Happy Halloween!
Before I get to part 1 of the giveaway, I want to share a last-minute Halloween idea.
I present to you: Spooky Shakes…
They are more homely than scary, but let’s just go with it!
I spotted this on Martha and I thought it was a cute idea. To make: all you do is melt a tiny amount of chocolate (about 1-2 tbsp) and then paint chocolate ghost faces on the inside of the glass using the end of a popsicle stick. Easy.
Place the glasses in the freezer or fridge to set the chocolate. For the shake, I blended vegan vanilla ice cream (I love almond or coconut varieties), with a splash of almond milk and some ice, served with a cinnamon stick. You could even make a healthier shake by blending frozen bananas with almond milk. The chocolate faces stay intact thanks to the cold smoothies.
Now, for part 1 of the giveaway…
Today, I’m celebrating YOU – the kick-butt, Green Monster chuggin, recipe-lovin’ Oh She Glows community! On October 31, 2008, I started the blog on a complete whim, not thinking I would ever have the attention span to stick with it, but here I am 4 years later still smashing my head against the keyboard daily and chasing my dreams. I am so grateful for each and every one of you who read the blog each day and my hope is that you find as much inspiration here as I’ve found in all of you.
Now, to celebrate!
1) Blendtec Total Blender & Twister Jar
Blendtec has been gracious enough to donate one of their coveted Total Blender Classic Wildside machines (picture above) valued at $454.95 USD! Whoa baby. I’ve reviewed the Blendtec before on the blog and I can attest that it’s a great machine.
About the blender: “Total Blender Classic Series® is the all-in-one appliance that makes smoothies, fresh juice, ice cream, milkshakes, cappuccinos, margaritas, soups, sauces, bread dough, dressings, salsas, and more! It replaces up to 9 other appliances with one fast easy-to-use machine, at a fraction of the cost. This package includes the new precision tuned 4″ blade in the large nearly 3-quart total capacity BPA-free jar. The new large blade / large jar combination powers through tougher blending tasks and larger recipes with ease, and in less time.”
In addition to the blender, they are also giving away a Twister Jar (shown below) valued at $119.00 USD!
About the Twister Jar: “Blendtec’s newest innovation, the Twister Jar, is designed to blend your thickest recipes such as: Nut Butters, Hummus, Baby Food, Dips, Thick Shakes, Dressings and more! Best of all, it’s compatible with all Blendtec Home Blenders.”
Update: The giveaway winner is….
Thank you for sharing your touching (and often hilarious!) “lessons to my younger self” comments. If you are ever feeling down and need a pick me up, just read through the comments. It’s amazing to see how many of us have struggled with the same life lessons.
The lucky winner of the Blendtec machine is #3659 – Alicia Woulfe! Congrats! I will email you shortly to collect your mailing address. Thanks to everyone for participating!
How To Enter:
Giveway is now closed.
I would advise my 16 year old self to start saving up for a really great blender ;)
Thanks for the give away!
I love this comment (first one I read and it’s going to stay that way!) Congrats on four years Angela! If I could go back I’d definitely tell myself to easy does it on the hair teasing & back combing…then maybe I could look at old photos without wincing! ;) Happy Halloween!
The advice I would give my younger self would be, carve your own path in life. Don’t worry about what everyone else thinks. Do what makes YOU happy! There will be alot less bumps in the road if you follow your heart. Congrats on four years! I love your recipes. Delish:)
The “it” that you are looking for is not ‘out there’…it is within you.
I would tell my 16 year old self to think about what she wants, now and in the future, not just go along with whatever sounds good at the time. I would also tell my 16 year old self to rock those short skirts and bikinis while she can, because they do not look nearly so good on my 49 year old self!
