Find the Best Christmas Food Gifts Around!

The Oh-So-Good but Straight-To-Your-Hips

The thought of traditional Christmas food gifts can make your mouth start to water: gourmet chocolates, delicious cookies, homemade fudge, and all the other little goodies we know and love. Unfortunately, these are far from the healthiest options, but we all deserve to indulge a little! The best recipients for this type of Christmas food gifts are families or singles who live alone and probably won't have much of it kicking around.

Try to avoid giving these Christmas food gifts to people trying to be health or weight conscious, people who bake a lot of their own Christmas goodies, and people who already receive tons of fatty, sugary Christmas treats (especially teachers, postal workers, and doctors).

The "Hey, This Isn't So Bad For You!"

Believe it or not, you can give Christmas food gifts that taste great but aren't completely evil where health and diets are concerned. Most of these you'll be better off making yourself because you can control what goes in. Splenda is a life saver, as are applesauce and (believe it or not) prune flavored baby food, both of which substitute for fat in many recipes.

Your best bet here is to get your hands on a really good diet cookbook (such as the Splenda cookbook) and make a huge batch of treats to share out among friends!

Food Gifts for Health Nuts

You know that friend who insists on rattling off the nutrient content of everything you put in your mouth? Or your sister who goes into diabetic shock if she so much as looks at a chocolate bar? Believe it or not, you can get great Christmas food gifts for them, too!

Great ideas include organic fruit baskets, fresh-baked bread from a local bakery (multigrain, of course), small amounts of extra dark free-trade chocolate, or a grow-your-own herb garden for the kitchen window! Christmas food gifts are great fun for all: don't let your friends feel excluded.