Healthy Christmas Food Gifts

Give friends and family members the gift of health with an edible Christmas present. During a season full of sugary and high-fat holiday desserts and meals, a healthy food gift will be appreciated by recipients. Make your own food gifts, so you know exactly what is going into them. When you create your own treats, you can also customize the ingredients to meet friends' and loved ones' dietary needs and restrictions. Does this Spark an idea?

Bean Soup-in-a-Jar

Bean soup is as flavorful as it is healthy. Create a bean soup-in-a-jar Christmas gift that a recipient can enjoy on a chilly winter evening. Fill a glass mason jar with individual layers of dried split peas, white navy beans, pinto beans and kidney beans. Include pre-measured layers of barley, beef or vegetable bouillon granules, dried onion flakes and seasonings such as celery seed, dried parsley and bay leaves. Place the jar on the lid, and wrap it with a decorative red and green ribbon bow or a piece of fabric. Include a handwritten recipe card with the gift.

Gourmet Fruit Basket

Treat a fruit lover to a basket filled with juicy and ripe winter produce. Buy in-season fruit to ensure the highest quality and best flavor. Put the gift together yourself, or have a fruit basket professionally arranged and sent to the recipient to save time. Line a woven basket with a decorative, red and green cloth napkin or tissue paper. Fill the basket with top-quality citrus fruits, such as Valencia and navel oranges, Ruby Red grapefruit, honey tangerines, Honeybell tangelos and Meyer lemons. Round out the gift with a selection of homemade or gourmet marmalades and jams. You can also include packages of roasted nuts, such as almonds, cashews and pistachios.

Snack Stocking

Fill a Christmas stocking with a variety of healthy snacks as a delicious Christmas food gift. Personalize a basic felt stocking using a glitter glue pen, fabric paint or sewn-on patches. Place snack items in individual red and green cellophane bags; tie the bags with gold ribbons as a decorative touch. Fill the bags with an assortment of healthy snacks including dried apricots, cranberries, pineapple rings, blueberries and mango pieces. For bold flavor without any guilt, include a bag of spicy Cajun-flavored cashews or chili lemon pistachios. Round out the gift with homemade carrot raisin mini-muffins or oatmeal cookies and a few herbal tea bags.