Healthy Home Made Food Gifts

There’s a good chance that you’ll need to make one or two gifts this year. Amazon is not going to be able to keep up with the demand and neither are UPS and Fedex.

This week I’m teaming up with some friends to share a few DIY gift ideas. Chas is sharing a DIY Hand Soap Dispensers and Mary is sharing DIY Holiday Gift-A Muscle Relaxing Bath Salt. If you’re looking for last minute gifts, I’ve got you covered here.

My DIY gift is food, but it’s not sweets. I feel like the holidays are so full of sweets that I like to give spiced nuts, and I like to GET spiced nuts from my mom. This is her recipe that she makes every year and they are a delicious spicy treat. I like to pear the nuts with a bottle of wine.

Home Made Spiced Nuts

Ingredients:

• 3 Tablespoons of peanut or sunflower oil (high smoke point)
• 2 cups of whole blanched almonds
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon hot pepper flakes
• 1 tablespoon sugar

If you can’t find blanched almonds, they are easy to blanch yourself. Read this article and it’s a good way to cut the cost by using raw almonds.

To make the nuts, heat the oil in a heavy frying pan over medium-high heat. Add blanched almonds and sprinkle with 1/2 cup of sugar. Saute until the almonds are golden brown and the sugar caramelizes.

Remove the almonds and toss in a bowl with salt, cumin, remaining sugar and pepper flakes. Store in an airtight container.

Wine I choose for a gift

Have any of you tried Dry Farm Wines? I tried it once and I really like the idea but I only like to drink reds and they don’t sell only reds. They buy wines from small, family farms.

The wines they choose are called “dry farm” because the farmers don’t use irrigation. Why is this better you ask? Irrigation is used to increase yield and produce fruit that has lower nutrients (is their theory). I also like that their wines have less sugar and no added sulfites.

I’m not s sponsor for Dry Farm Wines. I love the idea, but I don’t drink whites so it doesn’t work for me to get a subscription that is half white wine. I found an alternative wine I like called Fitvine. Also not an ad. Their wines are fermented longer which means they have less sugar. You can find them at Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods.

They aren’t expensive, but they are good and I feel like I’m not being as bad when I pour myself a glass. Probably not a good choice for someone who is a real wine connoisseur, but it’s perfect for me.

What is your go to gift if you make something? I’d love to hear your ideas in the comments.

Before you go, if you enjoyed this you might want to read DIY Christmas boxes how to make popcorn in a brown bag.