Twelve Gifts of Good Health

The commercialism of the holiday season the need to buy something for everyone can make shopping an overwhelming chore. Shopping for gifts is either a matter of inspiration of finding that perfect fit between gift and recipient or, in its absence, perspiration the harried shopping trip to the mall, gridlocked with other shoppers searching desperately for last-minute panic purchases.

A couple of years ago, we decided to stop giving the kinds of gifts we didn't want to receive; things that were bought out of desperation, things that added little to the lives of the recipients except the need to be dusted. Now, we often start our Christmas shopping with a trip to the dollar store for some pretty baskets or boxes or bags, which we then fill with healthy goodies we know our friends will enjoy.

If you're a regular reader of alive magazine, you already know that the most precious gift is the gift of health. Here are some gift basket ideas that offer the potential to change the lives of the recipients by making them aware of alternative information and products for healing and healthy living. You should be able to find most of these twelve gifts of good health at your local health food store.

1. L'alimento ?more (Food is love, Italian style)

For foodies, put together a Mediterranean-treats basket combining organic tomato sauces and organic pastas with colourful jars of olives, capers, artichoke hearts, roasted bell peppers, tapenade and pesto sauces, extra-virgin olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and dried mushrooms. Add a block of Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, the true Parmesan (keep refrigerated until gift-giving time, and let the recipient of the basket know to pop this part of the gift in the fridge). Voila! a gourmet meal.

Alternately, make up a basket of Asian foods (organic tamari sauce, soba noodles, miso, gomashio [sesame], dried seaweed, dried shiitake mushrooms, mirin rice wine, and packed with chopsticks and beautiful Oriental bowls bought in Chinatown) or Indian food items (Thai peanut sauce, coconut milk, curry pastes and sauces, and a tiffin container). The food-lover's basket combines any type or theme of healthy foods that you'd like to share with friends and family.

A new twist on an old favourite: A basket of anything-but-peanut nut butters (cashew, almond, sunflower, pumpkin seed) and jars of organically grown colourful jams and jellies (pear/ginger, blackberry, red currant, peach) will be welcomed by adults and children alike.

2. Serenity in a basket

Stress-relief massage kits are available ready-made or you can put together your own special blend of essential-oil scented massage lotions or oils (try eucalyptus, lavender, juniper, or rosemary to relieve muscle tension), loofahs, massage knobbles (those multipronged knobs for pressing gently into tight muscles to help them loosen and relax), a plush towel, and a lavender-filled pillow for deluxe treatment. Herbal tinctures such as valerian, lemon balm, skullcap, or passion flower, among others, aid in reducing stress and promoting tranquility from the inside out. If you add soy or beeswax candles to the basket and offer to dim the lights, this can be a decidedly romantic present.

3. Relief for hard-working hands and feet

Let your friends in on a secret: They don't have to rely on toxic chemicals like formaldehyde, toluene, acetone, and ethyl acetate, found in drugstore nail polishes and removers, to have good-looking hands and feet. Put together a manicure or pedicure basket from the health food store with nail polishes and removers that don't contain dangerous chemicals and haven't been cruelly tested on animals. Add hand cremes made with shea butter or hemp oils to nourish, soften, and protect skin, and tools such as clippers, nail files, callus removers, and cuticle sticks for a professional touch.

4. The body/mind connection

Yoga kits are a great way to find out more about the health benefits of this centuries-old form of exercise for the body and the mind. Yoga improves flexibility, strength, cardiovascular efficiency, dexterity, and gives those who practise it regularly a sense of mental and emotional balance and well-being. It's also a great way to healthily manage stress. Many health food stores carry ready-made beginner yoga kits that pair a how-to video with a nonslip mat.

5. Twelve months of holistic health smarts

Share your favourite source of alternative health information with your friends. A year's subscription to alive, Canada's number one magazine of natural health, will keep friends and family current on the most significant developments in holistic healing, nutrition, self-help, fitness, weight loss, and more. Alive brings its readers the best-written articles containing the most up-to-date information on trends in natural health. You'll be thanked 12 times a year for this gift.

