Foodie Pen Pal Reveal and Runner Swag Swap

In October, I participated in two swaps--one related to food and the other related to running. I thought this might be a good way to meet other bloggers with interests in food and running. My two loves...

For those of you who don't know, Lindsay at The Lean Green Bean hosts a monthly Foodie Pen Pal program for bloggers and blog readers, across the U.S., Canada, and the U.K., to swap their favorite foodie things. There's still time to enter for November.

So, I received a package from the lovely Sarah Force, who doesn't have a blog but somehow knew just what I liked. Pumpkin butter...YES, PLEASE! I ate a little bit of it already and am now hoarding it. We don't have a Trader Joe's here, and it seems like a store I would spend our savings on. There's also no Whole Foods here either. The closest Whole Foods is in Baton Rouge, which is 2.5 hours south of here.

Of course, I could make my own pumpkin butter BUT WHY?! Sarah was kind enough to send me seaweed snacks, cocoa almond spread, Halloween gummies, fruit flakes, and whole wheat couscous. My children love to eat couscous and that is what I prepared that night for dinner. I sauteed chicken sausage with sliced red and yellow bell peppers and added atop the couscous. And I sprinkled on some parmesan cheese for good measure. I also sauteed some spinach for a "green" side.

This month, I also participated in Katie Key's (Katie Runs This) October Runner Swag Swap. Katie is a Louisiana gal but now lives in Greenville, SC. She's so upbeat and a lover of all things running. She's also a busy mom on the go. She hosted this month's Runner Swag Swap to connect runners with other runners and exchange running goodies.

I received my swag from Elizabeth Kalifeh at Running for Bling. She sent me some new Nuun flavors to try like banana, along with some Halloween candy and a Sweaty Band with an ultracool design! I've always wanted a Sweaty Band but just didn't think to buy one. I used it on my 3-mile run today while on my treadmill, and it didn't budge. I have very thick hair so it's difficult to find bands that will stay put on my head. One thing that annoys me when I'm doing any workout is hair wispies. You know, those strands of hair that move with just a breath and you can't pin them back with a bobby pin. Ugh...I'll put this baby to the test on Saturday when I run 10 miles OUTSIDE. (Yep, my husband gave me permission to run on the road...10+ loops around our .75 mile neighborhood.) Thank you, Elizabeth!

All in all, I enjoyed participating in these two blogger-related events in October. I may do them again when we have a heavier cash flow. In the meantime though, I will continue enjoying my bites of pumpkin butter and killing those miles on the treadmill with my new Sweaty Band. :)