Sunny Side Up Nutrition - A cooking, nutrition and family feeding blog to simplify your life

By: Elizabeth and Anna

This year, we decided we’d do a new Gift Guide with our 7 favorite food-related gifts. They’re a mix of gifts we like to give and gifts we like to receive – from homemade to local to brand name.

In the past 2 years, we’ve shared a variety of Gift Guides of our favorite books and kitchen items that we think make great gifts.

Here are the links to our previous gift guides:

And here are this year’s ideas – 7 Favorite Food-Related Gifts:

1. Gifts of Homemade Food ~ Elizabeth

When I was growing up, we went through a phase where we baked Apple Cakes to give to friends and family. The recipe was from the mother of one of my mother’s best friends from college. (I’ll share the recipe sometime!) This year I’m planning to make pumpkin bread and granola as well as a few kinds of cookies to deliver (or mail) to friends and family.

Are you looking for some simple recipes to bake and share this holiday season?

Click on these links:

2. Chapel Hill Toffee ~ Anna

I buy these boxes of locally made toffee to give as gifts this time of year. I usually buy several boxes to have on hand for teachers, neighbors or friends and they are always a big hit. There’s nothing better than a cup of coffee with one of these chocolate covered pieces of toffee. Here’s a link to Chapel Hill Toffee or check out what candy is made locally for you!

3. East Fork Pottery ~ Elizabeth

I love East Fork Pottery in Asheville, NC. In addition to making beautiful pottery, they also have lots of pantry items that make great gifts. Growing up, my sister and I each always got a tin of smoked oysters in our stockings. Funnily enough, my husband’s brother also got smoked oysters in his stocking as a kid! So, I think tinned fish is a completely reasonable stocking or holiday gift! Or, do you have a friend or family member who loves candles? East Fork also has these fun fruit candles; as well as meat and cheese candles that make a unique gift.

4. Cheese straws ~ Anna

At the Lutz house, one of favorite things to serve with wine before dinner is cheese straws. A southern tradition, this reminds me of “cheese coins” my grandmother used to make when I was younger. I love sending these tins of cheese straws to friends this time of year.

5. Beans ~ Elizabeth

BEANS! While I’m a devoted fan of canned beans, I also love the creamy texture of cooked dried beans. My favorites are from Rancho Gordo. Their dried beans are fresh (meaning they haven’t been on a store shelf for an extended period) so they don’t require a presoak! Their website says they’ve been overwhelmed and can’t guarantee orders by Christmas, so they suggest a gift card if you’re hoping to have a gift to someone by Christmas.

6. Harry and David Pears ~ Elizabeth & Anna

We’re all about sweets and we also love fruits and veggies! Both our families love these Harry and David pears. They’re great eaten on their own, in a salad with candied walnuts and mixed greens, or sliced and served with cheese or chocolate fondue.

7. French Style Butter Keeper ~ Anna

There is a constant debate amongst my children and their Chapel Hill first cousins. Which is better: “Tub of butter or stick of butter?” There are those who prefer the spread of a tub of “butter” from the store and those that prefer the taste of a stick of real butter. I would venture to say the latter are correct! Well, last year, Elizabeth suggested this French style butter keeper and now everyone’s happy. You can have the taste of real butter in an easy to spread form. And, it looks so great on your table! They come in several colors.

We’d love to hear about your favorite food related gifts! Drop us a message on our socials or shoot us an email – hello@sunnysideupnutrition.com

*Sunny Side Up Nutrition is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program and an item listed above is an affiliate link. Thank you for supporting our efforts to promote positive relationships with food.

I love holiday picture books. I have memories from when I was a child of special holiday books being brought out of storage in December, along with the Christmas decorations. The books felt rare, special and full of excitement and magic. I could sit for hours flipping through these books that I hadn’t seen in a full year. Some had stories of families at holiday time, with images of snow, gingerbread houses, and candy canes throughout. Others were books about different holidays and cultures and how people celebrate. I loved books about the food people traditionally cook for different holidays and if there was a recipe included, I’d be sure to try it out.

One book I remember well, and has been reinforced by several big screen movies, is The Grinch That Stole Christmas. You may know the story: the Grinch is an unhappy being that systematically steals Christmas from the Whos of Whoville. He dresses up like Santa Claus and jumps down chimneys, stealing presents, decorations, even Christmas trees.

How Diet Culture Steals the Holidays

When I think about how diet culture has seeped into the holiday season, it feels just like the Grinch. Diet Culture is the Grinch that tries to steal the holiday joy. Diet culture, the belief that eating a certain way is morally superior to other ways of eating and the idea that certain body types are better than others, has found its way into all aspects of our culture. The holidays are no exception.

The Grinch is:

Holiday recipe ingredient swaps to make it “healthier.”
Comments about holiday season weight changes
Saying you’ve been “bad” when you eat a traditional holiday food.
Comments about what others are eating/not eating at a gathering
Worry about more desserts being around this time of year

Focus On What is Important

The holidays will be different this year, due to the pandemic. There will be smaller gatherings and many of us will feel grief from not celebrating in the ways we always do. This year, more than ever, I want focus on what is important to me this holiday season and keep diet culture out.

So, over the next 6 weeks. We’re going to be posting about how to not let diet culture steal the holidays. We will be posting 12 tips throughout the holiday season of how to stay grounded in feeding yourself and your children, and how to focus on little glimmers of joy. We will be using the hashtag #dietfreeholidays and invite you to follow along and use the hashtag in your posts, too!