January Foodie Penpal Reveal

I am a little late posting this as I was debating what I wanted to do as I have the unfortunate experience of being one of those participants who foodie penpal went MIA and unfortunately did not receive a package this month. I just have to say that it was not a pleasant experience knowing that I worked hard to put together a package for my foodie penpal and then did not get the joy that usually accompanies this program, you know the feeling like when it's christmas and you get to open all your presents. I will say this was of absolutely not fault but my foodie penpals. Lindsay did what she could to try and get in touch with them but like me had no luck. So Since I have no reveal and Amy who I sent a package to does not have a blog I am going to share her thoughts on her package. I hope that is allowed.

Amy was fantastic, when I emailed her asking about her diet and likes/dislikes she got right back to me. She told me she and her family try very hard to adhere to being vegan. I am not vegan and had never put together a vegan but I took this challenge and made it my mission to make sure everything fit within her life style. She was even nice enough to get her package a little bit later than usual as I was away until January 17th but made sure she got it within plenty of time.

Here is what she had to say about it:

Thank you so much for the box of delicious food.  I'm eating some dark chocolate as I write this.  We have had so much fun trying new things.  My kids (I have 7 children ages 7 mo - 12) were enthralled with the coconut and plantains.  They were curious about the seaweed and had fun trying to get each other to eat it.  Today for lunch I broke out the chips and salsa.  I have never had tomato-free salsa and I must say, we all loved it!  Especially my husband.  This is a high compliment coming from him.  He grows heirloom tomatoes and we've lived in Mexico off and on over the years so he is picky about his salsa.  It was delicious.  We have enjoyed everything. 

Your thoughtfulness did not go unnoticed by my daughter Hannah who commented, with delight, "We can eat all this stuff.  It's all vegan, isn't it!"  I must admit I plucked out the chocolate and the kids don't know it was ever in there.  Just a little something for mommy. :)

I love Trader Joe's.  I lived in Ohio and would drive an hour to Cincinnati to shop.  We just got one in Utah and, again, it's an hour drive.  I haven't made the trek but your box of goodies have tempted me to make it a priority.

Thanks again, Alyson.  You made this such an enjoyable experience from your first upbeat, inquisitive email to this gorgeous box of food. 

Your friend,

Amy

I was so thrilled that not only Amy enjoyed it but that she also got to share it with her family. This is what Foodie penpals is usually like and I can't wait for February's package! Here is the info for those of you that would like to take part in March's program:

• 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 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 to signup.

Hope you go out and find your own adventure,
Aly

30 from 100

On February 19th I will be turning 30! I know who would believe 3 decades have gone by? I certainly find myself thinking where has the time gone. But I also plan on embracing this lovely number as much as I can because I am a better healthier person at 30 than I was at any other age so why not.

I know I have many people who are friends and family that this will reach and because of that I would like to tell you my plan for turning 30. I got to have an amazing experience last summer where I got to go white water kayaking and spend a fantastic week in the beautiful mountains of North Carolina making some good friends and connecting with fellow young adult cancer survivors. And it was free to me and something I truly needed all thanks to firstdescents.org. Although I am heavily involved with many cancer organization this was the first time it was with young adults. It was something I will not soon forget and will hopefully have the chance to experience again this summer some where new. If you would like to check out my experience click here.

 But down to my plan for 30, I have joined Team FD (First Descents) again this year. I have chosen my challenge to be completing my first ever Olympic triathlon! Last year I completed a sprint triathlon and was able to raise $2,000.00 with the help of very generous people. This year I raised my goal to $3,000.00 and I figured what better way to celebrate turning 30 than asking 100 people to donate $30. Seems like my $3,000.00 goal is a lot more attainable breaking it down that way, doesn't it?

For all of my family and friends I would like to ask that in lieu of any kind of birthday gifts that you be one of the 100 that donates to my Team FD page.

I am hoping that this will get a lot of attention and I will surpass my goal and send even more young adult cancer survivors on the adventure of their new life!

To donate click here. Who will be the first?

I Live Strong!

Being a cancer survivor and having had past experiences with LIVESTRONG I have been heavily following what has been going on with Lance Armstrong. I watched the first part of his interview with Oprah and will most definitely be watching the second part tonight. I have also spent the better part of this morning exploring many different news articles, blog posts by both cancer survivors and your everyday citizens. I also tuned in to watch Doug Ulman on the Today show (well I watched it online as I missed the original broadcast). 

