Gift Idea: Healthy Food Basket

HealthCastle.com posted a cool idea for a holiday gift: a healthy gift basket. Traditional gift baskets are usually filled with harmful fats, tons of sugar, and calories. But, what if you make your own health food gift basket? Here are some of HealthCastle’s ideas mixed with a few of my own:

Pomegranate – this trendy, antioxidant packed fruit is easy to find at your grocery store during the holidays. The bright color of the outer skin is pretty in a basket and pomegranates have amazing health benefits: high vitamin C, lower systolic blood pressure, reduced risk of skin and prostate cancer, reduced risk of heart disease, and potent antioxidants.

Sunsweet Ones – these individually wrapped prunes are an easy snack on the go with twice the amount of potassium as bananas and 38% more antioxidants than blueberries. Also, the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) found that foods in the purple family can reduce your risk of developing metabolic syndrome.

Hot Cocoa Mix w/ Dark Chocolate – make a homemade hot cocoa mix. Mix together 1 cup nonfat dry milk, 3/4 cup light brown sugar, and1/2 cup cocoa. Put the mixture in a plastic bag and top with pieces of real dark chocolate. Tie the top of the plastic bag with a ribbon.

Pistachios – find a bag of no-salt pistachios to add to your gift basket. Eating them reduces LDL cholesterol and your risk of heart disease, and also lowers blood pressure.

Welch’s Fiber 100% Grape Juice – Grape juice makes a fabulous mixer for holiday drinks. This juice “ranked #1 in antioxidant capacity per serving among all juices and beverages tested.” Grape juice has been found to reduce LDL cholesterol oxidation, weaken the signs of skin aging, reduce breast cancer risk, and contribute to healthy blood pressure.

Kashi Mountain Medley Granola – Toss in some granola with cranberries, raisins, almonds, pecans, and sunflower seeds mixed in with seven whole grains. Kashi’s recipe has six grams of fiber and 300 mg of omega-3s in each serving.

Mint-flavored water – Did you know that mint can help promote digestion, ease stress, clear congestion, and improve mental alertness? I’m a big fan of Metromint water. The bottles are so pretty to look at and the contents inside are all-natural. Flavors offered: peppermint, spearmint, lemonmint, orangemint, and chocolatemint.

Green tea – There are tons of good green teas out there, but my favorite is Tazo’s Green Ginger tea. You’ve probably heard about the health benefits of green tea, but here is a refresher on some of its amazing health benefits: prevents headaches, reduces risk of prostate cancer and cardiovascular disease, and helps your brain focus.

Winter Squash – These veggies are pretty and they have a tough skin that shouldn’t be harmed in a basket. Acorn, spaghetti, and butternut squash are low in calories and high in vitamin A (protects your vision).

Fish oil – What about a bottle of fish oil supplements? They help reduce the risk of prostate cancer, promote healthy skin and hair, reduce cholesterol, and lower insulin sensitivity.

What are your ideas?