HOLA!!!
This giveaway is my baby and it’s been SO LONG in the works that I’m SO happy to finally be able to announce it and give it away!!!!
Announcing….
*drumroll!*
The 1st Vegsmoothiebunny SECRET FRIEND giveaway!
This giveaway is a dream come true for me because I’ve always wanted to use this blog to do more than just talk about healthy eating. Healthy living, for me, is truly about building ties in the community and encouraging compassion and thoughtfulness for one another. In this year, I’ve had the chance to meet up with so many amazing people with the biggest of hearts retailing the best products and I wanted to connect these awesome retailers with the people I love and the people YOU love!
But I ran into all sorts of problems on the way.
In the beginning when I first thought of the idea for this box, I wanted to package the sample stuff I got from retailers. It felt a little unfair that I had good stuff to try so why not share the love with you guys? Unfortunately, after trying out several items, I felt that they were unsuitable because of certain hidden ingredients or false marketing. I wanted products that were free from additives and other nasty and truly good for the body, not some packaged product full of junk. This of course, made some people really upset when I politely declined their contributions. But honestly, I couldn’t bring myself to put in ‘healthier’ cereal that was still made up of 8 kinds of sugar!!
In the end, I decided to put together a box full of things that I personally LOVE. Every item you see in this box is PERSONALLY curated by me. Which means that I PERSONALLY tried and tested the products before emailing the relevant people to contribute their products to this box!
So thank you —
Eden’s Kitchen: (for those who always ask where I get my coconut oil from!)
http://www.edenskitchen.sg/
https://www.facebook.com/edenskitchensg
Second Helpings (for their totally addictive nasty-free peanut butters!)
http://instagram.com/_secondhelpings
https://www.facebook.com/secondhelpings.sg
Mekhala Living (for the most amazing vegan sauces EVER and vegan beauty products!)
http://www.mekhalaliving.com/
http://instagram.com/mekhalaliving
Paper Bunny (for the most inspiring and uplifting cards to encourage our friends)
http://thepaperbunny.com/
https://www.facebook.com/ThePaperBunny
http://instagram.com/thepaperbunny
MyLifeInc (for the Teaism wands every one is just crazy over!)
https://www.mylifeinc.me/
http://instagram.com/mylifeincme
I’ve never met more generous, loving people than the people behind these brands! I can’t wait to introduce them over the course of this week!
But why ‘secret friend’?
From now on, all VSB giveaways are going to be ‘Secret Friend’ giveaways. Which is really to try and encourage you to think about someone you know or someone in your community that you would like to spare a thought for and/ or reach out to. It’s inspired by this short film called The Secret Friend which is about an elderly, disconnected widow who is pranked called but ends up being inspired to live once again through the connection with the prankster who calls her everyday and becomes a ‘friend’ to her.
I really believe that the solution to a lot of societal problems is connection and so with the season of giving upon us, I would really like to encourage you to search for people in your community that you can reach out to. It can be a really close friend, a colleague, someone you sort of have an inkling is struggling or lonely but you just never worked out the courage or time to say a ‘hello’. It could even be you poor mom, who slaves for you day in and out. After all, we so often take for granted the ones closest to us.
How do I participate?
To participate, simply leave your name and email address in the comments below along with a short (or crazy long! :D) note on who you would like to be a secret friend to this Christmas or who has been a secret (or not so secret!) friend to you in your life. I would really love to create a space where people can read the comments and just fill so full of hope for humanity once again! So please do share freely!
What are the other details?
This giveaway ENDS Friday, 19 December 2014 at 10:00PM! Winners will be announced on Saturday, 20 December 2014 at 9:30pm. There will be FIVE winners but here’s the thing! Each winner will win not one but TWO boxes– one for yourself and one for your nominated secret friend! Upon notification, winners can either choose to supply the email address of the person you would like to be a secret friend to so I can contact them for their address and the box can be mailed directly to them, or request for both boxes to be sent to you. (I trust you will do the right thing and really be a friend! Haha)
For this first givaway, we are focusing on SELF LOVE so everything in
this box is full of healthy goodness for you or your loved one along with uplifting and gorgeously decorated cards from The Paper Bunny you can use to cheer yourself or your loved ones up! The coconut oil, beenut butters and vegan sauces are perfect to chase away any sort of blues as well! I’ll be
introducing each item in the box an item at a time over the next few
days till the giveaway closes so you’ll be able to understand each
product better! Over time, I hope to have other themes for giveaway
boxes as well such as ‘baby boxes’ or ‘Pampering Kits’ for struggling mothers to be and other people in society who just need that little whisper of encouragement to carry on in life!