Dear Younger-Jess;
Life is going to take you to the places that you need to be, going to provide you the opportunities you need to experience, and introduce you to the people that you need to meet in order to grow into the person you are supposed to become. So spend less energy on forcing life to fit into your plan, and instead spend it on being open to the love that life wants to bring to you! And be patient with yourself : )
I would go back and tell myself “you are always more beautiful than you think you are. ” As I got older I realized there is no point on being self-conscious about appearances, every time I looked at older photos of myself I thought, “Wow I looked so great back then!” but I do not remember feeling that way at the time. The important thing is to be confident – nothing gets you farther in life than a sense of self-assurance!
To my younger self,
Be who you are. Embrace your true self. Don’t waste the next 12 to 14 years of your life being afraid of what people will think of you and hiding who you really are. Life is so much more fulfilling when you step out from behind the mask and you really start to live.
This giveaway is great – congratulations on four amazing years. Thank you for sharing your life and your passion for healthy eating with us all. You’ve really helped me a lot in my search for low sugar, GF foods that are much better for my body.
I’d tell my 16 year old self to keep living in the moment, to be kind and gracious, to help those in need and not to be completely selfish and naive. I’d tell myself that there’s a lot more to life than the realm of highschool and idea of college and partying. I’d tell myself to cherish loved ones as I’ve lost a few along the way. And above all, I’d tell myself that even though plans are good ideas for line/measure, they don’t always work out so don’t set the bar too high. Be flexible.
I would advise myself that all the “big” things that matter when you are younger or a teen become irrelevant. It doesn’t matter what clothes you wear, or who you hang out with, you will reach a point where you are comfortable being you. So do and be who you want to be, so you will never have to look back in regret or longing, but will look forward to being true to yourself ;to eat the healthiest you can, because it will go a long long way to help you look and feel great, and do less talking and more listening!
I would oh sell my younger self to have a better sense of humour about life’s hardships. Laughter is the best medicine …and exercise!
I would tell myself to not be so hard on myself, enjoy every minute of your life and just breathe…
*counsel, not oh sell!
I would tell my younger self to listen to mom’s advice about boyfriends/men I dated (turns out she was always right!)…would’ve saved me a lot of heartache!
I would tell my younger self not to be afraid to try new things, even if you fail you have much better life stories!
I would tell younger me that happiness is a choice – all I have to do is choose it! Oh and that perfection is something to strive for, not stress over when you fall short :) Gratitude and happiness have turned my life from a ball of stress as a teen, to one of joy as a mother of two, with another on the way. Life truly is amazing!
Honestly I would tell my 16 year old self to give herself a break! You don’t have to push yourself beyond your limits to do more than you are capable. You are 16, take a deep breath and enjoy being young- there is nothing more important than your mental and physical health!
I would tell myself to love myself earlier in life than I started to.
Dear younger self – please challenge yourself more… it is totally worth the hard work.
xoxox
I would tell my younger self NOT to care about what everyone else thought and to just go with my gut, be myself, and I’d be fine! Life’s too short to live it for other people!
I would give myself the same advice! Care less about what others think, and more about what I think and what I do.
And I tweeted.
Also, I just Tweeted about the giveaway!
I would tell myself to relax and not worry about every small thing… life has a way of working its self out!
I would tell my younger self that it wasn’t as bad as it all seemed – and that things will be better than I ever imagined.
Life gets much better after high school
I would tell my 16 year old self to enjoy every last minute of being 16 because they’ll be a time when you want to go back to the care free life and you can’t. Enjoy every second of being a teen and not be so hard on yourself!
Nicole Marie Story, Volunteer at animal shelters on the weekends, helping dogs until you can have one of your very own to raise with happiness! :D
I tweeted your giveaway :)
I would tell my 16 yr old self not to give into peer pressure. I thought I didn’t care what people thought but obviously I did because of the stupid decisions I made regarding my mind and body. I have always been up and down in my weight and always had a low self-esteem. I’m finally trying to just be healthy (and newly vegan =D ). Thanks for this blog its really helping me through this process.
I also tweeted this!
I would tell myself to not worry so much. Things always have a way of working themselves out and its important to enjoy the journey.
Great giveaway. Happy Anniversary! So happy I found your blog :)
Hmm… I would tell my younger self to slow down and stop being in such a hurry.