|
Simple
food-related gifts can warm hearts
Dec 03, 08
Suzanne Havala Hobbs
Stuck
for holiday gift-giving ideas? This year, keep it very simple.
Friends and family will appreciate gifts from the heart, homemade
or store-bought with care.
Food gifts to busy people from busy people are an especially
good idea because so many choices are low cost and practical.
They aren’t likely to go to waste, and they can be enjoyed
now or stored for later.
Better choices include foods that are relatively low in calories,
added sugar and salt, saturated fat and trans fat. They’re
simply made and not highly processed.
Recommended picks:
* Savory soups. Take a Thermos full of hot soup as a hostess
gift or deliver soup frozen in quart-sized, airtight containers.
Gift-getters can store soup in the freezer and reheat it later
for a quick meal.
Split pea, vegetable barley, lentil, tomato and rice, potato
leek, black bean and navy bean soup are good choices. Eliminate
the added salt and virtually anybody can eat these.
* Homemade baked goods. The large loaf of crusty, freshly
baked sourdough bread a friend once brought to our home still
stands out in my memory as special because he’d baked
it himself.
Muffins and quick breads are also good choices. Add a handful
of fresh cranberries, chopped, dried applies or dates to the
batter. Substitute whole wheat for half of the white flour
to up the fiber content.
Personalize the gift by tailoring it for special dietary needs:
bread made with gluten-free flour for friends with celiac
disease or heart-healthy oatmeal cookies made with trans fat-free
margarine to help keep cholesterol levels in check.
Deliver a loaf of bread in a basket or wrapped on a wooden
cutting board, or pack muffins and cookies in decorative tins,
kitchen canisters or foil-covered, cardboard boxes.
* Simple sweets. Give pure maple syrup in a bow-wrapped bottle
or a jar of local honey from the farmer’s market. A
teaspoon or two is all it takes to sweeten a bowl of cereal,
a cup of tea or a pancake – far less sugar than in most
packaged sweets.
* Aromatic herbs and the like. Small, potted rosemary plants,
bags or jars of mulling spices, or a fresh orange pomander
covered in cloves (find instructions on the Web) are nice.
Tall, skinny bottles of vegetable oil or balsamic vinegar
infused with herbs are another good choice.
* Chutney, relish, sauces and other condiments. Little luxuries
– jars of gourmet mustard, pasta sauce, and sweet or
spicy sandwich spreads don’t cost a lot but are items
many of us don’t often buy for ourselves. If they’re
homemade, all the better.
Wrap bottles and jars in colorful sheets of tissue or cellophane
and tie with a ribbon. Add a small, decorative spoon or spreader.
Many condiments and sauces are high in sodium. The good news
is that it only takes a smidge to add big flavor to food.
Keeping the remainder of the meal rich in foods naturally
low in sodium – fresh vegetables and fruits, for example
– helps to reduce the overall sodium load of the meal.
In these times of financial turmoil and hardship, you don’t
need to spend a lot on gifts to put a smile on somebody’s
face or warm a heart.
Make it yourself or choose it with care. The key ingredient
is love.
|