So to kick things off- here’s my entry!
Grace
vegsmoothiebunny@gmail.com
This Christmas, I really want to reach out to my parents. They’ve done so much for me but I’ve been so busy growing up, it’s only hit me now that they are growing old. I also want to be a secret friend to girls in my community that could do with reminders of how precious and lovely they are as they struggle to grow in a society that is often brutally harsh on them. I also want to be a secret friend to the uncle at the coffeeshop nearby who works with a terrible hunch yet always cheerfully cleans my table. Perhaps I will buy him coffee. But I’m shy to do things like that. Maybe I’ll just start off with clearing my tray myself and thanking him a little more sincerely and loudly when I pass him by. Just last night, the cab uncle that brought me home was a secret friend to me. He waited for me to get into the lift as it was past midnight before driving away. Also, this might be a little cheesy to say but my fiance has been my biggest secret friend. Secret because I’m sure he doesn’t even know it. I wouldn’t say it’s because of his love or him per se because I always feel self love must come from within oneself but he has definitely played a huge part in my recovery in bingeing. These days I no longer binge or do harmful things to myself because I want my body to be a reflection of all the love I’ve received from him and from everyone around me. A body stuffed with junk or thin and sick is a terrible testimonial of the immense love I’ve received so now I eat and treat my body like it’s my badge of honour and a reflection of the beautiful company I have the privilege to keep.
Can’t wait to read your entries as well! To win this box full of goodness, just leave your name and email address and who you would like to be a friend to/ who has been a friend to you! It doesn’t have to be long! Just a short one will do too!
WIll be introducing Eden’s Kitchen to you guys tmr!
Till then,
go out there and love somebody!
xx
Wanyee
wongwanyee.97@gmail.com
Hello! Merry Christmas! Christmas is truly the time for giving and thank you for putting together this giveaway! 🙂 This Christmas, i would love to share this box of goodness for my secret (or not so secret) friend, Sharmaine. She's my best friend, and i truly think this box of goodies is perfect for her. I was (and still am) struggling with an eating disorder, and self love is by no means easy for me to understand. But despite my irrational temper tantrums and eating habits, she still manages to put a smile on my face every single day. She taught me that it is okay to love myself, and she loved me through it all. This gift for her would be so great as i know i have been hankering after those goodies for a long time, and Sharmaine, who constantly accedes to my requests for meals at healthier (and often more expensive) places at the expense of her thinning wallet, would love them too. She's not a very secret friend for sure, but for all the times I blew my top at her just because I hated how i looked, and for all the times I get annoyed at her due to food-related and health-related issues, i know i haven't been a very good friend, and i suppose she might doubt her importance to me and how important she is in my life. She's secretly my biggest blessing, and my bestest friend, even though i often forget to count my blessings. So, i would love to win this giveway and make this christmas special for the both of us, and to tell her that because of her love, i am beginning to love myself. Thank you once again, for this generous giveaway, and have a merry chirstmas! 🙂
Peggy
Misspeiqi@gmail.com
This xmas, i wana reach out to my bestie, Lua Haoting. She just got married last november. Congratulations OhLua couple again! Anyways, the reason i'm writing this is because i've always wanted to do something special for her, as she is always the one doing something special for me on my birthday every year, be it a card, small gift, effort to make time out for me to meet up etc. So in this way, she has been my secret friend in a way. In the coming year, Haoting and hubby will be trying for a baby soon. As 2014 is coming to a close, i would wana gift her with something special too. On top of this VSB special friend giveaway, I wish for her to be in her pink of health as she is always trying to be as fit as she can, with her yoga classes and swimming/biking/running sessions with her hubby, healthy lunchbox making but failed attempts!
Love,
Peggy.
15Dec2014
Koh Hin Nge
HinNge129@hotmail.com
Hi. I would like to reach out to my BFF, Vanessa. I've suffered binge eating for the past seven months while my BFF has been suffering binge eating on and off for a year plus. We are determined to overcome this problem together and would hope to start a healthy diet and lifestyle during our term break now. Hence, I really hope that we can win this giveaway as this would really be a good kick start as well as motivation!
Kaye
donutreule@gmail.com
Thanks Grace for doing this! Merry Christmas to you too, and I love what you have to say about spreading love!
For this giveaway, my secret friend is my bestie! We've been friends since we were classmates in p5, and we are now 30 years old, so it would be a perfect gift for our 20th friendniversary.
I don't really get to see her that much anymore as we now have our own families and kids, but I do appreciate her friendship all these years, and how she never fails to be there for me even though we are both busy with our own stuff now.
