July 31, 2012

July Foodie Penpals Reveal Day!

Hello Everyone & Happy Tuesday! 
Welcome to my 3rd Foodie Penpals Reveal Day!
The Lean Green Bean
If you'd like to learn more or if you'd like to become a Foodie Penpal, please CLICK HERE to fill out the participation form and read the terms and conditions.

This month I received a bag full of goodies from Erin, who promptly emailed me to tell me that she was my penpal :) I was super excited because this was Erin's first month participating in the program (I still remember the thrill of my first time!)
I let Erin know about my dietary restrictions (no dairy, meat, gluten, soy, or sugar) and my high raw vegan diet in advance. Erin said "It's going to be an adventure to come up with a package. I am excited to try shopping at a a health food store near my house that I have never been too before!" I just knew she’d find some good stuff to send me.
Take at look at what was inside my goodie bag:
Lots of delicious treats!!!
Erin sent me a cute little card and wrote a little something about each of the items she chose for me :)
First, a bag of Mum's Original Organic Culinary Coconut Cacao Nibs. Erin surely knows how much I loooooove coconut and this is a new product that I am  definitely in love with!!! The flavor was a delicious concoction of raw cacao and a perfect dusting of coconut sugar. I've been nibbling on them non-stop and adding them to a few of my favorite raw vegan recipes.
♥ Gluten-free, Vegan, Organic, Raw, Nut-Free, Soy-Free, Kosher, non-GMO
I'd never heard of the Mum's Original brand before but it's always nice to find a brand that is 100% devoted to superfoods and organic living.
 "The Taste Tester" was in Cacao Coconut heaven when I presented him with these tasty treats for us to share:
I can't wait to find out if they carry Mum's Original at my favorite health food store.
There was even more chocolate-y goodness where that came from because Erin also sent me a Cocoa Cravings Square Snack, a delicious energy bar that fueled my body, was easily digestible, and was made with good wholesome ingredients like real cocoa, almond butter (YUM!) and honey.
"The Taste Tester" and I shared this snack and it was soooooo yummy!! Funny, we haven't seen these in the supermarket yet...trust me, we've looked :)
Next up came Quinoa North, a Canadian-grown quinoa that is pre-washed and only takes about 8 minutes to cook. Erin mentioned that this particular brand of quinoa is grown about 20 minutes away from where she lives.  I thought that was pretty cool!
So far, I made a Quinoa Cranberry Pecan Salad and it was simply divine!!
...and that's not all!!

Erin also sent me a few samples of her favorite tea: President's Choice Lemon Thriller herbal tea.  This is a wonderful caffeine-free herbal tea with lemongrass and citrus peel. I usually like to add add extra lemon and/or honey to my tea but this particular tea was perfect just the way it is.
I plan to make a nice refreshing iced tea with the samples I still have left. Mmm!!
Last, but certainly not least, Erin went far and beyond anything I ever expected and included something special for that special little someone in my life:
"The Taste Tester" was so surprised to see these really cool Spiderman stickers!!
It was the perfect thing for him because we'd just recently watched the new Spiderman movie in 3-D and he was still very much in a superhero mood :)

He gives Erin a thumbs up for thinking of him...
...and he wrote a special thank you note too :)
With lots and lots of love xoxo

From the both of us

6 comments:

  1. The coconut cocoa nibs sound so interesting! I'll have to keep my eye out for them. That was sweet of your penpal to include something for your little one :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes! definitely keep an eye out for the coconut cacao nibs..I'll be keeping an eye out for them too! How sweet is Erin, right?! Such a nice surprise!

      Delete
  2. Maria!! I am glad you enjoyed the package! :) The note on the chalkboard is so sweet and made me melt! Glad you enjoyed your package!

    Erin xo

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thanks again, Erin! I thought so too...and together, we loved it!!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I just bought quinoa for the first time last week and I'm excited to try it out!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hi Laura! Quinoa is fantastic! There are so my things you can do with it too. Lately, I've been soaking/sprouting it for Quinoa Tabouli: http://thesunnyrawkitchen.blogspot.ca/2011/04/delightfully-raw-in-santa-barbara-part_11.html

    ReplyDelete