will likely wait to indulge in when everyone else is sleeping). She even included a holiday rubber ducky and activity book for my boys. #1 was also pumped about the fruit leathers! So thoughtful!!Thank you, Lauren!!
This was such a great experience. It was a nice reminder that there are good people out there. I can't wait to sign up to participate again and see who I get paired with! I hope to keep in contact with my new foodie friends, too.