Thanks Grace!
Hello all! I’m Jas (:
applepiejass@Hotmail.com
It’s really hard to choose one "secret friend", but i have two best friends that i’m ever grateful to have in my life. They were my JC mates. I’m an avid food lover since young, and i’ve been a rather chubby girl since young. (21 this year). I love to eat so much and so i have always been enjoying myself at the JC canteen – fried food, sweet food, etc. I was just simply happy eating. However, when i entered a local university, i felt pressurised to look good, afraid of not fitting in well, superficial reasons, etc… I kind of resorted to quite extreme dieting and exercising. Clean eating to the extent that there has to be absolutely no oil/no sauce, no salt, removing all possible sources of fat, no sugar, all food that is entering my mouth has to be as natural as possible. I also exercised at the gym doing all sorts of workouts and running (for as long as to an hour?), body fatigue was just so so so common. (but yes- i did achieve the kind of targets that i set for myself- in terms of weight loss, how i look, so it became like a vicious cycle to propel me to continue eating super clean and exercising super hard). Then when it came to relationships, for the wrong reasons (like reason to impress the boy), the extent of clean eating and exercising was just- just even more extreme. I didn’t really share the way i was dieting and exercising with my two best friends initially, but eventually when i shared with them, they gave me lots and lots of encouragement, and motivation, that loving myself is very important. They constantly reminded me that happiness and overall health is most important. I think i would constantly be self-doubting if not for them. So right now, i’m no longer on the have-to-eat-100%-clean diet and gym-hard-till-i-drop. All things are in moderate now, i enjoy my fave foods and exercise in the right amounts, for the right reason. Loving myself is really important. Immensely grateful for them in my life.
The other angels in my life that i would like to thank, are the cleaners- in our hawkers and food courts, especially the elderly cleaners. It tugs my heartstrings that at their old age and immobility, they still to have to work. Their work is tedious, yet they don’t get enough recognition and are often taken for granted. I always thank them verbally for their help, but i just feel like i want to be able to really thank them more, in a more practical way, so in small ways like cleaning up myself and not dirtying the tables as much as possible so that don’t need to trouble them as much. Not all hawkers/food-courts have self-return areas, so i guess this is what i can do for them, in small ways. Thankful for them.
(A little similar to grace’s entry, but its really something that i’m thankful for)
Cheers (:
Jas
Justina
jusme.sy@gmail.com
Hi all, my secret friend is my mother! She is a pillar in our lives, a great role model and influencer to who I am today. And of course she starts our family on healthy eating and she tries to make our meals from scratch. This Christmas I want to open her world to other choices to healthy eating. Because of her giving nature, I am sure she will end up giving away some of the healthy goodness to friends and neighbours around us – spreading the love/ healthy eating in small ways we know. Thanks ^^
hi there, i'm esther (wikil0v3@gmail.com).
my secret friend who i'm sharing here is actually my "secret admirer". the story is a bit quirky but it's a true, and here it goes!
while on the way back home on day, a guy was standing next to the road gasping for breath. being helpful i turned to him to extend my assistance, not sure if he is being chased or having health problem at that time, so i helped him to the seats at the void deck. when he slowly regained his breath, i asked him if he was alright and what had happened to him. and he explained that he has been noticing me walking passed the void deck on many occasions and didn't have the chance or the courage to step up to talk to me. but i have never noticed him and i thought he may be using this as a pickup line, so i decided to take my leave. however he persisted that he is no bad guy and he turned out to be my neighbour. so we exchanged words and thereafter became good friends! but till now i still can't imagine myself having this secret admirer and friend 🙂
anyway my idea behind my story is just to open up oneself to any changes and be helpful and grateful that there are people out there "looking out" for you 😛
LC
babyduo@hotmail.com
Hi Grace,
I came across your blog while googling for bibigo and your list of healthy eating places is so awesome! I am going to share that with all my friends so we can all lead a healthier lifestyle OMG *___*
distractions aside, i think i'll pick my colleague to be my secret friend. we used to be pretty close, heading out for morning tea together before work starts, taking this time to talk about our private lives and sharing our thoughts about anything and everything. recently she went for some scans at the hospital and i received a text from her asking me to help her shut down her pc because she was in shock from the diagnosis and wouldn't be coming back to the office in the afternoon. before i knew it she was going for scans a lot but to respect her privacy I didn't push her to tell me what's wrong.. anyway i thought this would be a nice gift for her because it's so wholesome and healthy.
Hi Grace!
