Healthful Holiday Gift Ideas

Are you looking for just the right gift for a holiday exchange or for someone who enjoys spending time in the kitchen and is interested in promoting good health? Check out these gift ideas with a food and health focus.

Kitchen gadgets. Create a unique gift basket by combining one or more of the following gadgets with an assortment of seasonings, potholders or holiday dish towels. Each gadget sells for under $20 (some less than $5) and can be found in kitchen stores, catalogs or the housewares section of department stores and supermarkets. Include some of your favorite recipes that use the gadgets.

· Gravy separators. Skim the fat from gravy and homemade soup by pouring mixtures into the separator, which looks like a measuring cup with a spout. After the fat rises to the top, pour the lower-fat portion of the gravy or soup from the spout.

· All-purpose household shears. Shears are great for trimming skin and fat from poultry or meat. You can cut up parsley for your favorite recipe in seconds. Select ones that are designed for use with food. Shears are a must have in my kitchen. Once you start using them you will wonder how you ever survived in the kitchen without them.

· Egg separator. Replace one egg with two egg whites using this plastic tool that catches the yolk while the white flows into the bowl.

· Kitchen timers. My sister gave me a digital one last year that has a magnet on the back. I keep it on my refrigerator and use it just about daily.

· Instant read food thermometer

· Meat thermometer

· Refrigerator/freezer thermometer

Fitness gadgets and certificates. For gifts that truly will be "heart-felt," consider gadgets and gift certificates that promote fitness and help relieve stress:

· Pedometer or step-counter. Available for under $20, step-counters are an easy way to track the number of steps taken each day. They may provide the encouragement needed for that goal-oriented person on your list to take the stairs instead of the elevator or take the dog for a real walk. Step counters only measure steps taken. Pedometers tend to be more sophisticated and include information on distance traveled and calories expended.

· Exercise classes. For the person who wants to exercise but hasn't quite gotten motivated, how about a trial membership to the neighborhood fitness center or a series of aerobics or yoga classes.

· Massage. Day spas and independent licensed practitioners offer a variety of massages, from total body to scalp-only massages. All are guaranteed to be stress-relievers.
Books and cookbooks. An increasing variety of books on nutrition, fitness and
low-fat, low-calorie cooking are available. If you have a family member of friend who has diabetes you have hundreds of choices from the American Diabetes Association.

Debbie Wilburn is County Agent/Family and Consumer Science Agent with the Hall (770)535-8290 and the Forsyth (770)887-2418 County Extension Service.