As far as my own perspective on Lance I must say that I always knew that the likelihood of him having been involved with doping was far greater than him not being involved. When this all came about these past few months I had just been involved with LIVESTRONG at the YMCA and was sporting the famous yellow LIVESTRONG wristband. I can't tell you the number of people that commented on it whether it be positive or negative. I was always more upset by the negative comments but that is because the bracelet means something entirely different to me but I will explain that later.

 I must admit that I do feel some sense of anger, disappointment and just plain betrayal from Lance for denying it for so long and going to the lengths he did to try and hide the truth. I will certainly not say that what he has done to his former teammates, their families as well as many others in the cycling community has any justification because quite frankly I don't believe it does. What he did was just flat out wrong and to carry on the way he has for so many years made it that much worse.

Having said that I also have to ask, with everything that he has done at this exact moment who is it really coming down on? You could argue many things here, the cycling community, LIVESTRONG, his fellow teammates, etc. However in my opinion it is really only coming down on Lance. He is the one that is being striped of all his medals and titles, he has lost the respect of lots of people, he has burned bridges with more people then we as the public probably know about, he has even lost the foundation that; despite what many think; he worked so hard to build. I am sure there will be even more fall out in the form of law suits and such as the weeks/months continue. As he said in his interview, all of this is everything that he deserves, he made his choices and has to live with the outcome of finally admitting what he did. I know it will certainly be a long time until he has earned back my trust, however his personal actions will never cause me to not support LIVESTRONG.

I will always and most likely forever be an advocate and supporter of LIVESTRONG. I have not removed my LIVESTRONG bracelet during any of this and I will not. I wear it for what it means to me and to me it does not represent Lance Armstrong. It represents my own journey that the LIVESTRONG Foundation has helped me immensely with. I can honestly say that without their survivorship programs I would not be living the life that I am today. On the same token those programs would not be in existence without all the people and organizations that support LIVESTRONG. I view LIVESTRONG and Lance Armstrong as two separate entities. I have very high hopes that LIVESTRONG will continue to get the support and do amazing things for the cancer community. I say bravo to all LIVESTRONG staff and program creators for all their hard work. Take it from me what they do is truly life changing.

I know there are many different opinions right now, this is just my own. 

I live strong and will continue to LIVESTRONG.

Jingle Bell Chocolate Tour

My mom was looking through a magazine she got at the New Hampshire liquor store of all places last year around this time and came across an ad for the Jingle Bell Chocolate Tour. However it was the last weekend it was being offered and it was sold out. So going on this tour was a year in the making.

Once we finally figured out where it was and how we order tickets we asked my friend Sara and her mom if we could possibly make a weekend out of it and stay at their house in New Hampshire. They of course said yes. Sara's mom's friend Donna also came and my best friend Julia and her mom came along with us as well.

We had tickets for the 2pm tour in Jackson, Nh so we left Wolfeboro about 12:15pm to head up there. After an hour and 20 minute ride we arrived at Nestlenook Estate and Resort.

Once we were there and parked we got to walk through the estate which was exactly what you would think a cute little winter resort would look like. You could go ice skating, sleigh rides around the property or just enjoy your stay there. We went over to check in for our tour 

which was inside an enclosed gazebo 

that had a sleigh inside for photo ops as well as a lovely fire going. We got our tickets and of course our jingle bells to wear on our tour, and our first chocolate which was chocolate covered coconut, took some photos in the sleigh

  and headed outside to get some hot chocolate which was delicious! Then we headed over to wait for our sleigh.

We got on and got settled under our horse blankets and met Issac our tour guide who was very nice!

  Then we were off on our way to the first stop The Inn at Jackson! Where two lovely little girls greeted us with some yummy white chocolate cranberry almond candies.

Then we were off to our next stop. We slid up to Backcountry Bakery & Cafe where a nice woman came out ready to give us our treats.

 She approached up with a huge tray of brownies. We learned that they were double chocolate espresso brownies. 

I love brownies so I had to take a bite. They were good but the espresso flavor was too over powering for me, which did not stop me from eating the whole thing later that night. 

We said our thanks you and started on over to The Wentworth Inn.

