Treat them right with tasty and healthful presents
By Deborah Jeanne Sergeant
It’s easy to give a mass-produced, sugary sweet. However, it’s thoughtful to present friends and family with an indulgence that promotes good health.
Genevra Petito, owner of Supergirl Fitness in Rochester, likes nettle tea and horsetail tea for their benefits of supporting good health. Nettle tea is said to promote bone health and offer antioxidant and anti-inflammatory perks. Horsetail tea may also reduce inflammation and protect bones, along with boosting the immune system, promoting cognitive function and improving oral health.
“Check with your doctor about interference with your medications,” Petito said.
Kimberly Whitcomb, one-on-one fitness professional in Fairport and Wolcott, likes gathering gift baskets with tasty treats that are also healthful. One of her favorites is Nana’s Topping, a local indulgence made with chocolate and peanut butter.
“It’s low-calorie and low-carb,” Whitcomb said. “The closer you are to balancing those and make sure the carbs aren’t more than two to three times higher than the protein, it’s that much healthier. It’s great by the spoonful, on toast or as a treat on ice cream.”
She likes Ceylon cinnamon, which offers a slightly sweet flavor as well as anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. A teaspoon or two a day is also associated with regulating blood sugars, blood pressure and LDL cholesterol levels.
“How fun would it be to get a basket with a fancy little applesauce with cinnamon?” Whitcomb said.
Add a natural sweetener, like pure maple syrup—rife with trace minerals and calcium—and local honey.
“Honey has antioxidant, antibacterial and antifungal properties,” Whitcomb said. “Buy local because it can help support your immune system and help with local allergies. It soothes a sore throat, can be used as a cough suppressant. I mix with lemon as a cough suppressant. It has prebiotic properties that support good gut bacteria. It’s also a sleep aid if used at night as it helps release melatonin. It would be a great gift with any kind of tea.”
Buy maple syrup and honey in festive or glass containers to enhance the appearance of your gift.
Whitcomb also likes Himalayan salt. Many home good stores sell it in a salt grinder. It may be used in place of table salt and it contains more minerals. Pair it with a pepper mill for “a nice little set,” she added.
Piera Carubia, registered dietitian at Highland Hospital, likes to group ingredients that could help cook more healthful meals, like high quality olive oils and vinegars.
“Olive oils have a lot of polyphenols,” she said. “It’s a very healthy fat. Vinegar gives flavor without added sugar. It’s natural.”
Instead of piling on more salt to meals, spice mixes can help people on your gift list to add pizzaz sodium-free. Carubia added that mixes that include colorful spices look especially festive.
Pepper salsa may not be an item that people buy for themselves but “it goes really well on the side as a condiment and you can use it for baking. It’s very festive with bright colors. Same thing with finely diced olives, all kinds of types mixed in a jar.”
Nuts are already a holiday favorite, but fancy flavored nuts such as smoked, chipotle and other flavors offer healthful fat, fiber, protein and trace minerals.
Fill a basket with a mug set and flavored coffees.
“Coffee is not unhealthy,” Carubia said. “There are different flavors and they can make good gifts. Keurig pods have variety packs with different flavors and artisan types of coffees.”
Coffee is more than a pick-me-up. It contains antioxidants and can reduce inflammation and risk of cancer.