I'm Maggie (tanmeiqimaggie@gmail.com)
The only secret friend that comes to my mind is my childhood friend whom grew up with me since primary school. We used to hate each other & physically fought before haha, until we went to the same secondary school & we found a friend in each other. We both treasure our friendship as it definitely did not come easily nor smoothly & definitely was unexpected! She was the only one who stood by me when all my friends turned their back on me when I lost someone I love. My secret friend loves these kinds of products & she is a fan of thepaperbunny thus I would love to give this to her <33
Enjoy the magic this holiday season by feasting, listening to music and bonding with the people that you care for most like family and friends! Thus celebrating this season with them makes it even moreMUMMYal. Im glad to have my loved ones with me this Christmas.
The presents are fun, the feasting is gastronomic but what really matters is being with your closest family and friends to celebrate this joyous occasion. Christmas will be beaming with merriment and cheerfulness if I could win this awesome gift for my MOM.
I'll like to return this Christmas present to her as SHE HAS GIVEN ME THE GREATEST GIFT ANYONE COULD GIVE ANOTHER PERSON….SHE BELIEVED IN ME AND SUPPORTED ME THROUGH MY DARKEST TIME…♡♡♡ I LOVE YOU MUMMY ♡♡♡
From,
Elyn Chan
Elynchan1010@gmail.com
Hey, I am Jay!
the65girl@gmail.com
I would like to be a secret friend to my ex. Once, we broken up, we have not been talking ever since and are not friends. I hope to use this opportunity to be just be friends again. To me, it feels weird to ignore and forget someone who I have a lot of memories with. Especially, someone who was dear to you and once made you smile. Even though, we started off as strangers, I realized how easy it is to become strangers again. Because without him, I wouldn't be who I am here today! I hope to give him this to express my gratitude for once standing by me and supporting me!!! And, even all this, we can't be friends, its okay :)!
Thanks for having such an interesting project, will read all the other entries :DDD!
Jaime Chan Chueimei@hotmail.com
I would like to reach out to my friend Steffi, who have been my listening years and listen to my ups and downs and keep me going strong as a full time working mother! She is my most faithful listening ears and moral support for the past 2 years! I wish her all the blessing in this world!
(Emailed personal details)
I would like to be a secret friend to my mother!! She's been the most amazing person, always loving me unconditionally no matter what I say or do. She's the one who taught me to love myself for who I am and how God created me. So I want to dedicate this gift to her since she's the one who gave me this life.
I feel terrible for making her watch me harm myself when I was having issues with food, and I really want to make it up to her. She even ate unhealthy food to encourage me to eat and ended up putting on unnecessary weight 🙁 I hope that by winning this for her, I can work with her to become healthier and help her lose the unnecessary weight she put on for my sake.
Mothers often don't get enough recognition for what they do, and we often just take for granted that it's their 'job' to do what they do. So I hope I can be a secret friend to the very best mother and friend I could ever have ❤️
suxian
suxianna@hotmail.com
I would like to be a secret friend to my sister! I want to thank her for being there for me, for sharing a room with me, accompanying my lonely nights. I want to encourage her to do well in her studies cause she's always stressed out by the school work and expectations from my parents. I love her as my sister whenever we do crazy stuffs together, singing crazy songs in the middle of the night, telling our most ridiculous tales to each other and basically talking crap when we can't sleep! Last year, I gave her the first Christmas present she's received from me. This year, I want to give her this box of specially picked goodness! 🙂
Vincent
wlee76@hotmail.com
i would just like to reach out to all my friends out there. Some of you went missing and i can no longer find you. In this festive period i would just to wish everyone a Happy holiday and be safe no matter where you are
Hi Grace! 🙂
This Christmas, I would like to be a secret friend to my beloved sister! Ever since we both started working, we didn't really have much time to spend together. Hence, I would really love to pamper her with all these goodies, whereby we could also spend some quality time together!
Lastly, I would like to thank you and all the sponsors for this lovely giveaway and I wish you and your family a blessed merry Christmas! 😀
With love,
Mian Mian
tong.mianmian@gmail.com
Priya
Priya_flame84@live.com
Hi grace thank you so much for hosting this giveaway!!(:
To me, I believe my secret friend would be my mother. Growing up and till now, I'm not close to my mother. She was constantly scolding, hitting and criticising me, however, this year I encountered quite a bit of problems and she was one of the only persons who stood by me through everything. Who tried her best to change and even gave up spending time with her family to be with me, sacrificing her work too.
