You probably didn’t notice, but I took a Foodie Penpal break over the past few months.  Life got a little too busy, and I didn’t want to fully commit and not be able to follow through.

But I’m back, baby!

First some information.  Foodie Penpals is the brainchild of Lindsay at the Lean Green Bean.  It’s basically a fun way to connect bloggers and readers from around the country (and even Canada!) and have them share their favorite foodie treats.  If you’re interested in participating, email Lindsay (theleangreenbean@gmail.com) before March 4th and be sure to include the following information:

-Your full name
-Your email address
-Your blog name/address
-Your twitter handle (if applicable)
–WHETHER YOU ARE A US RESIDENT OR CANADIAN RESIDENT. – this is SUPER important so you get on the right list!

Now for the great reveal…

My February Penpal was Brittnye from the Healthy Living Chick, and she put together an AWESOME box for me.  When Vishnu saw all the goodies she sent me, he was amazed and asked if I was going to continue participating after the wedding.  Haha.

The first item I want to talk about is a delicious Texas salsa…

Umm, y’all, this stuff is freakin’ good.  I literally top every dish I make with at least a couple of spoonfuls of this stuff.  The flavor is unlike any store bought salsa I’ve ever tried.  The smokey spices and slight sweetness take every dish to the next level.  So far, it’s made it’s way on top of my enchiladas, salads, omelets, and tacos.  I’m kind of a fan!

Next up, we have what I would call a snack stash…

Pistachios…the nut I love but am too cheap to buy.  I wish I were kidding.

The bars that have kept me one step ahead of intense hunger during my last couple trips.  If I had to choose favorites, I would definitely go with the Chocolate Almond Go Lean Crunch bar, the Chocolate Dipped Coconut Luna bar, and the Kind bar.  YUM!

Also in my box were some yummy “butters/spreads”…

The almond butter made it’s way into a breakfast smoothie, the chocolate hazelnut butter found itself paired with a banana after work one day, and the Nutella has not been used yet (only because I have an entire open jar that needs to be finished first).  And thanks to these little samples, I will be driving down to the Tampa Whole Foods this weekend to buy myself some hazelnut butter.  Heaven in a jar I tell you!

And there’s more…

To be honest, I’m not a huge tea person, but I gave this honey lemon kind a chance early last week, and I was surprised by how much I liked it.  If hazelnut butter is heaven in a jar, then this tea is comfort in a cup!  I wish I had some when I was sick a few weeks ago.

Brittnye also sent me a Maple Pancakes tea candle from Yankee Candle, my old employer!  I worked at Yankee Candle my senior year of high school, and this little candle took me back to the “good old days!”  And writing about it now has me craving pancakes!

And FINALLY, my wonderful Foodie Penpal also sent me a piece of Chocolate Texas…literally a piece of chocolate shaped like the state of Texas.  Sadly, I don’t have a picture of this delicious treat because Vishnu and I ate it up before I remembered to take a picture.  I assure you it was good…very good!

Brittnye, thank you SO much for everything!!!  I would never have guessed that I was your first Penpal!  You did a terrific job picking out all of my foodie treats.  And thank you, Lindsay, for organizing and hosting – you rock as well!

So if this post didn’t convince you to sign up as a March Foodie Penpal, I don’t know what will!  If you need more convincing, be sure to check out what everyone received over on Lindsay’s blog.

If you had to send your favorite foodie treat to a stranger, what would you pick?  I would have to go with Lindt’s 85% Extra Dark chocolate bar.