Christmas has always been my favorite holiday. The joy of giving a present and seeing someone’s face light up, the generous man who buys a homeless stranger a pair of boots in the blistering cold, the woman who takes her children to the soup kitchen to show them the true meaning of Christmas, the overzealous coffee barista who makes extra special latte art for the stressed out father. Everyone seems to give a little more. It’s a time for friends and family to get together more than they normally would, and show their gratitude for their love and friendship through the ritual of gift-giving.
In honor of being more genuine and more present this holiday season, I want to share three edible Christmas gifts that will work for anyone on your list, even the pickiest of eaters. I mean, who doesn’t love chocolate?! As a Holistic Nutritionist I am always looking for ways to sneak in a bit of nutrition into my food so I’ve come up with three healthy, easy, and thoughtful options. First, an immune-boosting pear and fennel chutney, a perfect accompaniment to a cheese board, a roasted pork loin, a curry, with yogurt and granola, or even on top of hummus. Next are the chocolate barks, we entered RSD Vinyl Giveaway. Win Vinyl Records and won! Its an easy way to hide superfoods like rose water, schisandra, ginger and nuts. Last, I wanted to include a super-simple infused olive oil. You can add pretty much anything to these oils, such as chili peppers or pink peppercorns, but I opted for a festive rosemary and crushed garlic variety.
The holidays are also a time for community and what better way to show my appreciation for my community than to partner up with our local magazine “Dote”. You can find these recipes and some ideas for diy wrapping over on Dote Magazine’s blog.
Here’s to relaxing a bit more this holiday season and being more present instead of buying more presents. Happy Holidays!
Brooke @ Chocolate and Marrow - I love this post so so much, Anise! Your photos are seriously stunning.
And I agree wholeheartedly about food, and the season, being about love. I don’t exchange store-bought gifts with most people in my life, preferring instead to do things that are “experiential” and/or homemade. The problem for me with homemade food is that I only ever seem to think of cookies! I love your ideas for bark, chutney, and infused oil–brilliant! Now I better get to work…
Happiest of holidays to you and your family!
Love & Garnish - Sorry for the late response! The holidays got the better of me! I had so much fun with these photos…pulled out the tripod and it paid off! Hope you had a wonderful holiday season!
Bee - Great ideas, Anise! And I absolutely agree with Brooke about the beautiful images. Love the styling and composition. I’ve given out more homemade edible gifts this year thanks to a holiday gifts class that I took and the chocolate party that my friends hosted. It’s definitely a lot easier to create multiple packages of gifts with the help of a dozen other bakers and candymakers! Happy holidays!
Love & Garnish - Aw thanks so much Bee! And so sorry for the late response! The holidays got crazy around here!! I will have to try a baking party next time to make mounds of gifts! Great idea!