Make Your Own Healthy Holiday Gifts

With everyone watching their budgets this year, save some money, unleash your creativity, and give a few gifts from your kitchen. Not only will you save money, but you can control the ingredients and nutrition and give a personal gift that is unique.

Package your gift in plain plastic containers, mason jars, or find decorative jars online and in specialty shops (make sure that they are food safe). Use a theme and package them with recipes and useful accessories. See the suggestions given for each gift idea.

Layered Soup in a Jar

Layer dried beans and peas with dried bouillon granules, onion flakes, and herbs in a mason jar. Attach a recipe with variations on a card. Accompany the soup mix with bright soup bowls or mugs, crackers, and cheese and place in a crock pot or basket. Suggested recipes from allfreecrafts.com: Three Bean Soup Mix, Chicken Noodle and Minestrone Soup.

If you don’t want to go to the trouble of making soup mixes, you can buy soup mixes from Frontier Soups, The Women’s Bean Project, or go to Soupsonline.com.

Hot Cocoa Mix

Combine a box (25.6 oz) dry milk powder, half a box (16 oz) of fat free nondairy coffee creamer, 4 cups of powdered sugar, and a 16 oz box of unsweetened cocoa powder in a bowl. This makes about 18 cups of dry mix. Divide the mix into jars. For 1 serving, stir 3 tablespoons Hot Cocoa Mix into 1 cup of hot water until dissolved. Milk can be used instead of water for extra richness. Package the mix with a bag of mini marshmallows, mugs, and cookies.

Mulling Spices

Mix a 2-lb bag of brown sugar with ground cinnamon (3.5 tablespoons), ground cloves (2 tablespoons), dried ground orange peel (2 tablespoons), ground allspice (2 tablespoons), and ground nutmeg (2.5 tablespoons). Place in an airtight jar. To make 1 serving of mulled cider or wine, place ¼ cup mulling mix, 1 cup apple or wine, and ¼ cup water in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil and simmer gently for 5 minutes. Package this mix with bright mugs, cinnamon sticks, nuts and cookies.

Seasoned Pecans

Seasoned pecans make terrific homemade gifts and are particularly popular during the holiday season. To caramelize pecans, whisk 2 egg whites with 2 teaspoons cold water, add 2 pounds of pecan halves and toss till completely covered. Then mix together ½ cup brown sugar and 1 /2 teaspoon salt and add to the pecans. Place the nuts on a cookie pan that has been covered with parchment paper or aluminum foil and sprayed with a nonstick cooking spray. Bake for 1 hour at 225 degrees, stirring every 15 minutes. Find this recipe and recipes for Spicy Pecans.

Granola

Combine rolled oats (not quick-cooking) with dried fruits, nuts, seeds, spices, wheat germ, and juice concentrate and bake in the oven. Try this great recipe for Cranberry-Almond Granola at EatingWell.com.

Package the granola in an airtight plastic bag or jar. Combine the granola with cereal bowls, fruit, and gourmet tea or coffee blends for a special holiday gift.

Spice Rubs

Make spice mixes for dipping artisan breads, rubbing on meats, or seasoning salad dressings, soups, or sauces. Take a trip to Italy with Tuscan-inspired aromatic spices—basil, garlic, rosemary, and oregano. A Spanish Rub could include paprika, cilantro, dried lemon peel, and ground pepper. Combine curry powder, red pepper, cumin, coriander, dried mint, turmeric, and ginger for an Indian Spice Rub. Package the Spice Rubs with ethnic breads, crackers, oils, dipping plates, a bottle of wine from the region, etc. Find recipes for these 3 Spice Rubs at Eatingwell.com.

What gifts do you like to make and give for the holidays? 

Healthy Holiday Gift Ideas

Here are some of my favorite holiday gifts that I have given over the years. Why not make a healthful statement with your gift giving efforts this year?

Edible Arrangements Christmas Centerpieces

Perfect for Christmas or any of your holiday gift-giving needs! Enjoy pineapple stars, strawberries, cantaloupe, honeydew and grapes designed in a holiday container. Edible Arrangements offer a great variety of fruit, arrangement sizes, chocolate covered fruit, specialty containers, balloons and bears. Pick it up and give it in person, send it across town or across the country.  

Wild Thyme Gifts
Find tasty gift packages of Wild Thyme Salad Refreshers as well as Chutneys, Cranberry Sauce, Dipping Sauces, Marinades, and Vinaigrette that range in price form $18 to $75. I recommend their Salad Refreshers that contain only 30 to 40 calories and 2.5 g total fat and 5 to 10 mg sodium in a 1 tablespoon serving. There are 9 flavors. My favorite is the Tangerine. These dressings are extremely versatile. Besides dressing a salad, you can use them as a marinade or finishing sauce for meat, poultry, fish or vegetables.

Holiday savings of 25% with code winter2010.

Harry & David All's Well Basket
Fresh fruit is a great gift and Harry & David has been delivering premium fruit for over 25 years. The All''s Well Basket comes complete with nutritional information for informed noshing. This wholesome banquet features naturally sweet Royal Riviera Pears, two best-of-the-season apples, roasted almonds, marionberry/blueberry 100% fruit bars, snack mixes, and tender Turkish dried apricots.

Heart Healthy Holiday Basket

The perfect holiday gift for those on a heart-healthy diet or for those concerned about heart health. Included is a variety of foods with the vitamins, minerals, and phytochemicals necessary for heart health--magnesium-rich almonds and dark chocolate, vitamin E rich nuts, flavonoid-rich blueberries and cherries. Contents of the Heart-Healthy Holidays Basket: Dark Chocolate Bar, Smoked Salmon, Unsalted Melba Toast, Gold Olive Oil, Whole Wheat Pasta, Decaf Green Tea, Dr. Lankin's Awesome Almonds, Dark Chocolate Covered Popcorn, Betty Lou Fruit Bars, and Ghirardelli Hot Chocolate.

