5 Generous Paleo-Friendly Holiday Gift Ideas
Whether you stick religiously to your diet over the holidays or work in more than your fair share of cheat days, you might feel a little weird encouraging the latter by gifting your friends and family members with decadent chocolates and the like. Or maybe you want to give a loved one something that’s good for their mind and body. Here are some gift ideas to get the wheels turning. These range from $100 to $500, so get some friends to chip in on these gifts so you can get something great together, or save them for your rich uncle who got you a flat-screen TV last year when you only got him a fruitcake.
Cuisinart® Grind & Brew™ 12-Cup Automatic Coffee Maker
Nearly everyone likes coffee in the morning, but not everyone has the patience to grind their own beans in the morning right before brewing their cuppa joe. Luckily, this machine has a built-in grinder that will take care of all that for you. You can still use ground coffee if you want. You can pause it in the middle of a brewing cycle if you just can’t wait for your caffeine hit. Hell, you can even program this thing to make you your morning (or afternoon) brew at a pre-scheduled time. This gift will help your BFF stop expending energy on coffee and save it for the gym. It’ll run you around $100. (I’ve seen it for $170 as well, so again, shop around.)
SousVide Supreme Demi Temperature Controlled Water Oven
If you watch television cooking shows or are a Nom Nom Paleo fan, you’re probably dying to get your hands on one of these so you can vacuum-seal your meat and dunk it into a water bath for a prolonged period of time. Added bonus: they’re not all that common so are a great gift for that guy who’s got it all. A SousVide Supreme will cost you around $300 or $330. You may also want to throw in a vacuum sealer. And get some silicone bags while you’re at it if plastic safety is a concern.
Wüsthof Gourmet Knife Set with Block
A good knife set is a classic gift that’ll your intended recipient will appreciate for years to come, especially if he’s only cooked with rusty, dull knives from the thrift store. Wüsthof knives stay sharp, are extremely durable, have ergonomic handles, and come with a lifetime manufacturer’s warranty. Prices fluctuate wildly for these sets—last I checked an 8-piece set was around $400 but a 12-piece set was only $200—so make sure to shop around.
Oster Versa 1400-watt Professional Performance Blender with Low Profile Jar
No list of pricy kitchen gifts is complete without mentioning a Vitamix, that coveted appliance that’s supposed to turn fast food fiends into Paleo superstars who hang out at home all day making veggie smoothies, fresh soups, and nut butters. They also run around $500 a pop. A less expensive alternative for your Paleo pal who’s dying to get his hands on this puppy is the Oster Versa blender, which Sweethome writer Christine Cyr Clisset, who tested 16 blenders over the course of three years, says “performs as well as blenders twice the price, and blows cheaper blenders out of the water.” Read her full review here. It’ll run you somewhere between $170 and $300.
Trader Joe’s gift cards
If you’re like me, you always have that friend (or group of friends) that you just want to feed all the time. Even if that’s not the case, your Paleo pals will be delighted to stock up on coconut oil and almond butter, get their week’s supply of Kerrygold butter, or splurge on pork belly and wild caught sea scallops. Unfortunately, you can’t buy gift cards online, but you can load one up in the brick-and-mortar store, stick it inside a holiday card, and send it in the mail, or throw it in with a gift basket or something.
Want something on here yourself? Just print the list out, highlight your gift of choice (for yourself!) and leave it lying around your house where someone very special who’s trying to figure out what to get you will see it. Don’t worry, if this strategy goes south, you can always blame it on me. Happy holidays!
Cuisinart® Grind & Brew™ 12-Cup Automatic Coffee Maker
Nearly everyone likes coffee in the morning, but not everyone has the patience to grind their own beans in the morning right before brewing their cuppa joe. Luckily, this machine has a built-in grinder that will take care of all that for you. You can still use ground coffee if you want. You can pause it in the middle of a brewing cycle if you just can’t wait for your caffeine hit. Hell, you can even program this thing to make you your morning (or afternoon) brew at a pre-scheduled time. This gift will help your BFF stop expending energy on coffee and save it for the gym. It’ll run you around $100. (I’ve seen it for $170 as well, so again, shop around.)
SousVide Supreme Demi Temperature Controlled Water Oven
If you watch television cooking shows or are a Nom Nom Paleo fan, you’re probably dying to get your hands on one of these so you can vacuum-seal your meat and dunk it into a water bath for a prolonged period of time. Added bonus: they’re not all that common so are a great gift for that guy who’s got it all. A SousVide Supreme will cost you around $300 or $330. You may also want to throw in a vacuum sealer. And get some silicone bags while you’re at it if plastic safety is a concern.
Wüsthof Gourmet Knife Set with Block
A good knife set is a classic gift that’ll your intended recipient will appreciate for years to come, especially if he’s only cooked with rusty, dull knives from the thrift store. Wüsthof knives stay sharp, are extremely durable, have ergonomic handles, and come with a lifetime manufacturer’s warranty. Prices fluctuate wildly for these sets—last I checked an 8-piece set was around $400 but a 12-piece set was only $200—so make sure to shop around.
Oster Versa 1400-watt Professional Performance Blender with Low Profile Jar
No list of pricy kitchen gifts is complete without mentioning a Vitamix, that coveted appliance that’s supposed to turn fast food fiends into Paleo superstars who hang out at home all day making veggie smoothies, fresh soups, and nut butters. They also run around $500 a pop. A less expensive alternative for your Paleo pal who’s dying to get his hands on this puppy is the Oster Versa blender, which Sweethome writer Christine Cyr Clisset, who tested 16 blenders over the course of three years, says “performs as well as blenders twice the price, and blows cheaper blenders out of the water.” Read her full review here. It’ll run you somewhere between $170 and $300.
Trader Joe’s gift cards
If you’re like me, you always have that friend (or group of friends) that you just want to feed all the time. Even if that’s not the case, your Paleo pals will be delighted to stock up on coconut oil and almond butter, get their week’s supply of Kerrygold butter, or splurge on pork belly and wild caught sea scallops. Unfortunately, you can’t buy gift cards online, but you can load one up in the brick-and-mortar store, stick it inside a holiday card, and send it in the mail, or throw it in with a gift basket or something.
Want something on here yourself? Just print the list out, highlight your gift of choice (for yourself!) and leave it lying around your house where someone very special who’s trying to figure out what to get you will see it. Don’t worry, if this strategy goes south, you can always blame it on me. Happy holidays!
Yael Grauer is an independent journalist, a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu blue belt, and managing editor of Performance Menu. Find her at https://www.yaelwrites.com or on Twitter.
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