Holiday Gifts That Are Good For Your Health

With December’s gloom and cold comes the golden glow of the Hanukkah and Christmas lights. Fun and excitement for the gift recipients; months of shopping and headaches for the gift givers! Healthy eating is a gift everyone can benefit from–HEALTH really IS the gift that keeps on giving!

Here are EIGHT healthy food-related gifts for you or any adult on your list:

1. The Vidalia Chop Wizard: This $25 gem can be found at Bed Bath & Beyond. It makes chopping and adding vegetables to your salads, soups and sauces a breeze!  http://www.chopwizard.com/
2. Extra Virgin Olive Oil and Flavored Vinegar: Home Goods is a great place to shop for interesting oils and vinegars to make delicious salads. Add some salad tongs to complete the gift!
3. Lemon Press and Garlic Press: Bring cooking to a higher level by using fresh-squeezed lemon juice and fresh-pressed garlic in your recipes instead of bottles of lemon juice or jars of pre-minced garlic.  These handy tools come in bright colors and make a useful gift!
4. Reusable Glass Storage Containers: Get plastic (and the chemicals that they leach into your foods) out of your life! Replace your plastic Tupperware with reusable glass containers. Find these in cute patterns at Home Goods and Cost Plus World Market.
5. A Trio of Little Decorative Bowls: These have many uses, one of which is sitting on a counter filled with nuts and dried fruit for grab-and-go snacking.
6. Green Tea with Raw Honey: Green tea is loaded with antioxidants and raw honey is superior in its antibacterial properties to the processed kind in the little plastic bear! Add a pretty mug and you have the a perfect gift!
7. Dark Chocolate Bars with at least 70% Cocoa Content: When chocolate is this rich and dark, it actually becomes healthy! Tie three bars with a ribbon and your gift is complete!
8. Homemade Healthy Cookies: I absolutely love these cookies! Give to a teacher, neighbor, co-worker or aesthetician. They will thank you for not sabotaging their diet with the typical unhealthy store-bought holiday sweets! You can put these in a glass reusable storage container as mentioned above and top with a bow.

Print

Trail Mix Cookies

These cookies are packed with healthy ingredients and deliciousness!

Course Dessert

Cuisine Desserts

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Total Time 25 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 ¼ cup whole wheat flour
• ¾ cup rolled oats
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup butter softened
• ¼ cup all-natural almond butter
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons raw, unprocessed honey
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ½ cup almonds
• 1/3 cup pumpkin seeds
• 2 tablespoons flaxseed meal
• ½ cup dried cranberries

Directions

1. Place almonds in a plastic bag and pound with a mallet until broken up into small chunks.  Set aside. 

2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

3. Whisk together flour, oats, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder and salt. 

4. In another bowl, beat butter, almond butter, brown sugar and honey until smooth. 
5. Add egg and vanilla and beat until combined.

6. Combine with flour mixture and stir until just combined.

7. Mix in almonds, pumpkin seeds, flaxseeds and cranberries. 

8. Roll dough into balls, about 2 T. in size, and place about 1" apart on greased baking sheets.

9. Flatten each cookie slightly. 

10. Bake until golden brown, about 10 minutes.

Recipe Notes

Add some chocolate chips if you'd like!