6. Kick-boxing for your immune system

A winter immune-boosting and/or cold-care combo can be a lifesaver of a present. Include herbal tinctures such as echinacea, goldenseal, elderberry, or astragalus and extracts of reishi, shiitake, and maitake mushrooms. Bee propolis throat spray and a decongestant inhalant commonly known as Olbas oil is essential for the cold sufferer. Don't forget bottles of vitamins A, B6, and C, all known to strengthen the immune system. Zinc lozenges can help a sore throat or cough. Add some boxes of herb teas known to aid in cold or flu care such as ginger, echinacea, linden flower, or sage and a jar of organic honey.

7. On the road again

Know someone who travels a lot, or who's planning a big vacation next year? A kit for the traveller, zipped into a compartmentalized bag, should contain travel sizes of shampoo and creme rinse, bath and shower gel, body lotion, shave gel, deodorant, toothpaste and brush, mouthwash, and - if a holiday in warmer climes is on the horizon - a sunscreen made with organic herbal extracts and mineral pigments to protect and soothe skin. Add a homeopathic stress-relief remedy for the nervous flyer or homeopathic remedies for travel sickness or jet lag.

8. Healthy recipes, healing information

Alive Publishing's Natural Health Guides series includes over 35 titles on alternative remedies and treatments, healing foods and herbs, self-help information, and healthy recipes. For the dessert lover: Chef's Healthy Desserts by Fred Edressi has recipes for delicious, guilt-free desserts using healthy alternatives to refined sugars and artificial sweeteners. For the grandparents: Whole Foods for Seniors by nutritionist Kathleen O'Bannon shows that whole foods can provide relief from conditions ranging from heartburn to high blood pressure.

Combine a book with the corresponding healing herbs or foods. For example, pair Super Breakfast Cereals by Katharina Gustavs with a handsomely wrapped selection of organic, low-fat grains and granolas. Add a beautifully glazed pottery cereal bowl for a special touch.

9. I like coffee, I like tea

Make up a tea- or coffee-lover's basket with a couple of kilos of organically grown fair-trade coffees or boxes of specialty teas like lapsang souchong, bancha twig, or Chinese white tea, a variety of herbal teas, flavoured teas such as cr? caramel or vanilla hazelnut, or various green teas and chai teas. Add a couple of pottery mugs. Simplicity itself and always appreciated.

10. On the Road Again

Know someone who travels a lot, or who's planning a big vacation next year? A kit for the traveller, zipped into a compartmental bag, should contain travel sizes of shampoo and creme rinse, bath and shower gel, body lotion, shave gel, deoderant, toothpaste and brush, mouthwash, and if a holiday in wamer climes is on the horizon a sunscreen made with organic herbal extracts and mineral pigements to protect and soothe skin. Add a homepathic stress-relief remedy for the nervous flyer or homeopathic remedies for travel sickness or jet lag.

11. A long hot soak in the tub

What could be nicer on a winter's night than a pampering bath and body kit with foaming bath gel, shampoo and creme rinse, scented bath bombs, aromatherapy bath salts (orange, eucalyptus, lavender), and body lotion?

12. A loaf of bread, a jug of wine, and cheese…

Buy the bread and cheese just before giving this basket and refrigerate the cheese until gift-giving time. A number of organic dairies in Canada now produce gourmet cow- and goat-milk cheeses; some are flavoured with herbs and spices or rolled in nuts, cracked peppercorns, or ash (to help develop beneficial mold). Combine a selection of cheeses with a bottle of organic wine, available at larger government and specialty liquor stores, and a loaf of seven-grain sourdough bread. Even if the winter weather means you have to have your picnic on the living-room floor, it'll be a meal to remember.

Goodie baskets such as these, wrapped with cellophane and topped with a bow, offer the gift of health, the wisest gift of all.