Despite all of the time we’ve had on our hands this year, many of us will no doubt still be scrambling to finish (or start) our holiday shopping. If you’re stuck for creative ideas that your foodie and health-minded friends and family will love, RDs are here to save the day.
We’ve rounded up a list of food and nutrition-inspired holiday gift ideas that dietitians love to give – and many of these are also created or sold by RDs.
Framed Kitchen Art
Customized kitchen art is surprisingly easy, inexpensive and fun to make. Chrissy Carroll downloads free food and fitness-themed art printable images (available online), prints them on high quality paper, and frames them for gift-giving. She has a helpful tutorial on her website with ideas, links to downloadable images, and photos of some finished products that she’s made.
Fruit & Veggie Tracker Bands
Do your kids (or you) need some motivation to eat more veggies? Barbara Storper’s company Food Play, sells these fun Fruit & Veggie Tracker Bands. They make great stocking stuffers!
Food Safety Kits
Have a cooking newbie on your list? Mary Angela Miller’s company KeepSafe Food has 4 different home food safety kits. They’re handy for learning how to keep food safe, and they come packaged in an insulated tote. Just add a bow.
Reusable Food Storage Bags
Emily Niswanger’s eco-friendly reusable food storage bags are great for packing lunches or snacks for the kids, or for the car or travel. She sells them in her Etsy shop HappyNisHandwerk.
Meal Planning Tools
Who can’t use help with meal planning? Amy Gorin Spector creates and sells curated plant-based meal plans, grocery lists, and nutrition tip sheets in her Etsy Shop - Plant-Based Eats. They’re an ideal gift for anyone who wants to eat better – especially right after the holidays.
Food Pun Tees, Totes, and More
In need of a unique gift for dietitians, students or other foodies? Check out Lisa Andrews of Sound Bites Nutrition’s food pun swag including tees, totes, mugs and onesies. A portion of her proceeds goes towards fighting food insecurity in Cincinnati.
Inspirational Notecards and Prints
Yvette Quantz creates and sells inspirational cards and prints through her company, Foodspirations®. Her goal is to inspire people to feel good about themselves on the inside, so they can share their gifts with the world. Each of her designs has a story, inspired by a personal experience or another person’s journey. Check out her customizable Holiday Collection and
Notecards (which make great stocking stuffers). With every purchase, a donation is made to Feeding America’s Children.
Cookbooks and a Food Bundle
Sarah Haas loves gifting a food bundle with recipes or cookbooks. She pairs her own cookbook, Taco! Taco! Taco! with some spices, a hot sauce and maybe a fun dish towel. She recommends adding or subtracting things based on your price point.
Homemade Seasoning Mixes
If you really want to customize your cookbook and food bundle gift, add a jar of your own homemade seasoning. Megan Byrd has Seven No Salt Seasoning Mix ideas on her website.
Favorite Kitchen Tools
Everyone eats, so kitchen tools always make a great gift. Judy Barbe’s favorites include a handheld citrus juicer, a microplane zester, silicone baking mats, and fragrant kitchen soaps to encourage hand washing while enjoying a little aromatherapy break. Not sure what to choose? Contact dietitian and Pampered Chef consultant Jen Haugen. She can recommend the right tools for beginners through expert chefs.
Personalized Tea Blends
Jinan Banna makes personalized tea blends for friends and family. She recommends buying several different herbal ingredients in bulk, then mixing them into personalized blends and packaging them in holiday themed paper bags with a label listing their personalized variety. To make this gift even more complete, she includes a mug. Some tea combinations she loves:
• for warmth: cinnamon bark, rooibos, crushed nutmeg, cracked black pepper;
• for relaxation: chamomile, lemon verbena and lavender (use less lavender than the other two ingredients as it's strong)
• for calm energy: white tea, dried citrus peels (you can make these yourself)
Food-Inspired Coloring Books
These coloring books with recipes from Liz Weiss are fun for kids who love to color, or even kids-at-heart who need some coloring book therapy! She’s offering a bundle of 3 e-books with gorgeous foodie themed coloring pages and healthy recipes to go with them.
Yoga and Activewear
Nothing motivates you to work out more than some new, stylish workout clothes! Mandy Enright is an independent sales rep for Zyia, a line of activewear for women, men, and children. They have a huge selection of clothing for nearly every activity, and even everyday casual.
Online Cooking Classes
Karman Meyer has partnered with Airbnb to offer an online cooking experience. Her Cook-a-Long With Nutrition Expert classes feature three easy recipes that can be included into a healthy meal prep routine. You can purchase them for an individual or a group.
Mindfulness Meditation
Finally, RD Julie Lichtman recommends gifting an annual subscription to the Headspace, the Mindfulness Meditation app that can help with stress, sleep, mood and more. That’s something we could all use after this year!
Our best wishes for a happy, healthy, and safe holiday season from all of us at Dietitian Pros!