I did end up restricting my diet severely and only recently have I managed to find a balance between eating well, exercising and also letting go a and enjoying myself instead of obsessing over food. I hope to be a secret friend to all the girls who are struggling with their weight/looks and are unsure of how to get on track of a healthy lifestyle. I want to be someone who can maybe give some advice so they won't take unhealthy paths or follow fad diets and see it as aifestyle, something they can and will enjoy instead of it controlling their life.
I wish you and everyone a merry christmas and happy new year!(:
Hi! I am Vera,email is veralynn.hia@gmail.com and firstly I really want to thank you Grace for creating this lovely giveaway! 🙂 I am a crazy follower on you for instagram as I love all your posts about building up self-confidence and your recovery is really inspiring! 🙂 I love the way that you quote "Healthy in Moderation" and "Love your Body". I am really inspired by your posts and I had taken a meaningful lesson everytimeafter I read your blog! 😀 Ok now to the giveaway I really really really hope to win it! 🙂 As I plan to give 1 box to my secret best friend which is *drumsroll* MY GRANDMA!!! I love my grandma so much! 🙂 She always bring me a smile after my tired day and she always do cute and funny actions to cheer me up! 😀 Not to forget always putting in so much effort to cook my favourite food and snuggle with me under my blanket whenever I cry. I am closer to my grandma than my mom cause I always feel that special bond which is more unique than any bond I had before. We both have the same intrests of cooking and exploring new recipes! 😀 Even my granmda was encouraging on me for baking compared to my parents! 🙂 I really hope to win the giveaway and give her healthier food sponsered by all the wonderful sponsers 🙂 Hoping to allow good nutrition and good taste for her to enjoy. Who knows how long more each person may live. So Merry Christmas Grace! 🙂 And once again thanks so much for the giveaway I really hope to win it! 😀 Thanks again and Merry Christmas
LOVE,
XXVera
Tehillah
Tehillahforisrael@gmail.com
Hello Grace!
This is a wonderful idea, and I thank you for running such a wonderful blog. I came to know about your blog after reading that eye-opening entry on Hawker Food that had everyone buzzing, and after reading your blog I realised that we have so much in common and I've been a regular reader since!
My secret friend will have to be my sister-in-law ("SIL") She is a shy and reserved person who just turned 23 just yesterday! We have not been able to get along in the past but I am praying for that to change in the coming year. I would like to be able to give her your give-away package because firstly- yesterday was her birthday and I’ve really been cracking my head about what to give her, and so when I saw your post today I realized that this would be the ULTIMATE GIFT for her. Secondly, and most importantly it’s because my SIL has an obesity problem, and seems to be addicted to soft drinks and junk food. Your blog has been such an encouragement to me and has inspired me to eat a nutrient dense diet, exercise and overcome my obsession with weight loss and I in turn want to be a positive influence in her life. I believe introducing her to healthy (yet tasty) foods and products will the first step in the right direction for her, as right now, it seems like she has lost all hope of losing weight. I think that unless she takes action soon it will be very dangerous for her to continue like this because she is at great risk for developing diabetes (hereditary) and already is showing signs of having a high glucose level in her blood.
Lastly, today is MY birthday and I take it as a sign from G-d that this give-away is meant for me (I know- so shameless! LOL) and so I hope you’ll allow me to win so that you can initiate a positive change in my SIL’s life and also bless me with a gift on my birthday (LOL!).
Thank you! G-d Bless and May you have a joyous Christmas and Blessed New Year!
Regards,
Tehillah
Hi Grace
First and foremost, I'd like to thank you for hosting this giveaway. Stumbled upon your blog a while back and I've looked forward to each of your blog posts. Thanks for so gracefully sharing your experiences, happiness and thoughts with us all.
This Christmas, I'd like to be a 'secret friend' to my grandmother. She's stayed with me and looked after me since young. More often than not, I've taken the little things she does for me for granted, even being rude occasionally when she nags at me. But we know deep down that we care for each other and I take this opportunity to express my gratefulness (even though she'd probably never read this). She's a peanut butter lover like me and I'd be more than glad to share the Beenut butter that you rave about with my dear grandmother.
Vanessa
cheesetoast88@hotmail.com
Hello Grace,
Firstly let me wish you a joyous merry chirstmas!Thanks for sharing the joy with all of us:)Thanks for hosting this giveaway this christmas and let me have a chance to be a 'secret friend' and thank and talk about someone important to me.
This Christmas,as a secret friend,i will like to thank and talk about my one and only sister.We have been together for the past 14 years and i cant imagine life without you.Despite how you hurting my feelings in the past,you always let all the goods to me and left the bad for yourself.No matter how busy and tiring you are,you still taught me important stuff..We share joy,jokes and laughter together.I really like to thank you for spending your time drawing lots of my favourite things till late night,i really appreciate that and till now you are still sketching and drawing for me i haven thank you for that.I knew next year onwards,you will be very stress and busy,i will start to be more independent and cant always depend one you. Without you,i believe life will not be the same as it is.Thanks for all your care and love.
