What is it?
A care package can be anything. It can be goods, clothes, comforting items… The list goes on and on. For me, a care package is a bit of everything from back home that I can’t get in The Netherlands. I grew up in California. Living there spoiled me to the core! I could visit the beach and the mountains in the same day. There were fast food places everywhere and let me tell you, the flavors are to die for. Especially when it comes to heritage food. Now I can’t get Mexican food here but I can connect to my SoCal roots with that good old pumpkin spice.

Pumpkin Spice for days
My mom knows I’m a sucker for limited edition flavors and pumpkin spice is high up there. My favorite pie is pumpkin pie! It’s one of the reasons I look forward to Thanksgiving. Especially now that I live so far from home. Thanksgivings were always strained but now they hold so many memories. But I’m not the only person who enjoyed a pumpkin themed treat. Because of that, Trader Joe’s has a million different produces that chase the pumpkin dream. And of course my mother had to send me some!

All the baking
The important thing about shipping items overseas… Never send perishables! So my mom packed a ton of things that I could bake on my end. Everything from pumpkin spice bread and muffins to pumpkin spice pancakes and oatmeal. She did also send some cookies and biscotti but that’s besides the point. Be careful with what you send! I’m so thankful for the variety she provided me with. I can grab something easily and throw it in the oven when a craving hits. Everything so far has been delicious and I can’t wait to taste test the rest of what she sent.

Interesting flavors
I had never seen Mango gummies before so my mom sent me a pack. They’re so tasty! Mango and peach are my favorite flavors so these gummies hit the spot. However the microwaveable muffins… Were gross. It’s a gluten free protein muffin meant to be made fresh when water and heat is added. I tried it out but the flavor was overwhelmingly egg… So I couldn’t finish it. I mean a muffin that tastes like egg whites? That’s a nope from me.

I’m sad to say that I can’t link to these items from the Trader Joe’s page. Since it’s a store that has produce dependent on location, it’s impossible to have everything online. If you do have a chance to visit one, I suggest you do. Trader Joe’s was one of my favorite grocery stores because of all the amazing food they had. My favorite were the ready made Indian foods. I could come back from work or school and have a hearty and ready to eat meal at any time.

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My American Market is an online store based in France that imports goods from both America and Canada. It’s a communicative store and ultra easy to order from. Let me share what I indulged in on this order. Yes, this order, because I’m sure I will order more in the future!

The Goods

ACT II MICROWAVE POPCORN – BUTTER
I grew up with this flavor of popcorn and I’m so excited it was in stock. Our local store has two flavors for popcorn, salty or sweet. I’ll eat the salty one but I refuse to do the sweet. It feels nice to have buttered popcorn in the house again! Popcorn has always been my favorite snack so we’re going to pop the first bag this weekend and watch something juicy. We finished Unsolved Mysteries and we’re dying for more. I watched the show growing up so it’s been a huge nostalgia fest in our home!

CRACKER JACK POPCORN BAG
Cracker Jacks were something that will contradict the first item… These are caramel coated popcorn pieces. And I said I don’t want sweet popcorn but these are caramel coated! They aren’t sweet. They used to come in a box with a little toy and that pretty much sums up what it was like growing up in American in the 1990’s. Everything is unhealthy and comes in a box with a toy.

STASH TEA PUMPKIN SPICE DECAFFEINATED TEA
I’ve has Stash brand tea before and it’s not the strongest tea but this is pumpkin spice flavored. Now don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed making my own pumpkin spice. But there’s something about waking up in the morning, on a cold winter’s day, and pouring yourself a ready made cup of pumpkin spice. It’s about having the easy way of doing things and premade tea mixes are right up that alley.

MUNCHIES CHEESE FIX SNACK MIX
Oh boy, this took me back real far into my childhood. All the goodness of the ultra cheesy chips I grew up with, this bag contains it all. It’s nostalgia in a bag but I have to limit how much I eat. More than a few chips and I feel sick! I wasn’t expecting that! It’s because it’s been ages since I’ve had junk food and my body isn’t used to it. Ah, oh well.

CHEETOS CRUNCHY FLAMIN’ HOT
It’s no secret that Americans love them Spicy Hot Cheetos… And now I found a place that sells them for a reasonable price! The flavor is so damn good and I can’t resist making a sandwich with some chips on the side. The sad thing is that these guys are junk food… And I feel sick after eating them. So while I enjoy stuffing them into my mouth, I can’t say my stomach appreciates it. I guess it was about time that I stop loving the junk food of my 20’s. I’m not young anymore and it’s healthier for me to stay away from them… But man, I still love that flavor!

MCCORMICK’S TACO SEASONING MIX
I haven’t used this yet but I hope that it will add some flavor to our tacos. The Dutch flavoring we buy isn’t as good as the stuff we get in America. I’ll try and update this post when we do use it!

KELLOGG’S POP TARTS FROSTED COOKIES & CREAM
Oh boy, the memories with these! Remember when I said I wasn’t eating chocolate? Well all that went out the window when I saw these on the site. I love me some cookies and cream and Poptarts? Get outta here! I was in heaven from the first bite but I know I can’t order these again. It’s got so much sugar, it’s too much for this 32 year old!

CHIPS AHOY! CHEWY REESE’S PEANUT BUTTER CUP COOKIES
Anyone who has ever tasted Chip’s Ahoy knows that familiar flavor they all have. While these cookies were super tasty, the peanut butter was difficult to taste. But I love these cookies to begin with so it wasn’t too much of a disappointment.

