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Thursday, February 28, 2013

February Foodie Penpal Reveal Day!!!

The Lean Green Bean

Once again my Foodie Penpal has left me speechless. This month I was the lucky recipient  of an awesome Vermont package from Elizabeth.All the items she sent me were made in Vermont which has given me one more reason to visit!!! AND she was able to put this little goody together amidst a snow storm on top of that!!
We haven't yet made the pancakes - I am saving those for a "breakfast for dinner" meal. Especially since it is real Vermont syrup!!!
My husband loves dip with his veggies - so the garlic dill dip is sure to be a favorite with him!! We haven't had chili in such a long time in our home so this was a nice reminder. So it will be on the meal plan within the next few weeks!
Now this was my favorite goodie out of this delish package. Oh....my....goodness!! These crackers were so darn crunchy with tons of cheesy yumminess with just a bit of bite to it. I am giong to have to do a search for these in my area - which I am hoping to find. I would buy these things again and again!!!!!!
Thank you Elizabeth :) this was truly a wonderful treat box!!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
And now it's time for some details about Foodie Penpals.  In case you’re a new reader, here’s a reminder of what the program is all about:
-On the 5th of every 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 treats! The spending limit is $15. The 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 are 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 Penplas is open to US, Canadian & European residents.  Please note, Canadian Residents will be paired with other Canadians only. Same with Europeans. 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. 
If you’re from the US or Canada and are in participating for November, please CLICK HERE (www.theleangreenbean.com/foodie-penpals/) to fill out the participation form and read the terms and conditions. 
You must submit your information by March 4th as pairings will be emailed on March 5th!

*If you're from Europe, please CLICK HERE (www.thisisrocksalt.com/foodie-penpals/) to signup.


Thursday, January 31, 2013

Foodie PenPal Reveal Day!!

The Lean Green Bean


I absolutely look forward to this every month since I started. Not only do I get to meet new people from around the country - I get snacks in the mail!! This month was another great month... as usual!!

My Foodie PenPal was Dominique from Ohio. This was her first Foodie Penpal and let me say that she sent me a total awesome package that was pretty much gone in a few days. lol!! NO LIE half of her package was used for dinner that very night - which was quite handy since I have been slacking in my meal planning. 
 So many goodies - not sure where to start!!

 The Bella bar that she sent over was gone before my daughter even had a chance to try it. Talk about handy - since the package came post workout and I was STARVING!! I have not seen these in our local stores so it was new for me. Oh my goodness - it was so good!! It is like a Lara bar but totally vegan and is raw. (Though not sure if Lara bars are considered that too.) It was very chocolately and chewy which is what I needed at the moment. My daughter has braces now so I don't feel too guilty about noshing on it all by my lonesome - chewy goodies are off her list for a few years! Yes - it is like a hardcore detox for her. :(


 These goodies was completely new to me also. If you every see these little babies in the store - snag'em! Especially if you love peanut butter. These morsels were chock full of PB goodness. I was really surprised at how good they were since I am not too big on peanut buttery stuff. And only 100 calories!!! More importantly no preservatives!!


I have had these in many of the packages sent to me and I love getting them every time. They are a great quick snack for when I need something sweet. I usually toss them in my purse so I have some "emergency" sweets. The green apple was new to me and I loved it!!(Oops - sorry about the photo)

 This was our dinner that evening. I have never had quinoa noodles before so it was a great way to try them. I really liked them but hubby was a waffling on a decision which means he doesn't like them. He's not one for big change but he will get used to it. lol I liked the taste myself and my daughter did as well - and that means alot right there. The sauce was amazing!! I went in search of it the next day and was pleased to find that our local grocery store carries this brand in the organic section. Like I said before - this saved my day!!


The last item I received was a Kind bar which I still have yet to eat. But I have had them in the past so I know it will be yummy. And really - you can't go wrong when chocolate is an ingredient!! lol

Thank you so much Dominique!! You sent a really wonderful goodie box!!! :)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And now it's time for some details about Foodie Penpals.  In case you’re a new reader, here’s a reminder of what the program is all about:
-On the 5th of every 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 treats! The spending limit is $15. The 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 are 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 Penplas is open to US, Canadian & European residents.  Please note, Canadian Residents will be paired with other Canadians only. Same with Europeans. 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. 
If you’re from the US or Canada and are in participating for November, please CLICK HERE (www.theleangreenbean.com/foodie-penpals/) to fill out the participation form and read the terms and conditions. 
You must submit your information by February 4th as pairings will be emailed on February 5th!

