Hi all!
I have been asked in several emails about Christmas gifts and what to get for your loved ones. I’m going to break down some of my top favorite gift ideas for you. These are wonderful gifts to give any Maximized Living foodie or anyone interested in health & wellness. Dave and I own and use almost all of these items and have actually gifted our friends and family with a lot of these over the past years. Can’t rave enough about these companies and products…so I’m just going to list them. Hope you, too, can discover the great quality and usefulness!
Homemade Gifts Save time. Save money. Show you care.
- A few bottles of flavored Kombucha, perhaps even share a baby SCOBY?
- Assorted box of Advanced Plan cookies (12 Days of Cookies post coming at you tomorrow!!)
- Mixed box of dark chocolate truffles & almond butter balls
- Classic gifts-in-a-jar. Share your knowledge of gluten-free, sugar-free baking. Gift your loved ones with a jar of all the dry ingredients and tag the recipe to the jar, in cute fashion of course (dare I suggest breaking out the scrapbooking materials??). Some great gifts-in-a-jar recipes: Gluten Free “Candy Cane” Cookies (recipe to come next week!), Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies, Gluten Free Loaded Chocolate Protein Bars, Gluten Free Coconut Flour Bread, or Gluten Free Banana Bread. Just remember to include my URL on the tag so they can come back for more! :)
- A quart or two of chili (Healing Cuisine Chili, Pumpkin Chili, White Bean Chili) in a decorative glass container.
Gold Category A major splurge. Much appreciated by all.
- VitaMix
- P90X or Insanity home fitness programs
- Sink Water Filtration System
- Cuisinart food processor
The Foodie For the kitchen savvy. And the aspiring.
- Cast Iron Skillet or Stainless Steel Skillet
- Membership to an organic wine club
- Good bamboo cutting board
- Natural waxed paper or parchment paper. Introduce others to the all-natural alternatives.
Kitchen Supplies Stuff healthy peeps always need.
- Organic/all natural protein powder or meal replacement powder (Maximized Living Perfect Protein, Garden of Life Raw Protein, Sequel Vega, Sun Warrior Raw Superfood)
- Bulk coconut oil
- Coconut flour
- Organic spices
- Clean, organic, low-to-no sugar protein bars (PaleoBars
- Organic powdered greens antioxidant drink (Dynamic Greens
- Stevia (pure liquid, spoonable powder
Body Care Organic. Natural. Health-inducing.
- Any Wyndmere organic lotions, essential oils, air diffusers, soaps
- My absolute favorite personal care line: MiEssence from ONE Group. ANYTHING from this company would make a great gift — all certified organic to the FOOD GRADE level!! I’ve tried it all, can’t say enough great things about the company and its products. Makeup, lotions, shampoo, baby line….love it ALL. A great place to start is their skin essentials pack.
- All natural Crystal deodorant. Encourage your loved ones to make the switch.
- Spry fluoride free toothpaste
- ChiroFlow water pillow — all of the neck support with none of the toxic chemicals or off-gas.
For the Readers Mixed bag of my favorites.
- The Love Dare
- Cooking with Coconut Flour
- Pushed
- Sugar Free Cooking with Stevia
- Fertility, Cycles & Nutrition
Movies More of my favorites.
- The Business of Being Born
Stocking Stuffers All natural and healthy.
- A blow up fitness ball
- Indoor Sunshine light bulb — create vitamin D naturally year round!
- Jar of coconut butter
- All Natural nail polish (FancyPolish, PeaceKeeper, No Miss) & natural remover (Honeybee Gardens)
- Set of reusable, eco-friendly totes
- Pacifica soy candles — scented naturally with essential oils
- Gift card to Whole Foods or a local co-op
- Organic lip balm, lip gloss, lipstick
You can also visit TreeHugger for some other great eco-friendly gift giving guides. Do YOU have any other great gift suggestions?? Happy gifting! :)
Hi Elise,
I love your website! I am really trying to change our lifestyle, and it has been a process, but I am slowly getting there. I am putting a comment on this post because the other one that has your list of recommended ingredients and supplies doesn’t have a comment section. I was curious what you think of Lodge Logic cast iron? I notice you put a link to Lodge, but my chiropractor says that you have to find a good quality cast iron, because they are not all made alike. What do you think of Lodge? Do you know if it is a good brand and made well? Do you know anything about the oil that is used to season it? I want to buy some, but am nervous, because I bought some cheap stuff and I think it is junk, and don’t want to spend a ton of money to get it right. Thanks!!
Hi Angela, you want to look for cast iron that is made completely in the USA. I have about 4 cast iron pieces and I think they are all Lodge brand. I can’t recall exactly what they use to season, but at the time (years ago) when I did order I looked into it and I wouldn’t have purchased them if they used anything bad. I think it was palm oil or coconut oil??? You could give them a call to investigate. Completely worth it to invest in a few cast iron pieces. You will never got back once you switch!