MEIJI HELLO PANDA BITE SIZE CHOCOLATE COOKIES and MEIJI CHOCOROOMS STRAWBERRY
I got this for Sander because he’s a huge fan of cookie and chocolate snacks. These were on sale so I got a ton of them for him. He enjoys them as an after dinner snack when he plays racing games with his gamers guild.

Ordering and Shipping
My American Market is like any online store. Search the site, order up, and wait for the package to come in. Ordering, payment and processing was easy and quick. I ordered on a Sunday and was able to get everything but Saturday. This store is in France so it was pretty fast for it to come in! And our order was over a certain amount, we got the My American Market Collector’s bag and a Harry Potter creature Gummy for free!

Please note this isn’t sponsored. Everything was better than expected and you bet I’ll be back around autumn time for all those Halloween goodies!

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When it comes to what the Dutch groceries sell, the selection is vast but lacking. Many cookies are the same simple vanilla flavors with sugar on top. We have a small selection of import baked goods but the prices are too high and the flavors are limited to chocolate based. I know, first world problems. But I think it’s interesting to compare to what America has to offer.

Our local bakery sells two types of cookies: Chocolate Chip and American.

What exactly is an American cookie? Well it’s White Chocolate and Macadamia Nut. Which strikes me as funny. I always figured that the iconic American cookie was the Chocolate Chip.

Now, my favorite cookie is White Chocolate Macadamia so I don’t mind but… the flavors were a bit lacking. I’ve always found that the Dutch versions of my favorite foods are always missing something. I don’t know too much about cooking or baking but I’m eager to learn more. And that missing flavor is something I can never pin point either. It’s simply that the flavors aren’t right.

It’s the worst with Red Velvet cake. In The Netherlands, a Red Velvet is a vanilla cake colored red. Chocolate, buttermilk and vinegar have always used in my favorite recipes. It’s what gives that unique Red Velvet flavor that pairs so damn well with cream cheese frosting.

So when I have a craving for anything I can’t get locally, I turn to making them myself. And it’s been an interesting adventure. I’ve never tried the Dutch versions though. That’s mainly because the recipes are in Dutch. My family also found the taste a bit off. It’s fascinating to talk about and I love sharing my thoughts about it. It’s similar to how American Chinese food appeals to an American taste palate. I would assume that it’s the same for the food here.

I’m content with making my own American treats. There’s that wonderful satisfaction of pulling a batch of freshly made cookies out of the oven. The recipe I used came from Sally’s Baking Addiction and I recommend everyone try it. I made so many cookies that I could share some with friends and family. Oh man they were amazing! I can’t wait to try them again. The only sad part is that a container for the nuts costs €5! Talk about fancy eating!

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I was so excited to see that my mom had prepared a small care package for me that was filled with my favorite treats.

Included in the box were my favorite flavor of popcorn, white cheddar. Cheddar here is super expensive because it’s not mass produced. Although more recently I might have stumbled onto a brand that might make traditional slices so I may be able to make mac and cheese without breaking the bank.

There was also a box of Trader Joe’s Garlic Mashed Potatoes! It’s a seasonal item where my family lives so it only appears around the holidays. My mom bought a ton of them and saved me a box because she knows I love it so much.

She also included the Trader Joe’s Pumpkin spice bread mix just because I’m a crazy person over pumpkin spice.

There were also a few Indian snacks included. The fruit biscuits were fantastic! They had the taste of India (I can’t explain it, but if you’ve smelled a suitcase that comes from India, you know that smell for life). It was a shortbread with dried fruits inside, super rich so you could only have one or two at a time.

Also my favorite hot mix! Well, I’m lying. My favorite hot mix is the Punjab mix while this one is the Mastana mix. From what I can remember though, the Punjab mix is pretty hard to find. The two are almost identical except for the raisins in the Punjab mix. There’s just something about the spiciness and the sweetness of the raisins that keeps me coming back for more.

She also packed the East Indian version of oliebollen (literally oily balls) which are called fugias. These are much smaller though and can be filled with raisins. Those are my favorite. While oliebollen are known for their oiliness, fugias are much less oily and can be eaten in bulk (although I don’t recommend it because it’s not healthy!).

This box came to me just in time for Christmas but I haven’t had the time to talk about it until today! It’s been a busy season and I can’t wait to see what else is in store!

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Demonstrations showcase different methods of incorporating the flower. The most popular use, other than aromatherapy, is the use of lavender in cooking. The flavor is delicate and delicious! There are specific bushes breed for edible purposes though so make sure you know which one is which.

Even though the weather was overcast and windy, attendance was not lacking! We sampled two different types of sausages: Spicy Debrezine Hungarian Sausage and the Grand Oak Sausage. As a side, we ordered homemade German bratwurst with sauerkraut. To wash it down we paired our meal with some organic root beer. We also had some divine Organic Lamb Kebabs. Dessert was lavender honey ice cream, lavender cheesecake, and lemon lavender bars.

We didn’t spend our entire day at the farm. Going for the delicious food and live entertainment was enough to call the day a success. We did a bit of shopping and picked up some lotions and soaps for the home. Also in our bag was edible lavender which we love to steep in hot water with Earl Grey tea.

For more information on this spectacular event, you can visit the 123 Farm website.

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