As a peanut butter lover of me and you,i do hope u could get a chance to enjoy this healthy nutritious yummy goodness of Beanut Butter:) I do hope she,my beloved sister,will be able to see this thank you note from me.
Yi Jun
yijun33@hotmail.com
Hi Grace,
Thanks for your generosity and great idea. It will be nice if I can "secret friend" this to the newspaper delivery auntie in my neighbourhood. She has been painstakingly dropping newspapers at our doorsteps everyday. She never fails to deliver rain or shine all these years. I heard she needs the extra income as her kid is unwell. Well, I hope giving her some healthy food and make her family happy this festive season.
Say Eng
sohsayeng@gmail.com
Hi Grace!
This Xmas, I would like to reach out to my friend, Ben. I have known him for approximately 5 years, but I haven’t really expressed my appreciation and gratitude towards him for being the most awesome friend. I know that he is always a phone call or a text away whenever I need help, and I would also like to do the same. He is getting married next year and I hope our friendship remains strong despite our commitments. I know he is trying to start a healthy lifestyle to get into good shape for his wedding. I hope I can win this giveaway as it will be a perfect gift for him to kick start his healthy lifestyle. At the same time, I can also do it together with him and we can motivate each other as we embark on a healthy lifestyle! =)
Merry Xmas and happy holidays everyone!
Adeline
Maroonboxes178@hotmail.com
Hi Grace!
Thank you so much for hosting this wonderful giveaway! For this giveaway, I would like to give this box of goodness to my beloved younger sister as a Christmas present! I think she would love it(: We have always quarreled with each other over messages and I always get impatient when I am teaching her homework. I always feel guilty after that >< She takes good care of our pet hamster and helps me to buy meals whenever I asked her to (without any complaints). I am really thankful and grateful to everything she has done for me. However, I am not very good at expressing myself , cause it's awkward yeah ? Hence, I hope that I can give her this box of awesome goodies as a gift to thank her for tolerating all my nonsense and scoldings . I am really sorry. Also, I know that she has been feeling unwell recently,so I hope that this gift can cheer her up and makes her happy ^^ ( not to forget she is a MAJOR PEANUT LOVER XD ) She is also obsessed with healthy food and has influenced me to always eat healthily everyday ! Hence, I am very sure that she will be delighted to receive these healthy and awesome goodies 😀
I really hope that I can win this giveaway , so.. good luck to everyone !! Really thank you for hosting this giveaway (:
Hope everyone enjoys their Christmas this year and have a great year ahead ! Enjoy your day guys ! 😀
Love,
Xuan
bigidiot101101@hotmail.com
Jamie
jamieee@gmail.com
Hey Grace, thank you so much for organising such a thoughtful giveaway!
My secret friend this Christmas is my friend from primary school. We attended the same classes from Primary 4 until Secondary 4 and were really close. However, as time went by, we drifted further and nowadays, we only seem to misunderstand each other. She's an important friend to me so I hope we can repair the friendship and be close again.
She's an advocate of healthy living so I'm sure she would like the box.
Thank you again!
Greetings, Grace!
What a lovely gesture this is; just in time for Christmas too! Thank you for reminding us to be grateful for the people in our lives.
My secret friend is a wonderful girl who has been my best friend for the past 16 years. Charlene Teo has been with me through the joys and trials of my life, offering me her unwavering support and listening to my woes without judgement.
We also frequently try out new eating places together. One of our favourite dining spots is Afterglow in Keong Saik Road, a vegan cafe that serves up nutritious mains and absolutely delectable raw desserts that the both of us are crazy about. She has recently tried making a chocolate avocado chia seed pudding so I know she will be thrilled with the healthy and tasty products that you have personally curated for your giveaway.
I have tried the beenut butter and am hopelessly addicted to its luscious, creamy mouthfeel and healthful ingredients. I’m so happy to have found a peanut butter that I can indulge in guilt free (I eat spoonfuls of it right out of the jar!) and I know Charlene would be ecstatic to be able to try it too.
Thank you once again for this opportunity and I hope you and your loved ones have a Merry Christmas!
Vanessa Chan
vanessa.chan.al@gmail.com
Hey Grace! So glad that you are giving away good healthy and real food, sharing the joy of eating well!
