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Archive for the ‘Food Ideas’ Category

It’s Foodie Penpal Reveal Day! Who is excited? I love getting mail and getting mail is even more fun when you receive delicious foods in the mail. My foodie penpal for June was Taylor from Taylor Made. Taylor is a nutrition student studying at Ohio State University. Be sure to checkout Taylor’s blog, I’ve been reading it every since we were first paired for Foodie Penpals. Not only does Taylor have an awesome blog, but she can really pack a foodie penpal box!

The theme of my box was Chocolate! Who can argue with chocolate? I had expressed my love for chocolate and peanut butter while talking with Taylor through e-mail (what blogger doesn’t like PB it’s a requirement to be a blogger I swear!). Taylor did a wonderful job of packing a box that I can truly say I enjoyed (and am still enjoying) every single last item in the box!

  • Peanut Butter Cookie Luna Bars – my favorite Luna bar!
  • Justin’s Almond Butter- is there anyone that doesn’t like this?
  • Archer Farms (I love Target!) Trail Mixes — one Cajun and one Raspberry Nut — these are delicious and make for the perfect snack food. One was spicy and one was sweet.
  • Peanut Butter and Company Dark Chocolate Dream — This stuff is amazing and makes for jar 13 in the number of opened PB bars I have in my kitchen — addiction? I’d say so.
  • Mauna Loa Chocolate covered nuts. Delicious!
  • Belgian Chocolate Thins — perfect for chocolate cravings!
  • Ferrero Rond Noir – Fine dark chocolate with almonds. Yes, please!!

Thank you so much Taylor for an awesome package! If you’d like to see what I sent check out Nicole’s blog at Apples and Arteries

foodiepal stamp2 Foodie Penpals

Are you a foodie penpal? If not, I highly suggest giving it a try. You’ll quickly become addicted and meet some awesome blogger along the way.

Here are some details: (Click on the Foodie Penpal icon above to sign up!

-On the 5th of the 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 treatsThe spending limit is $15The 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 can choose 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 Penpals is open to US, Canadian residents & UK 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. So, I’m going to keep two separate lists and match US w/ US and Canada w/ Canada!

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When it comes that time again to send out Foodie Pen Pal packages, I seriously cannot wait to get my mail that week. It’s like a kid at Christmas time. This month I was paired with Rachael, the blogger at Ready to Get Sweaty and she sent me an amazing package! I sent a package to Lyndsa, the blogger at Thinspiration.

foodiepal stamp2 Foodie Penpals

Rachael sent me an adorable package filled with plenty of tasty, yet mostly healthy snacks. I had indicated to Rachael that I was on the look-out for healthy snacks since I am constantly on the go and she created “Michelle’s Snack Bag” for me!

Isn’t her hand-written note adorable?

Beneath the note was this wonderful package:

The reusable bag is perfect for packing a lunch or snacks!

Inside I found, plenty of awesome treats:

My package included: Boston Cookies (a local item) in Chocolate Chip, a Cliff Kid’s bar, a Luna Bar, 100 calorie popcorn, Zico coconut water, Justin’s Peanut Butter, Justin’s Almond Butter, a Whole Foods 365 Cherry Fruit Strip, Barbara’s Snackimals and Crispy Green Dried Asian Pears.

My package also included, this: Simply Salsa Mix…the mix smelt great and tasted even better when I made it!

Thank you Rachael for an awesome package!!

Are you a foodie penpal? If not, I highly suggest giving it a try. You’ll quickly become addicted and meet some awesome blogger along the way.

Here are some details: (Click on the Foodie Penpal icon above to sign up!

-On the 5th of the 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 treatsThe spending limit is $15The 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 can choose 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 Penpals is open to US, Canadian residents & UK 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. So, I’m going to keep two separate lists and match US w/ US and Canada w/ Canada!