Where again we were greeted by a lovely lady bringing us chocolate chip cranberry cookies dipped in chocolate. Oh how I love chocolate!!

 I saved that for when I got home after dinner. Even though I am not a fan of cranberries it was quite tasty!

After our fellow riders were saved from Mikey and Butch the horses on the sleigh behind us we were off again and pulled up to J-Town Deli where there was a large basket coming towards us with all these little white bundles. We couldn't wait to see what this was going to be.

We were pleasantly surprised to find that they were homemade nonpareils. I tried one right away and they were pretty good. I saved the rest for later.

I was most excited for our next stop because we had past it on the way out and because of it's name The Snowflake Inn. I love all things related to snowflakes! They also had their porch all decorated for Christmas with Santa and all.

Then another tray was approaching us and when she came to our sleigh all I heard was Kahlua balls and I was sold!

The great thing is that they had another option for those that didn't want the alcohol ones. They were white chocolate dipped pretzel sticks. Some of us got one of each but I only got the Kahlua ball which I ended up having enough trouble eating cause I kept dropping it haha. But it was still worth having to pick it up three times.

The last stop was probably my favorite chocolate while on the sleigh. We pulled up to Flossie's General Store and emporium. 

We were greeted by a very homely looking man with a basket. 

It took some coaxing to find out exactly what kind of truffles they were. But he finally told us they were Chocolate Truffles which turned out to be amazing!

Then it was time to head back to Nestlenook Estates. We got off our sleigh and then had a little photo shoot with our horses Fred and Pete.

Then we toured the grounds after we all got some more hot chocolate to warm us up after having those blankets on and now being totally exposed. It really was a beautiful place to be.

If you are interested in going on this tour (which I highly recommend) next weekend is already sold out but they do have openings for December 22nd so get them while you can! Call 1-800-866-3334 otherwise your tour will be a year in the making as well cause you will have to wait til 2013.

Foodie Penpal Reveal!

So I know this is a tad late but I wanted to share my November Foodie Penpals Package. My package came from Marla all the way from Milwaukee! I opened the package and she had written a lovely note and I started to read it. I got as far as her telling me that she sent me some Root beer that is locally made in Milwaukee. I stopped reading and had to find it. Now mind you it was my husband that was overly excited about this. I have mention that Foodie Penpals package opening has now become a family event. I was able to find the root beer which Marla had so nicely wrapped in newspaper and in a plastic bag. Which ended up being a good idea because some of the root beer leaked through the bottle top. I am not a fan of root beer but I tried it none the less but my husband was in his glory!

I then came across the beer chips which again my husband was thrilled with. I also am not a fan of beer but again tried them and they were very subtlety flavored. My husband enjoyed his snack for the night of Root beer and beer flavored chips.

I kept digging and found chocolate covered raisins which are one of my favorites! I was thrilled but knew better then to dig into them. I saved them for a snack at work later in the week.

I then came across these and was quite sure what to think.

Just from reading it I was a little weary thinking that it wasn't actual chewing gum but something else. However it is in fact chewing gum and is an acquired taste but not too bad.

Next up was cheddar popcorn. The flavoring was pretty good and again became something my husband enjoyed snacking on only because he beat me to it after we had opened it.

I then pulled out something called Halvah.

I had no idea what this was so I of course turned it over and started to read the label. I was a little turned off by the fact that 1/2 the bar was a serving and it 330 calories. Meaning that I either had to eat this as a pre-workout fuel and make sure I just take a bite otherwise it would basically be a meal or take micro bites over the course of several weeks.

Then I found a bunch of little ginger candies at the bottom. If any of you have read my previous foodie penpal posts you might have read the one that I got dried ginger and that I really didn't like it manly because ginger is generally spicy and that is not me.

I however like to try everything thinking it might be different so I tried these but they just aren't for me.

This was next. At first I thought it was some kind of chocolate and then I realized it was instant coffee or cappuccino. Since I don't drink coffee I gave it to my grandmother who absolutely loved it! So I guess that was a nice surprise for her and helped share the foodie penpal experience.

The last food object I found has got to be my favorite.

Cinnamon Cookie Spread!!! It is delicious! I have to make sure I eat it in small batches cause it isn't exactly good for you but who can help themselves? I might just have to find out if I can get this around here!