*If you're from Europe, please CLICK HERE (www.thisisrocksalt.com/foodie-penpals/) to signup. 



Friday, November 30, 2012

Foodie PenPal Reveal Day

I was so loving this months goodie box!! My penpal was Melissa from Runs with Needles. Oh my goodness - such great stuff!!!


Where to begin. The Baked Nut Chips I think were my favorite. I have always wanted to buy these babies but never did. It always seems we have an over abundance of snacks at the time, so I always pass on them. Well - no more. these things are so good and gluten free!!! :)

I absolutely love the nut and cranberry mix. I keep these in my car for a quick snack when we are running about doing errands, swim practice etc. Nice and handy and very tasty!!

I am a tea drinker through and through so I was very happy to get the Stash Chai mix. I normally do not drink decaf but was glad to have some on hand when I was up entirely too late one night. The great taste of my beloved chai without worrying about being up all night.

The fruit snacks were wonderful, another thing I do not often buy. Why I am not sure - I guess they do not seem to appealing when I am shopping. And when I shop I am usually hungry - I know... a taboo. But after tasting these fruit strips - YUM!! They are on my grocery snack list!!

Last but not least is the salsa. We have not tried this yet but will be soon. We have a freaking Costco size salsa that we are trying to get through at the moment. (Not a future buy by the way - great price but too much refrigerator space!!!) So I am really looking forward to trying this!!

Please stop by Melissa's blog and check her out!! Also stop by and join the Foodie Penpal project. It is so fun and you get to meet some wonderful people!!

The Lean Green Bean

Monday, November 5, 2012

Menu Plan Monday - More Gluten Free (hopefully)



This week "we" (family is brought in unknowingly on this) will be trying to eat more gluten free. So I have been scouring the web for yummy ideas. Links attached when available. :)

Monday: Stuffed Cabbage

Tuesday: Shepherds Pie with Spaghetti squash casserole

Wednesday: Tacos

Thursday : Country Spare ribs with sweet potato fries

Friday: Stuffed shells with meat sauce

Saturday: Leftovers aka On-Your -Own

Sunday: Beer Butt Chicken with sweet potato fries

My daughter has been beggin' to make the beer butt chicken - she loves it. Plus I think she loves just saying beer butt!! 

Going to try to make breakfast for the girls this week since I have been lacking in this department. Emily has not done a great job finding things on her own to eat for breakfast and has often gone to school without eating hardly anything. Not too cool on mom's part. SO I need to crank this priority up a notch. I am hoping she will like this recipe Apple Pie Porridge. I am hoping by telling her there is sugar in it she will gobble it right up. Plus I will be using some of the 2 tons of honeycrisp apples I bought prior to Hurricane Sandy to use. 

For lunches - mainly mine since I am not too sure the girls or hubby will eat it, I will be trying out Dairy-free, egg-free, soy-free - Chicken Salad. I love me a good chicken salad but it is hard to find. Either too much mayo or not enough. Though my recipe will be using regular ole Hellman's, I thought I'd list the original recipe for those interested. I still have a load of Rudi's GF bread in the freezer so no attempts to make GF bread as of yet. I have ordered my flours from Amazon and just need to grab 1 more item for it and then I am good to go!! :) 

Snack I plan to make is Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins. This recipe looks so good!! And it gives me a chance to use the GF flour mix recipe

Have a delicious week!!

Thursday, November 1, 2012

October Foodie PenPal Reveal Day!!

I was so fortunate to get a great foodie penpal this month, Robyn of Robyns View,. Not only did she  send me some really tasty items she also sent homemade goodies too! MY favorite!!
I received 4 grinder shakers - garlic salt, garlic pepper, lemon & pepper and Italian herb. I am so into garlic right now so this was a god send!!

My daughter is in heaven with the Starbucks cocoa. We had a cup together after school today during homework in which she added a VERY generous application of the Mallow Bits!! And topped it off with a second helping half way through her cup!!

I have never seem the Better than Bouillon before so I am pretty excited about this. I make a lot of chicken broth homemade but this will be great in a pinch when I forget to thaw some out.