My secret friend will be my internship supervisor, though it sounds too weird to be true, I want to thank her for guiding and making me step out of my comfort zone to experience what work life is about. This internship experience was truly an eye opener, totally different from what I learnt from school. Although I get scoldings from my supervisor, I know she meant well and wanted to prepare me for the future rather than facing it later. I thanked her for giving me such good exposure, knowing colleagues from all around the world and the interaction with them is always refreshing. Everyday is always a learning opportunity, and I learn from my mistakes. I learnt to be more aware of my surroundings and understand how important it is working with people. We share the same thinking about the unhealthiness of eating MSG although we always have our lunch out at times and we are health conscious, which there are more things to talk about. I hope the gift that I get for her will be the best Christmas present for her as I want to thank her for her guidance and patience towards me and advocate together a healthy lifestyle!
Angela Kwan Yee Siew
angelakwanyeesung@gmail.com
Hi Grace!
Unfortunately my first comment didn't post :'/ Anyway, thanks for having such an inspiring idea! Everyone around us is a secret friend in one way or another and giving thanks for all these blessings is healthy for our souls!
One of my secret friends would be my brother. We used to be really close when we were young, and would play soccer, wrestle and I would watch him play Maplestory (yes it is true that older brothers use their younger sisters to play boyish games with them). We would quarrel a lot, as with any siblings, but we were close. Unfortunately, we drifted apart when we grew older, got busy and got new friends. It hit me this year that the family bond is irreplaceable, and I wish for an older, protective brother. I'm trying harder to communicate with him nowadays, and am hopeful that we can become closer again! He is literally my secret friend, because I have never told him what I've been thinking. He's in the NS though, so I'm not sure what he can do with all the goodies. But I just wanted to share this story, as it's been in my heart for a long time. Maybe I'll get the courage to be more proactive in getting closer to him!
I shall then share about another secret friend, though this is not so secret 😉 I have many important friends, but I shall share about VP because she is thoroughly obssessed with peanut butter, and chocolate (who isn't, though). We have known each other for 5 years, and while it may not seem like a long time, she means a lot to me. We once set up an online shop together when we were 13 and looking back it was both foolish yet adorable what we tried to achieve. We also have many precious memories together of which I would not elaborate. What I would say is that we are actually polar opposites of each other. We often disagree on things, and we once did not speak for almost a year due to an incident! Nonetheless, I believe it strengthened our friendship and made us cherish each other more. I'm more domineering, and sometimes unreasonable, so I'm really thankful for her because she's always so accommodating towards me. I think what's really precious about our friendship is that the two of us can see each other flaws and yet be fully accepting of them, can give each other support when one needs it the most, and most importantly see each other as not perfect beings, but wonderful companions and confidants.
Another thing about her (also why I decide to name her for this giveaway) is that she loathes vegetables, bananas (she literally gags and cries when she eats or smells one) and generally does not eat very healthily. Hopefully through these goodies she can start seeing the goodness of wholesome foods (at the very least I can save her from hydrogenated oils???).
Once again, thanks for this giveaway! To all friendships I would like to dedicate this quote: "Time spent together is never quite enough." Merry Christmas!
Sammie
sammiengyanping@gmail.com
Yuwei
yu.wei.bian@gmail.com
This Christmas, (and hopefully for many more Christmases to come), my secret friend is my grandma. She has unconditionally and unfailingly raised me, giving without taking, and spoils me like a little child even at my ripe old age of 30. She is the most humble, gracious, strong and fiercely independent woman I know, choosing to live by herself even when my grandpa passed away 10 years ago. Almost 80, she insists on walking to different markets just to buy the freshest ingredients to cook for us, even though some markets can be more than a half hour's walk away. I only need to mention in passing after perhaps watching some TV show that I felt like eating say mapo tofu, and the best mapo tofu dish would appear at the next dinner. I've also always avoided eating fish because I have an irrational fear of fish bones and skin, but she insists that fish is essential to my health. So at every dinner, she makes sure I always have fish, which she has painstakingly de-skinned and de-boned. I make sure to finish every morsel, my heart always quietly overflowing with her love. Her influence on my life is immense– I find myself quoting her words to people, and living by her simple, true words of wisdom. Be kind, be humble, everything falls into place.
So this Christmas, I want to be her secret friend as much as she has been one to me. Having her around for as long as possible would be the best gift, and I would like to give her the gift of healthful living, starting with this box of treats which she would never ever buy for herself.
Thank you and Merry Christmas
Hello Grace,
I would like to share the parcel with a colleague of mine who is called Pearline. She is really nice and often gives selflessly to the people around her sometimes even at her own expense! Pearline really loves food. However, recently she got hospitalized due to her diabetic condition and she needs to cut back on a lot of the food that she loves (which has made her rather :().
