Good-For-Them Gifts That Are Easy On Your Wallet

Affordable gift ideas to promote health/physical activity, local food outlets, growing something at home and help break out of cooking fatigue! Happy holiday giving!

Take-a-break ideas

These ideas are for taking those much needed breaks.

• **A basket sampler of teas
• **A tin filled w/popcorn and DIY seasonings (Mexican cocoa, gingerbread, cinnamon sugar, coconut curry and more or vegan chili cheese).
• **A book about changing habits or intuitive eating or equitable and sustainable food systems or other topics.

Cooking fatigue ideas

These ideas help to break out of a cooking rut.

• **Fill a decorative jar w/soup mix ingredients along w/a recipe.
• **A sauce sampler with ideas about how to use them (sauces to consider including: gochujang, hot honey, Mexican hot sauce, Sriracha hot chili sauce)
• **A basket filled with olive oil and balsamic vinegar (tips on how to choose balsamic vinegar) or rice/pasta alternatives (consider quinoa, lentil pasta, amaranth, farro or whole wheat couscous).
• **Make a spice/herb sampler in decorative bottles w/ideas for combining and using in recipes.
• **Make homemade sweet chili sauce and put in a decorative bottle (this is a recipe I like that is less sticky/sweet than store bought: dissolve 1 tablespoon cornstarch in 3/4 cup water in a saucepan; add 1/2 cup sugar, 3/4 teaspoon garlic powder, 1/4 cup rice vinegar, 1 tablespoon Sriracha and 2 tablespoons lime juice. Bring to a boil until it turns a slightly darker color, then simmer for a few minutes until sauce thickens a bit. Remove from heat. Pour into glass jar and cool in refrigerator. Lasts about a week in the refrigerator.)
• **Cookbook or cooking/nutrition magazine subscription

Kitchen tool ideas

Having the right tool makes food prep oh-so enjoyable!

• **Spiralizer vegetable peeler or mandoline
• **Cutting board
• **Chef‘s knife – oh what a difference a sharp blade makes especially when cutting butternut squash. On sale, I bought one – with a blade cover for about $8.
• **A basket of gadgets such as a lemon or garlic press, a food thermometer, a rasp for grating.

Get moving ideas

Promote physical activity or jump-start it with these ideas.

• **Yoga mat
• **Jump rope
• **Hand or walking weights
• **Resistance bands 
• **Headlamp/reflector for walking @ dusk or in the dark
• **Water bottle/cap/visor
• **Earbuds w/a list of recommended nutrition/health podcasts.

Outside-the-box ideas

How about supporting something local that’s food-related or promoting growing something at home?

• **Donate to a local food charity or food pantry in someone’s name.
• ** Give a gift certificate to a food store the person typically shops at or wants to try or a local food store to support a local business or a local farmer/vendor such as a CSA (community-supported agriculture).
• **Grow something at home with a kit: an indoor herb garden starter kit, a mushroom-growing kit or a veggie seed kit.