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Today, I successfully completed my first per diem assignment as a health promotion/biometric screener for a local company. It was a lot of fun. I worked a health education station. It was very interesting to see the various goals people have for themselves as far as health and fitness go. It is also interesting to see that everyone has a different view of healthy. Yet, I am amazed at the fact that the individuals who are healthy — according to BP, BMI and cholesterol levels are the most eager to make changes in their lives; opposed to those with dangerously high numbers. The one thing I did not like was having to get up at 4am. I am not much of a morning person. It’s currently 6pm and I feel like I’ve been up for days and could fall asleep at any given moment …..if I begin to ramble and not make sense that’s why!

Afterwards, I had an awesome lunch date at a local burger place. You could literally put whatever you wanted and as much as you wanted of any topping on your burger. I opted for a nice and spicy burger (and probably needed a toothbrush afterwards) with pepperjack cheese, BBQ sauce, jalopenos and onions. Plus, I had a birthday cake shake (amazing).

Anyways the point I am getting at is have you ever heard of peanut butter on a burger? I wanted so badly to try it, but figured this would be something I would be better off trying at home in case I didn’t like it! I love peanut butter, but I am not quite convinced that it belongs on a burger!

What are your thoughts? What is the most random burger topping you have encountered?

(sorry for the lifeless, pictureless post! I need sleep ASAP)

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I had a left over half a pack of pudding from my baking, so I opted to try to make some pudding shots for the first time ever. They are good, but warning they are really strong.

Here’s what you’ll need:

  • shot glasses
  • 1/2 milk
  • 1/2 packet of instant pudding
  • 8 ounces of whipped cream
  • 1/2 glass of whipped vodka

Simply mix the ingredients in a bowl. Pour into shot glasses and chill in your fridge.

In all honesty, I’m not sure I will be serving mine. I don’t want everyone having to spend the night because they drank too much!

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Cake cookies might be a serious addiction. They are small, easy-to-small and don’t require cutting cake and using a fork and a plate to eat them. They are good, but definitely aren’t good for you…especially if you just keep popping them in your mouth! This is exactly why I only make them once or twice a year — to avoid over-indulging! Otherwise, I’m likely to indulge in one every time I go near my kitchen! Oops!

The recipe is simple…really simple!

  • Preheat your oven to 350-degrees.
  • Mix your favorite cake mix in a bowl (Betty Crocker or Pillsbury work well!)
  • Soften one stick of butter.
  • Mix the softened butter with the cake mix.
  • Spray your cookie sheet with a non-stick spray.
  • Place dough on your cookie sheet. Make your cookies small or large. The choice is yours!
  • Bake for 9 minutes.
  • Let cool and enjoy!

 

 

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Hope everyone had a fabulous Thanksgiving weekend and got all the Black Friday deals you might have been looking for! I must say…working again after refusing to allow myself to do work for four days in a row was quite the challenge! However, it was a really nice break from writing — with the exception of a little blogging!

My Party Planning List (It’s struggling a little bit at the moment!)

Hard to see from the picture, but this is my Penguins/Steeler/Pirate tree — yes I’m a little obsessed.

My blues/browns/tans tree, which matches the color scheme of most of the rooms in my house!

 

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Happy Thanksgiving!

Despite the fact that my kitchen is an absolute mess…my black counters kind of look white at the moment! Too much flour! Here’s my attempt at Thanksgiving baking!

Thanksgiving Turkey Sugar Cookies:

What you’ll need:

  • Sugar cookie mix or you can make cut-out cookie dough yourself
  • One egg
  • 1 Tablespoon Flour
  • 1/3 softened butter
  • Round cookie cutter
  • Rolling pin
  • Mixer
  • Mixing bowl
  • Cookie sheet
  • Chocolate, orange and a color icing of your choosing to make eyes!

Here’s my mess:

 

Thanksgiving Cupcakes:

Adorable and easy to make. Just make your favorite cupcakes and use marshmallows, sprinkles and candy corn to complete the rest!

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I found these desserts on lilsugar.com (fitsugar.com linked to it). These desserts are supposed to be for kids, but they are too adorable to pass up. Check them out here.  I wish I had the talents to make all of them.

I do plan on trying these though. I think the younger ones at Thanksgiving will get a kick out of them! I’ll post on my baking experience to follow next week.

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