Marla was also nice enough to send me some food related magazine from Milwaukee.

It was fun to able to learn a little more about the food & dining experiences in milwaukee in relation to what we have in Worcester/surrounding areas.

All in all this was a package that was well shared and forced me to try new things. I would to say special thanks to Marla for putting this together for me!! Also thanks to Lindsay over at The Lean Green Bean for organizing this program and keeping us all linked every month!

Now for the fun part...to learn how to sign up for yourself for next month!

-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 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. 

If you’re interested in participating for November, please CLICK HERE to fill out the participation form and read the terms and conditions. 

You must submit your information by January 4th as pairings will be emailed on November 5th!

*If you're from somewhere besides the US, Canada or Europe and want to participate, send me an email and I'll see if we get enough interest this month!

25 Days Of A Slimmer Christmas Challenge!

The idea behind this is to get you more aware of what you are eating and how much you are being physically active. I know some people don't want to deprive themselves of a certain food but the idea behind this is figure out some alternatives so that you have variety in your diet. Give it a shot you never know what you might discover. So I figured what better time to really focus on staying on track than at the holidays?

Each day you will have something new that you need to follow whether it be a food restriction, adding more exercise, making healthy substitutions etc. 

I thought of this because I need a jump start to get me back on track and get me through the upcoming holiday season. Then I thought why not include my friends and family and make it a fun challenge with prizes and all! 

So here are the guidelines:

 Challenge will begin at 12am on December 1^st and end at 11:59pm on December 25^th (Christmas day).

 There will be three prizes awarded:

1^st – Most points earned

2^nd – Most weight lost

3^rd – Most creative

I am not telling you which prizes are for what that you'll just have to wait to find out. 

Here are the three prizes: 
- $50 Spa Gift Card
- Rest and Relaxation Gift Basket 
(made especially to the winners likes) 
-A one year subscription to The Food Network Magazine. 

So hope those are incentive enough for you!

For the entire challenge you must complete these two things - this is the base and it grows from here.

• Must do at least 30 minutes of physical activity 4 times a week (physical activity could be anything. If you are currently not physically active start small)
• Make a restriction to one unhealthy food that you really like or find that you have been over indulging in daily. Meaning you cut back on the amount or you cut it out of your diet completely for the 25 days.

Here are the daily requirements some of them continue from that day until the challenge ends so please read carefully:

December 1^st – Drink 6-8 glasses of water for the remainder of the challenge

December 2^nd – Eat a healthy breakfast

December 3^rd – Vegetarian day! Every meal must be vegetarian (get creative trying new proteins)

December 4^th – No fast food for the remainder of the challenge

December 5^th – Eat only 100% whole wheat (ie. Pasta, bread, rice, crackers, etc)

December 6^th – No snacking on things like chips, Doritos, pretzels, etc.

December 7^th – Take a walk either after lunch or after dinner.

December 8^th – Plan and prepare all your meals for the following day

December 9^th – Add 15 minutes to your physical activity

December 10^th - No candy for the remainder of the challenge

December 11^th – Eat 5 servings of fruits or vegetables

December 12^th – No peanut butter for the remainder of the challenge

December 13^th - Limit your caffeine intake

December 14^th - No Chocolate for the remainder of the challenge

December 15^th – Eat fruit with breakfast as well as 1 snack

December 16^th – Get a friend or family member to exercise with you that is not part of the challenge

December 17^th – No ice cream for the remainder of the challenge

December 18^th – Replace your dessert with a piece of fruit or yogurt

December 19^th – Complete one random act of kindness (The more creative the better)

December 20^th – No take out for the remainder of the challenge

December 21^st – 1 alcoholic beverage allowed (If you do not drink alcohol then limit another beverage that you might be over indulging in this time of year)

December 22^nd – Try a new exercise/class or do something that isn't part of your general routine.

December 23^rd – Eat fish (If you are vegetarian or vegan: Try a new protein or one you don’t eat as often)

December 24^th – Try a new vegetable

December 25^th – Use weights or resistance in your physical activity

Here is how you will earn points throughout the challenge:

-If you complete each of the individual daily requirements you will earn 1 point for each one you do .

-For all the cumulative requirements you will earn an additional point for each day that you continue to follow that requirement.

-If you complete the required 4 times a week of at least 30 minutes of physical activity you will receive 1 point for each week. (week will be from Saturday to Friday).

