Foodie Penpals & Yummy Snacks.

 

 

It's that time again! Foodie Penpal reveal day ;)

 



 

This month I received some goodies from Melissa over at Brooklyn Locavore! She has a passion for all things local and really tries to get to know her community and where her groceries are coming from! I think that's awesome and it definitely inspired me to get to the farmer's market more and talk with the local farmers. It's so important to support the small businesses!!! I also thought it was perfect and too funny since Joe lives in Brooklyn! Now I have the inside scoop from Melissa when I go to visit next time on what and where to check out some cool stuff :) So excited!

 

 

 

Melissa put an AWESOME box together for me. She really out did herself and put a ton of thought into what I would like and I'm SO thankful!!

 

First up are Bombay Ranch flavored Kale Chips. Amazzzzing! I've always wanted to make them, but I don't have a dehydrator and haven't attempted the oven just yet lol. Plus, these are raw and handmade in Brooklyn. So awesome.

 

As soon as I saw this item I started drooling and dove right in. Chocolate. Berry. Granola. OMG. It's sooo good. She picked it up at her farmer's market and I devoured it. I'm thinking about trying to replicate it since I haven't seen any similar kinds around here. Great with cold almond milk :)

 

Mmmm cookies!! These Coconut Crunch Cookies were a raw treat. All natural and delicately sweet from the coconut and dates, yummm.

 

 

 

This Chia Nopal Energy bar looks so good! I haven't had a chance to try it yet, but I'm probably bringing it to the beach with me tomorrow!

 

Last but most certainly not least is Melissa's homemade Corn Salsa!! Yumm I love homemade goodies :) It's the perfect compliment to some tortilla chips and a football game! Can't wait to finish it up during the game this week!

 

 

Thank you so much Melissa for sending me such awesome treats to try! Everything was delicious and I'm very grateful!! :) Check out what I sent to Stephanie over at Athlete at Heart!

 

 

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And now it's time for some details about Foodie Penpals. In case you’re a new reader, here’s a reminder of what the program is all about:

-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.

If you’re interested in participating for August, please CLICK HERE to fill out the participation form and read the terms and conditions.

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

*If you're from somewhere besides the US, Canada or Europe and want to participate, send me an email and I'll see if we get enough interest this month!

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Alright, so I've been absent for like a month I know lol. I have a few blogs that I need to put up including the raft up and Celebration in Phoenix with my company. They're coming in the next week hopefully :) In the meantime, I've been getting some fun fresh organic produce from Farm Fresh To You lately and have been trying new things. If you have never had Shishito Peppers before, you MUST go buy some! Omg they're soooo good! I got a container in my farm box a few weeks back and didn't know what to do with them till I searched around. SO much flavor in such a small pepper, who knew!

 

 

Shishito Peppers

 

 

• 1 pint shishito peppers
• 2 tsp oil for sauteing
• pinch or two Himalayan/Celtic sea salt
• 1/4 lemon
   

I literally served these bad boys up in about 5 minutes tops. They're perfect for an appetizer, side dish, or even snack. Wash the peppers and pat them dry. Heat up a skillet on medium high heat with 2 tsp of oil. I used EVOO. Once the skillet is hot, add the peppers and just saute them for about 2-3 minutes on each side till the skins start to get brown and bubbly. Plate them and sprinkle with salt and lemon juice to your liking. That's ittt! Super easy and they're sooo good, enjoy ;)

 

 

Healthy Sweet Potato Fries

 

 

I've been getting a lot of sweet potatoes in the farm boxes lately so I thought I'd make some healthy fries. Just as easy as the peppers, with a tiny bit more work.

 

• 2 large sweet potatoes
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• few pinches Himalayan salt

 

Wash the potatoes and slice them into thin strips as pictured. Put them in a plastic bag with the oil and shake till coated. Spread on a cookie sheet covered in parchment paper and sprinkle with desired salt. Bake in 425 degree oven for 15 minutes. Flip them all over and bake for another 15 minutes. Goes great with a horseradish dipping sauce, ketchup, or maybe even a ginger dipping sauce! Yumm.

 

 

Fun Findings in July

This month was the first time I participated in Foodie PenPals! A program put together by Lindsay, over at TheLeanGreenBean, for foodies around the country such as myself! At the beginning of the month you're assigned someone to send a package of $15 worth of fun foodie items to that you think they'll enjoy. You receive from one person and send to a different person, and then post a blog about what you received at the end of the month. This month I received my package from Summer, over at EatReal.LiveWell, who lives over in sunny Florida!

I was SO excited when I saw all these delicious goodies she picked out for me!!! :)

I have never had freeze dried fruit before but it was so good! Literally melts in your mouth.

These carrot cake cookies were also super yummy. I love how they incorporated coconut into them as well. Great for snacking when I'm out and about and they're raw!

Yummm, chocolate! Need I say more?? Who doesn't like chocolate! The coconut raw bar was such a treat! Sweet and chewy for a perfect snack, while the chili chocolate was spicy and sweet! I've never had chili chocolate before and have always wanted to try it, and it was definitely tasty! The perfect blend of sweet chocolate with a kick ;)

Ah, the spirulina bar! I munched on this beauty while roaming around Universal Park up in Hollywood for the day! It was a great energy boost and tastes just like bananas!



And finally the strawberry preserves she picked up from her local produce stand! She says this is the absolute best strawberry preserves and I cannot wait to try it! I need to use up what's in my fridge first, but I'm excited to dig in soon. She even included a cute postcard from the same farm with a note! :)

What a great box of goodies Summer picked out for me!!! She really hit it right on with everything I love to snack on. Thank you so much for putting this together for me Summer! I loved it all :)

Check out what I sent to Madison over at PilatesMakesYouHappy!

--------------------------------------------------------------

 

And now it's time for some details about Foodie Penpals. In case you’re a new reader, here’s a reminder of what the program is all about:

-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.

If you’re interested in participating for August, please CLICK HERE to fill out the participation form and read the terms and conditions.

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

*If you're from somewhere besides the US, Canada or Europe and want to participate, send me an email and I'll see if we get enough interest this month!

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The next fun thing I discovered this month was when I was roaming around the Orange County Fair and saw a booth for 'Farm Fresh To You'. It's about ten local organic farms in the area coming together and putting difference boxes of produce together and delivering right to your doorstep every week or as little or often as you want that month. I was originally looking into the co-ops where you become a member and go pick up your box of produce every week from whatever retailer they drop it off at, but this is way better! Not only is there no membership and it's pay as you go, you can add or change items you might not like or want. You can see what's coming the following week and log in to your account and make any necessary changes, including the type of produce box you want to receive! There are mixed boxes, all fruit, all veggies, and ready to eat ones with less cooking required produce. I thought this was such a great idea not only to support local organic farms, but they literally pick the produce and bring it to you by the next day or so. MUCH fresher than even the organic markets I regularly go to and everything was SOOO tasty!

I decided to get the regular size box to start out with and adjust it from there depending on how much we'd eat in a week. I got the mixed box which is a combination of fruits and veggies. That particular week it came with grapes, nectarines (faveee), plums, cherry tomatoes, assorted tomatoes, a lemon, an onion, a cucumber, a bunch of carrots, and a head of lettuce. The fruit was sooo amazingly juicy and fresh, and the tomatoes and other veggies just as good! I will definitely continue to get a box from FFTY every week! Oh, and if you live in the LA,or Orange County areas you can save $10 on your first order with referral code 6164 and giving them my name, Gabbie Raymond ;) Enjoy!

A friend of mine from back in New York was visiting this past week so things have been a little crazy, but I'll post some recipes I made in a day or two ;)