Healthy Holiday Gift Guide!
Post by Olivia Martino, Registered Dietitian and Owner, Nourish Northwest
It’s really easy to get wrapped up in material possessions this time of year. New clothes, jewelry, “I” devices (I say this cause I really have no idea what new apple products are all the rage this season), toys… all of these things can seem appealing/necessary as we are constantly bombarded with messages that we should be buying things. In the end, typically by this time next year, these things have been forgotten and we have a new desire for the shinier version. What’s the point, really? How about spending your money in a healthier/more productive way? Probably the most beneficial way you can use your dollars is to donate to a charity. It’s important you find something near and dear to your heart, or to the person you are donating in the name of. Animal shelters, planned parenthood, food banks are always great choices.
Investing in someone else’s health is probably the second best way you can spend some money this season. Do you know someone who always puts other’s first and neglects their own self-care? I know a ton of those people. It’s hard to sometimes justify to spending money on yourself, especially when health related expenses can be pricey. The holidays can be a stressful time for those who want to maintain a healthy way of eating and an active lifestyle. Why not take a little bit of the stress out of the equation by supporting them in doing so? Here is a list of some of my healthy holiday favorite gift ideas:
Gifts that don’t cost any money (or very minimal money)
- Coupon for a homemade dinner (who wouldn’t absolutely love this???)
- Homemade recipe book
- IOU coupons for a hike together
- IOU coupon for a massage
- IOU coupon for a relaxing movie night in together
- Homemade Chai Tea Mix
- Healthy Homemade Food Gifts (granola, soup mix, pancake mix etc)
Cooking Related Gifts
- A Nourish Northwest Cooking Class Gift Card! Giving someone the experience of learning how to cook is much more powerful than giving it to them on paper. Plus, our classes are always a good time!
- Essential Kitchen Tools: If you have been to any of our cooking classes, you will know that we believe all you need is a good quality knife. We are not big on gadgets, especially if they only serve one purpose, so this short list is comprised of things we feel are absolutely necessary in the kitchen.
- A good knife. Invest and keep it sharp. Don’t bother with a set, you will get a bunch of knives you don’t need. We use this brand in our cooking classes and love it.
- A food processor ( I seriously don’t know how I would live without one)
- Microplane (has many great uses, including grating ginger and garlic and zesting citrus)
- Cutting boards (everyone needs new ones from time to time)
- Spice jars (we always recommend buying spices in bulk)
- Immersion blender (not only does this make blending soups easy, but you can also make smoothies, mash potatoes, whip cream and blend sauces)
- A good heavy saute pan
- A dutch oven (If you really want to invest and give someone one amazing gift they will have for a lifetime then this is it. This is single handedly my most used piece of kitchen equipment, other than my knife.)
- Cookbooks! Some of my favorite are:
- The Oh She Glows Cookbook (My most used vegan cookbook)
- Isa Does It (Another great vegan cookbook for everyday recipes)
- Nourishing Traditions (A great resource for information on traditional foods, as well as recipes for broths, fermented foods etc)
- Wild Fermentation (Step by step instructions to fermenting your own foods at home)
- Plenty (stunningly beautiful vegetarian dishes)
- The Herbfarm Cookbook (creative yet simple recipes utilizing a variety of fresh herbs)
- Feeding the Whole Family (nutrition information and basic whole foods cooking instruction for recipes both kids and parents can enjoy)
- Toro Bravo (one of my most used cookbooks from my favorite restaurant in Portland)
- The Flavor Bible (not exactly a cookbook but a very useful kitchen resource for figuring out what ingredients will work well together)
- Tartine Bread (if you are at all interested in learning how to make naturally leavened bread, then this book is essential)
Fitness Related Gifts
- A yoga mat
- A set of free weights for working out at home (5-10# is a good place to start)
- An insulated water bottle (because hot water in a hot yoga class is not appealing)
- A Camelback (so helpful for hiking)
- Gift card for new shoes (find out what your pal’s favorite brand is; most people don’t replace their shoes nearly as often as they should)
- Gift card for fitness clothes (nothing makes me more excited to work out than some brand new clothes! My personal favorite is Athleta)
- Rechargeable bike lights
- Gift Card to fitness/yoga studios: We would love for you to come to us! but there’s lots of other awesome places around town if you are looking for something a little different! Here’s a few of our favorite spots!
- POINT Gym (high intensity cross-training)
- Bleeding Hearts Kettlebell Club
- The Grinning Yogi
- Yoga Union
- Love Hive Yoga
Healthy Restuarants
Gift cards to healthy local restaurants make great gifts! Some of our faves are:
We wish you and yours a happy, healthy holiday season!