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 pinned your Creamy Orange Sunshine Soup (aka…Frankensoup!)
I would tell my 16 year old self to be kind to yourself and be as supportive and patient with yourself as you are with others because you deserve it.
I have pinned a few of your recipes. Two of my favorite are the enchiladas (made them last night) and the avocado pasta.
I would tell my younger self to relax and just let things happen. I think I might need to tell that to my present self too (for both in and out of the kitchen)!
and I tweeted as well!
Best advice I never gave myself: Don’t date the president of that fraternity freshman year! Also, try yoga. You’ll practice later and wish you had extra years of experience :)
I pinned How to Spiralize Vegetables…..I went out and bought a julienne peeler right after reading this post…….it is amazing with a tomato spaghetti sauce.
I would tell my younger self to lighten up! Life goes on whether you’re enjoying it or not!
Thank you for such a wonderful giveaway, and for four years of amazing recipes! You are an inspiration!
I wish I knew how to cook/ how big a difference a little spice can make to food. I am so well fed now, and this was not the case a few years ago. I used to HATE making food.
My advice to my younger self would be to not quit sports. You’re never going to be blessed with such a metabolism again, and I wish I dieted more as a teen when it was easier to lose weight.
I would tell myself at 16 that he so isn’t worth it! There will better guys to come! :) And to take care of my self better physically – eat right, exercise – it certainly pays off later in life!
Happy Anniversary! Here’s to many more!
I tweeted about the giveaway !
I would tell my 16 year old self to trust my instincts. The only regrets I’ve ever had in life is when I go against what I know is not a wise choice.
To not room with Zoe freshman year of college!
I would tell my younger self to exercise more. I was never really that interested and now I’m hooked.
My sister has a BlendTec and it is amazing! It makes perfectly smooth whole veggie juice/smoothies!!
I would tell my younger self to not settle for just any boyfriend. Wait for the right person to date! BTW I love this ghost on the glass idea. I am going to do it tomorrow for my son!
I would tell my younger self to never let my opinion of myself turn negative. You have so many things going for you and don’t ever second guess your self worth. You deserve to be on this earth and you deserve to be happy with yourself. God gave you so many gifts and don’t let any situation or person make you neglect your personal well being.
Also I tweeted the give-away! Thank you so much for the daily inspiration!
my advice: you are awesome and cool, just be yourself and it will all work out
Ahhh I am in desperate need of a new blender! My bananas barely blend now and I have chunks of ice in my AM green monsters :(
I’d tell a younger version of myself…
Live in the present. Don’t worry about tomorrow. Live today to it’s fullest. Don’t stress so much… just relax and breathe. Things will work out!!!!!
I used to live with so much anxiety as a teen (and until this year actually!). The stress is simply not worth it!
I would tell myself to enjoy and savor each phase of life instead of always looking forward to what has yet to come.
If I could tell my 16-year-old self something, it would be to quit worrying so much about others and to focus on exploring the things that make me happy and have faith that things will be OKAY. In my teenage years, I was very concerned with boyfriends and friends and how others perceived me. I also saw most things as catastrophic set-backs. Life is not a perfect road and despite what you might think when you’re 16, the lack of perfection is actually what makes it interesting.
PS – Thanks for hosting this awesome give-away!