7-Day Menu Planner for Dummies
Are you suffering from meal-time stress? 7-Day Menu Planner for Dummies has all the answers for feeding your family delicious and nutritious foods on a budget. Susan Nicholson, RD, author, says "People are realizing that home-cooked meals provide a healthier alternative to fast-food runs or TV dinners while also saving them some money." This books provides 52 weeks of menus and recipes, hints on navigating the supermarket, and advice on choosing foods low in fat and sodium. This is a great gift for a young family.

Convivium Cooking Dinner Party Game

Convivium is a fun cooking game that is an excellent idea for the host that wants to offer a hassle free dinner party without the need of a large budget. The game includes the board, game playing cards, instructions, invitation postcards, recipe cards, ingredient list and the Mexican Fiesta Dinner menu (other menus can be downloaded for free).

Eat It! Trivia Game

This is not a nutrition game but if you are a 'foodie' you will love it. Players test their knowledge by answering fun and clever trivia questions across five tasty categories: Chocolate, Candy, Cookies, Snack Attack, and Ice Cream and Desserts. The types of Eat It trivia questions range from nostalgia and general knowledge to marketing, jingles, product description, and tidbits.

Melissa's Baby Vegetable Basket
Hand selected for maximum freshness, Melissa's Baby Vegetables are the same colorful, tiny treasures sought after by the finest restaurants. Your seasonal selection may include baby versions of Artichokes, Beets, Broccoli, White Icicle Turnips, Kohlrabi, Cauliflower, Eggplant, Squashes, Leeks, Carrots, Potatoes, and Specialty Radishes. Great gift for the foodie on your list.

Victoria Gourmet Spice Blend Gifts

These aromatic spice blends come in six different packages of three tins each for Holiday Cooking, BBQ Grilling, Bread Dipping, Seafood, etc. Each tin holds 6 to7 tablespoons of salt-free seasonings. Compliment this gift collection with  a recipe book that contains over 140 of Victoria's tested recipes created specifically for use with her seasoning blends. These easy-to-follow recipes create great-tasting dishes packed with flavor. There are recipes for appetizers to main dishes, and vegetarian dishes to recipes for holiday entertaining.



Portion Control Slimware

Is someone on your list trying to slim down? These stylish dishes is the perfect gift for them. The patterns on these plastic 11-inch plates are perfectly sized to indicate veggies (largest flower), starch (middle size flower), and protein (smallest flower).

The Measure Up Bowls come in two sizes. The Classic with pre-measured portions of 1/2, 1, 1 1/2 and 2 cups is used for rice, pastas, cereals and soups, whereas the Small is perfect for snacking so you don't mindlessly munch. The Small has portions of 1/4, 1/2 and 3/4 cup. Both are constructed of microwave/dishwasher-safe porcelain.

What are you giving this holiday? Send me your healthy holiday gift ideas.

My next Blog will be on Healthy Holiday Gifts to Make.

Healthy Holiday Foods & Ingredients

Spruce up your holiday recipes with some healthier ingredients or choose a nutritious alternative to a seasonal favorite. Here are a few of my favorites:

Eggnog is a traditional holiday favorite but is usually high in calories and fat. Horizon Organic has a low fat eggnog that contains only 3 g of fat in a 1/2 cup serving compared to 9 g in the regular eggnog. This is a savings of about 50 calories.

If you are lactose intolerant, several dairies carrry a lactose free eggnog, but it is usaully the high fat variety. You might want to try a vegan eggnog such as Silk Soy Nog, which contains only 2 g of fat in a 1/2 cup serving. Another treat from the Silk people is Pumpkin Spice Soymilk that is offerred exclusively during the holidays.

Many holiday recipes call for chicken stock or broth that usually contain a high amount of salt. Kitchen Basics carries a line of unsalted stocks with sodium in the range of 160 to 180 mg per cup, which is much less than the 800 to 1000 mg found in many popular products.

Cheese is a staple of holiday entertaining but an item that is considered a 'stay away from' item on the party buffet if you are trying to control your weight and/or cholesterol. You can cut half the fat (4.5 g vs. 9 g) and 30 calories per 1-oz serving by choosing President Light Brie rather than the regular. The fat and calories are still high so portion control is important.

Another great cheese choice is goat cheese that usually contains less fat and calories than regular cheese. My favorite is Montchevre Cranberry Cinnamon Goat Cheese Lot. At just 4.5 g of fat and 80 calories per ounce, this is a treat at any time. The cranberry and cinnamon flavors lend a festive touch to your party table.

I can't think of the holidays without including cranberries--tart cranberry relish, dried cranberries, cranberry juice in a holiday punch, cranberries baked into breads or muffins, and strings of popcorn and cranberries hanging on the Christmas tree. For a quick cranberry treat try Ocean Spray Craisin Trail Mix or Haagen Daz Fat Free Cranberry Blueberry Sorbet.

If you need a gluten-free dessert, check out Pamela's Products ready-made gluten-free cheese cakes, coffee cate, and chocolate fudge cake. These desserts are not low calorie or fat but like all Pamela's products, they are gluten-free and delicious. Check out Pamela's Celebrate the Holidays Together Gluten Free for a compete list of gluten-free desserts and recipes.

What is your favorite healthy holiday food and ingredient? I'd love to hear from you.

Look for blogs on Healthy Holiday Gift Ideas and Healthy Holiday Gifts from your Kitchen in a few days.