Foodie Penpal 5

Hi friends!

My August Foodie Penpal Package

This month I got paired with Denine Gorniak, founder of three blogs, one of which is The Bicycle-Chef. Denine is one of the most considerate and kindest foodie penpals I have had yet. She is from Collingswood, New Jersey and enjoys trying new things and learning more about other sorts of diets, food stuffs, etc.  She doesn’t get into anything faux (no fake sugars or fat substitutes) and if it’s good, she’ll try it in moderation. She put together a wonderful package I have been enjoying ever since I received it.

Denine also attached a beautiful note describing everything she had included in my package.

Denine put together this postcard herself

description of my goodies

Being that I absolutely LOVE dark chocolate AND walnuts, the first thing I tried and nearly devoured were the organic dark chocolate covered walnuts (Denine suggested they would be a good mid day pick me up). I actually had them for dessert two nights in a row.

Organic walnuts covered with organic dark chocolate

The next thing I tried were Snap Pea Crisps. I have always been curious about trying them so I was excited when I was finally able to give them a shot. They were addictive and absolutely delicious, with just the right amount of crunch and not too much salt. They were baked, had 3g of fiber and 4g of protein per serving. These were definitely one of my favorite items.

baked snap peas (great snack)

Since my favorite meal of the day is breakfast, Denine included a box of red quinoa (which happens to be one of my favorite grains due to its nutty flavor and high protein content). She attached a fabulous recipe for quinoa porridge she enjoys during the fall cycling season. This recipe was featured on The Bicycling Hub as a guest post by Denine herself  🙂 I am excited to make a big batch and try it over the weekend!

red quinoa- 4g of fiber and 6g of protein per serving

Quinoa Porridge recipe

Another unique surprise I received in my package were two bags of spices that came from the kitchen of The Bicycle-Chef. One was an Italian Spice Blend and the other was a Mexican Spice blend. Denine swore she made delicious salt and additive free popcorn with these spices and boy was she right! I bought some organic popcorn kernels and sprinkled some of the Mexican Spice blend and I was instantly in heaven. I am looking forward to trying the Italian Spice blend tomorrow.

Denine placed the spices in this cute little bag!

Mexican Spice blend and Italian Spice blend

In this wonderful package I also received Fair Trade Dark Chocolate Spread. This is absolutely dangerous, but of course as soon as I saw it I toasted a piece of Ezekiel bread, spread some of this divine Belgium cocoa spread and chopped a few pieces of banana. This was an absolutely DELICIOUS, simple and fulfilling dessert (thanks Denine!) I will definitely need to buy more once it is gone!

Fair Trade Dark Chocolate Spread

Last, but not least Denine including two packets of Justin’s Almond Butter. She included a classic one and a maple one. These packets are so convenient because they are portable. I usually just throw them in my bag to have as a snack with a piece of fruit. I am glad she chose the almond butter rather than the peanut butter because I am not a fan of peanut butter in general.

Justin’s Almond Butter- classic and maple

I would like to thank Denine for such an AMAZING package. I thoroughly enjoyed everything and I could tell she put a lot of time and effort to making sure I would be able to enjoy and appreciate everything in my box. I am glad I have also been able to add another great blog to the list of blogs I follow 🙂