Happy Fall - It's Pumpkin Time 2

So now that we are officially in October, I am finding so many more pumpkin items out there. There are so many, that if I would buy them all, I would need a second source of income and a storage locker to house it all. I have found yogurt, bagels, butter, cream cheese, English muffins, granola bars, pancake mix, soup, M&Ms....the list goes on and on. I couldn't buy all of those, but I did get some to try and so far I have been pleasantly surprised.

Pumpkin Pie flavored lip balm. I found this in Spring at Good Harvest Market and it's getting to the end, but I use it right before bed. It's like my form of calming lavender scent that some people use to fall asleep :)

A former co-worker turned me onto this Lean Cuisine meal and started my obsession with butternut squash. The hint of sweet in the meal is perfect to balance the veggies and cream sauce.

I was hoping to find a single container of pumpkin yogurt, but found a 4-pack of mini yogurts. I was pleasantly surprised with the flavor. Start with a vanilla yogurt and add just a hint of pumpkin to it - very delicious and almost could be a dessert! And just 60 calories in 4 oz.

This entire meal is brought to you from O What a Day Cafe. The cubano wrap was heavenly and the fresh fruit was oh so tart. The roasted sweet potato soup (sure it's not pumpkin, but it's fall flavored) was amazing. I added the apple pieces to it, but not the bacon. I didn't want to lose the flavor of the sweet potato and sometimes bacon can do that. I wish I would have gone back and ordered more to take home, yep that good! On a side note, the cafe is moving in 2014 and I'm just hope it doesn't move too far. I don't go here often, but after having amazing soup here now twice and great wraps, it is on my radar. So please don't move far!!!!

This is the muffin from the first post on pumpkin that I did. I don't recommend these. This was my first true disappointment in a pumpkin product. The muffins taste more spiced than actually pumpkin and they are really dry! And they are tiny!!!! For the fat and calorie content, I would chose something better.

Like these!!! The crunchy granola top, paired with the creamy pumpkin frosted bottom makes an excellent snack. Sure they aren't too good for you, but one as a snack will really hit the spot. (2 point plus on WW, as I found on this blog.)

So that is a bit more pumpkin - hope to try a few more things this week and weekend and report back more on my findings. Oh and the beer - well my cousin is having her annual Fall Fest beer tasting at the end of the month, so I think I might save these and buy a few more to take up by her for just that occasion!

Foodie Penpal Month 8

I cannot believe how fast eight months have flown by and that I have been a part of this great program for that long already. But yep - I received my 8th Foodie Penpal package this month and it came from Serina at Serinarina's Plate from Atlanta.

Ok - here are the goods:

I love tea and just opening the box, I could smell the wonderful aroma. This online company has a Tea Room in Atlanta. 

I received this mix from Foodie Penpal Month 2 as well - it must be a staple that I wasn't aware of until this program! :) My mom shared some of the mix with her coworker that she knew would love this as I now have a ton. This is great to add to soups and chili to help thicken it up and add nutritional value as well!

And finally, the heavenly no-bake, homemade granola bars. My mom and I pretty much could not stop eating these. Serina sent along the recipe and just this past weekend, my mom made more. Ours ended up a bit gooey-er but they are soooo good. I think the rice krispies add the little extra that makes these so unique. I don't see that Serina has blogged about these granola bars yet, so I will share the recipe on a future post that she sent me. 

If you are interested in the program, here is how it works: 

-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.