My 1st Foodie Penpals Reveal!

Last month I shared with you that I would be participating in Foodie Penpals. Foodie Penpals is a program that Lindsay from The Lean Bean Green created in 2011. The program has grown from 30 participants in September 2011 to currently more than 600!!! How incredible is that?!!?

Cliff's Notes version of  the program is -  you receive a name from Lindsay on the 5th of the month. You contact the person to find out if they have any food allergies, dietary restrictions, etc. The dollar limit is $15 and you have until the 15th of the month to get your box of goodies together. On the last day of the month, you reveal what you received. Got all that?!?! :) For the official description of the program and sign up if you're interested, head over to the Foodie Penpals page!

I received my first box of goodies from Cristina at An Organic Wife. Cristina is 25 years old and about two years ago, made the switch to eating organic. The following quote is from her website, "All of our meat and dairy is locally sourced from grass-fed farms. I make everything from scratch, using no additives, artificial preservatives, or colors."

After "meeting" Cristina, I've started following her blog and it's such a great read. You guys have to check her out!

My box of goodies before I tore into it!

Since I'm currently prepping, I had to be a bit more selective with the things I could receive in my box. Cristina didn't seem to mind my list of boring things I could have and really hooked me up!!!

The spread including a handwritten card from Cristina!

I oohed and ahhed at every piece of yummy goodness that was in the box! Some of the goodies Cristina sent me included 365 Organic's German Mustard, Justin's Chocolate Peanut Butter, Zhena's Gypsy Tea in Vanilla Chai, and Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce.

I have a new favorite meal and addiction. Cristina created a monster! Here's what you need:

The salmon comes out spicy, salty, and oh so tasty. Salmon plus veggies has been my last meal of the day for the past few weeks and since making it with these three ingredients, I could NOT wait until the end of the day when it was time to grub on it. I will let you know that my heart is a bit broken because my diet just changed and my sauce has been taken away from me :( I believe my reply when I was told that I had to give it up was something along the lines of "NOOOOOOOO!!!!"

Have no fear, Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce. We will be reunited soon!

Meal #2 - Cinnamon Ezekial bread & cashew butter

You will hear many competitors rave about almond butter and while you will never catch me turning down any type of nut butter, you will not hear me proclaiming my love for almond butter. You will, however, hear me declaring my undying love for Artisana's 100% Organic Raw Cashew Butter!!! This stuff is no joke!!!

Don't get between me & my cashew butter!

I literally caught myself licking the inside of the packaging just to ensure I had eaten every little bit. I sent The Boss #1 a picture of the empty cashew butter packaging and said, "You need to get this in your life. This shit cray!"

The German mustard from 365 Organic was the perfect dressing for my 5 oz chicken + 1 cup salad + kalamata olives meal. I had to remind myself that if I used all of the mustard at once, I wouldn't have any for my next salad. The mustard tastes a bit like spicy brown mustard but less tart. I highly recommend it!

There you have it, some of the delicious goodies Cristina from An Organic Wife brought into my life! Thank you so much, Cristina!! You have made me & my tummy so very very happy!!

If you're interested in seeing what I sent my foodie penpal, head over to Raven's blog Surely There's An Instruction Manual!