-Since the 25^th is on a Tuesday you will receive 1 point for every day you are physically active for at least 30 minutes from December 22^nd – 25^th.

-You will earn 2 points per week for your personal restriction. (Same rule applies for this as for exercise) 1 point for each day you do this from December 22nd - 25th.

-You will also earn 1 point for each additional day that you add in at least 30 minutes of physical activity above the required 4 times a week. 

Here is how to make sure I know about creativity:

I will be providing you with a log. When you complete each day be sure to add as much detail as possible about what you ate, what your physical activity was, something that helped you accomplish that days tasks. The more you give me and the more creative you are the better!

For weight loss:

This will be on your honor. If you would like to be in this part of the challenge be sure when you email me that you include your starting weight and then at the end you will resubmit with your ending weight.

Now let the fun begin!!

If you would like to participate please email alysadventures@gmail.com with your name (include twitter and blog if applicable) as well as what unhealthy food you are making restrictions too and what the restrictions are. If you would like be part of the weight loss challenge please include your starting weight.

 I need to receive your email by November 30^th at 10pm or you will not be eligible for the prizes.

Once I receive your email I will be emailing you a confirmation that I received your entry and I will also attach an excel log for the challenge. If you do not receive a confirmation email within 24 hours then please resend your email.
Please use the log each day as you will need to send it back to me when the challenge is over to be eligible for the prizes. Remember, be as creative as you can. See if you can come up with new workouts, try new recipes, etc.

End of challenge:

Between December 26^th until December 30^th please submit your log. Also include notes of things you liked, didn't like etc. If you are part of the weight loss challenge also include your ending weight. I will send out a reminder to submit your log so you don’t miss out as this is a very busy time of year!

I will announce the winners the beginning of January.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Happy Challenge!

October Foodie Penpal Reveal!

Well it's that time again to reveal what I got from my Foodie Penpal this month! I am sorry this is a bit late but things have been crazy and to be honest lately the idea of sitting in front of a computer to write something hasn't been appealing at all. But I knew I had to because this months foodie penpal package was AMAZING!! My foodie penpal this month was Ashley from Vermont and she put together a great package of Vermont goodies!

I have to start with the first thing I opened right up!

These forbidden love triple chocolate chip are to die for! They were soft, chewy and just plain yummy!! I am really glad that I can't get these here because I would be eating them constantly!

One of the other really cute things that Ashley included was her & her families favorite buttermilk pancake mix as well as some really Vermont maple syrup!

It could not have been more perfect because a few week before my husband and I had been at the Eastern States Expostion Big E and as we were going through the Vermont house he said that he had never had really Vermont maple syrup before. And since Ashley sent us some he got to try it cause let's face it real maple syrup is not something you can explain you have experience it!

I decided I was going to use the pancake mix to make chocolate chip banana pancakes. Adding a slight drizzle of the maple syrup was just amazing! It was a delicious breakfast.

I has mentioned to Ashley that although I have a HUGE sweet tooth I am also trying to keep my diet on the healthier side. I know chocolate chip banana pancakes are not even close to healthy but hey you have to splurge a little now and then. Any way she really listened and she sent me this.

Which is great because not only is it milk chocolate but it is organic and only 100 calories! So it satisfied my sweet tooth but didn't pack on the pounds.

I also like to have little sweet things that I can take with me as a snack and Ashley sent me these.

Despite the fact that these contain nuts which are something I usually really don't like they were actually pretty good. I especially enjoyed the caramel one. The granola one was interesting it was tasty just more a textural thing for me.

And like any good meal or in this case foodie penpal package you have to cleanse your palette as well as refresh your breath so these were just the right touch.

They might be all natural but they are tasty and refreshing indeed. All in all this was an amazing foodie penpal package. Thank you so much Ashley and of course to Lindsay over at the Lean Green Bean for putting this program together for all of us!

Now, after reading that don’t you want a penpal of your own?! Here are the details!

-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 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. 

If you’re interested in participating for September, please CLICK HERE to fill out the participation form and read the terms and conditions.

You must submit your information by November 4th as pairings will be emailed on November 5th!
*If you’re from somewhere besides the US, Canada or Europe and want to participate, send me an email and I’ll see if we get enough interest this month!