I hope to win this box and share it with her to let her know that healthy food does not have to be horrible tasting but it can be delicious too!!
Thank you!
Eileen
bananashakes@gmail.com
Lynn Tan
ellewhynn@gmail.com
Hi Grace!
I have been an avid reader of your blog ever since my spate of stomach flu this year – checking whether you have posted new articles on eating healthy and your lunch box ideas daily haha, made a change in my life because now I’m healthier and stronger (my BMI has reached a healthy level!) 🙂
This Christmas, my secret friend will be none other than my mother.
My mother has turned 50 this year. Seeing how she still puts in effort to take care of my sister, me, and my dad amazes me – waking up at 430am everyday to do washing, preparing for dinner, and then heading to work at 730am is her daily routine. Yet, she hardly has any grouses about taking care of us :’) Recently, she has been complaining about having frequent tummy bloating and also indigestion, which worries me because I know that taking care of us has caused a toll on her health. Also, she comes back home feeling angsty and frustrated over her workload these days as the end of the year approaches with more deadlines to meet. Being her daughter, I feel sad that I cannot do anything concrete to help her.
Through VSB, I hope to win something for her this Christmas to make her days a brighter one. My family does not have the habit of celebrating Christmas ie we don’t exchange gifts, and she does not like the idea of me splurging on gifts for her either. Therefore, I would like to win a gift basket because I can write cards for her using The Paper Bunny’s products, and for the peanut butter, she can have it during her teabreak in her office (which stops her from consuming oily, salty food from hawker centres!!)
Praying that my well wishes to the woman I love the most in my life, which is my mother will be heard, and fulfilled.
Merry Christmas, Grace.
Su Yi
amber.sy89@gmail.com
Hi Grace! I am excited to say that my secret friend this Christmas came into my office a stranger. She was a new colleague, one who was about to join the rest of us in this miserable place. It didn’t take very long before I found out she was just as passionate as I am about using wholesome, natural and eco-friendly products! We constantly chatter away and exchange tips and info, and it has been incredible learning and sharing so much. Her presence and personality lifted my spirits up during the past few months. I sincerely hope to be able to gift her this box!
Thanks for hosting this giveaway. Warm wishes.
Dear Vegsmoothiebunny,
Thanks for this wonderful blog which I got to know via TNP.
Well….i don’t know where and what to start with. Sorry, I’m not good at words. I don’t expect to win, hahaha….i posted it here for fun.
I think I have 2 secret friends: E and J. She is willing to learn 'foreign' language just to communicate with me and help to share food links with me sometimes although she is meat eater. She is kind at heart. I got to know her not long.
J is quite patient and bears with my weakness and extends her understanding to me when I voiced out my opinions/feelings openly. I want to present her with healthy snacks such as butter which you mentioned here. She is keen to learn more about health.
Sorry for very short post. Pardon me! 😀
Merry Holidays to you and your family. Hee hee…..
Regards
Sally (will email you my email address later)
(will PM you my contact details)
Thanks Grace for this fantastic giveaway! My secret friend is my brother. I've always wanted to reach out to him, but somehow we drifted away during our teenage years and even more so when I went overseas. I badly want to rebuild our relationship; it hurts that he doesn't respond to my efforts when I try to talk to him! His relationship with my parents is also pretty distant; he doesn't really talk to my parents and me. I feel so frustrated and saddened that he treats me like his enemy, but I will still continue to love him and pray that my lost brother will one day come back to us.
He's totally the opposite of me, i.e. he doesn't eat healthily at all, doesn't want to have anything to do with healthy food. He has rejected everything I've given him, so I really hope that he will accept this wonderful gift! More than just giving him the opportunity to taste how delicious healthy food can be, I truly hope he will realise how much I love him and yearn for him to come back to us. It is the deepest cry of my soul.
If family members in the same household do not qualify as secret friends, my next secret friend is my aunt who is suffering from stage 4 cancer. I want to gift her something that is incredibly delicious (especially since chemo has dulled her tastebuds somewhat), which is also beneficial for her health! She has lost weight since starting her treatment, so I really want to cheer her up with this gift, which will also hopefully fatten her up in a healthy way 🙂
Jas
Jellybananas@gmail.com
What a great idea this is! My secret friend is none other than my dad! Afterall, he's the one who's always taught me about keeping fit n healthy. Even at his age (64!) he still works out & runs 7km on a weekly basis! I'm sure he would enjoy these healthy & delicious treats.
My secret friend is you! <3 <3 <3
-d