The ranch dressing mix is on my to do list this weekend. I have a bunch of veggies calling it name!!

And last but certainly not least is the Pumpkin Spice Sugar Scrub. Can you say body yum??? We have a date tonight with a nice hot bath.... can...not....wait!!!

I love Foodie Penpals!!! Thank you so much Robyn - this was such a great treat to receive today!!!! And stop by her blog - she has sooooo many great DIY ideas. She's such a crafty little thang - I am so envious!!!!


Thursday, October 25, 2012

21 Days to a More Disciplined Life Review

I was pretty excited to see that Crystal Paine was re-releasing her ebook 21 days to a Disciplined Life again revamped. I bought it awhile back and was able to implement many of her ideas into my daily life but knew I needed to refresh my look and reread it. So glad I did. More importantly I was able to get it in Kindle format, which is so nice in the sense I can actually jump to links via my Kindle. I was unable to with the PDF format, if it the way it works or just me I am not sure.

 I went through the book reading it and plan to go through again at a much slower pace, i.e. day by day as the book is laid out. I love how at the end of each chapter is a practical application that is easily attainable. There are small projects and a mega project. I have a disaster of a basement that seriously needs to be cleaned prior to Thanksgiving. It is so bad that even the thought of cleaning it overwhelms me. I know for a fact that i can tackles this using Crystal's ideas for the Mega Project. Even thinking about is doesn't throw me into a panic attack!! 

 And I love worksheets!! Yes - they are included!! So my plan? I am going to print my sheets out today and work on my 21 day Mega Project and get what needs to get done. Along the way I am going to find the few habits that mean the most to me and work on them.

 The biggest tip I have taken from this book is to not take on too much as we always seem to do. This ultimately leads to failure and frustration. Each night I have vowed to make sure my sink was empty and counters cleaned. And for over a week I have kept this vow and wow does it make such an impact on my mornings!!! The visual of a clean kitchen is enough to take my mood into high gear!! 

 My advice?? Get the book, read it, take what info you can from it and improve yourself in a few babysteps. Right now it is on Amazon for 99 cents - it least for the next 2 days. 21 days to a Disciplined Life

Wednesday, October 24, 2012

21 Days to a More Disciplined Life

I had bought this ebook in the past and really learned alot and even was able to implement a few things into my daily routine. But of course, bad habits die hard. I was so glad to see that Crystal Paine has revamped her book and even made it available to the Kindle!!

 It is also available for the next 3 days for 99 cents!! Stop by and grab it!!


21 days to a Disciplined Life


I will be reviewing here book and posting it within the next few days but get your own while you can at this great price - it is totally worth it!!

Weekly Wednesday Goals


Family:

1. Read 1-2 stories from D'Aulaires Book of Greek Myths
2. Work on touchpad with Sarah. 
3. Sit with Emily while she does her homework. 

Personal:


1. Exercise 6 days a week.  
2. Get my book list together and read a real book - it least 15 minutes a day. 
3. Get to bed by 10:30 this week.

Home:

1. Menu plan by Friday this week
2. Work on cleaning the basement it east 30 minutes 3x this week. 
3. Create my home cleaning schedule.  
4. Have sink cleared before bed. 
5. Make sure counters are cleared before bed
6. Write goals down and refer to them everyday.




This weeks goals:


Family:

1. Read 1-2 stories from D'Aulaires Book of Greek Myths2. Work on touchpad with Sarah. 
3. Make a batch of cookies together with Emily. 

Personal:


1. Exercise 6 days a week.  
2. Read for it least 15 minutes each day
3. Get to bed by 10:30 this week.
4. Catch-up on all podcasts
5. Schedule blogs for this week
6. Complete week 1 of Best Body Bootcamp

Home:

1. Menu plan by Friday this week. 
2. Make my 21 steps for cleaning my basement and work on a step each day. 
3. Create my home cleaning schedule.  
4. Have sink cleared before bed. 
5. Make sure counters are cleared before bed. 
6. Write goals down and refer to them everyday.
7. Get bills paid by Thursday before payday

8. Make sure swimming dues & fees are paid
9. Create gift closet list and begin making list

10. Wrap what presents I have at the present (lol)

It seems that most of my habit projects in the kitchen are sticking, but I am keeping them on my goal list for a few more weeks to make sure they are in like glue!! Otherwise the same problem spots continue.. *sigh*