#5 – A supplement store gift certificate

You don’t need anything fancy, just a multi vitamin, greens powder, and maybe a quality vegetarian protein powder. But the cost of  these can add up quick, so a gift certificate to a reputable store can really help.

#4 – Food Dehydrator

You can dry fruits, vegetables, and herbs, as well as make raw food recipes with a simple food dehydrator. It’s a perfect gift for someone who loves adventurous food preparation.

#3 – The book, “High Raw” by Kevin Gianni

Kevin has put together an amazing book about eating raw, including tips on how to make the transition. Kevin chronicles his story, including how he overcame illness and increased his energy by  switching to a vegetarian and eventually raw diet.

#2- A blender to create delicious blender drinks and meals

For about $60-$100 you can get a machine to blend up fruits, veggies, nuts, protein powder, and seeds to create a nutrient dense complete meal to overcome busy mornings or to create the perfect snack or dessert. Once you get started “blending your nutrition”, you’ll be amazed at what you can create.

#1 – Easy Veggie Meal Plans

If you want to take your vegetarian eating to the next level, or if  you simply want to learn how to go without meat in your diet, this is great news.

You can get – or give – this 90-day easy vegetarian meal plan. You’ll discover everything you need to know about following a veggie nutrition plan.

Click here to get started with the Easy Veggie Meal Plans!

This is the perfect program for anyone in your family or group of friends who wants to lose fat without animal products.

So those are the 5 best nutrition presents you can give – or receive – this year.

Happy Holidays!

Hi Claire.  I am a journalist myself (13 books in print, mainly write for Military Officer and Today’s Officer magazine.)

I do have an experience of accommodating vegans and others.

Shortly after my son got married, they moved in with us.  Here’s the scenario:  Kimber the daughter in law was allergic to all forms of animal protein except eggs, milk, lamb and  shellfish.  Daughter Celeste was completely and strictly vegan except she would eat honey. Husband Dan was on a high-protein low carb diet for pre-diabetic condition– also a heart patient so low-fat wherever possible.  I was eating a Mediterranean diet except for my allergies to cultured foods (cheese, yogurt, etc.)  Son Ryan was omnivorous.

So what did I cook?  Always a vegan main dish (usually dried legumes cooked with lots of spices or stir-fried tofu), big salads with all the “add-ons” on the side, home-made dressings (usually made with balsamic vinegar and/or tofu), a meat main dish, breads and vegan margarine, plenty of side dishes of vegetables such as green beans, corn, broccoli, greens, etc.

I collected lots of “crowd-pleaser” foods like tofu chocolate pudding, pancakes made without eggs or milk, and other recipes.  Wherever possible I tried to stay away from processed vegan “meats” except for ground beef substitutes.

Whew.  Thank goodness they all moved out except Dan!  And we’re all doing well!

Latayne

Use Dogpile for search and help contribute to animal rescue.

We’re on a mission to help animals in need. We call it our Search and Rescue program. Each time a user goes to Dogpile.com to search the Internet, a portion of the revenue generated will be donated to rescue animals. Our goal is to raise $1 million by the end of 2009.

You’ll be helping pets just by doing what you already do – search the Internet. Dogpile gives you one-click access to the best results on the web from Google, Yahoo, Ask, and MSN Live.

Just make us your preferred search engine. It’s free. It’s easy. And it’s one small change that could make a big difference in the lives of animals.

The way we currently produce our food is damaging both to ourselves and our planet. There is therefore a need to create gardens, woodlands and farms which are in harmony with nature. Natural ecosystems are good models, but many of the plants they contain are not necessarily edible. What we need is to discover and grow a wide variety of easily grown perennial and self-seeding annuals which provide delicious and healthy food, or are useful in other ways.

Describing plants such as these, both native to Britain and Europe and from temperate areas around the world, this book includes those suitable for: the ornamental garden, the edible lawn, shade, ponds, walls, hedges, agroforestry and conservation.

In this thoroughly useful book, Ken Fern shares his experiments and successes in growing herbs, vegetables, flowers, shrubs and trees. Packed with information, personal anecdote and detailed appendices and indexes, Plants for a Future: Edible & Useful Plants for a Healthier World takes gardening, conservation and ecology into a new dimension.

Content

1. The Practice: Some of the basic ideas of ecological gardening.
2. Trees and Shrubs: A wide range on common and more unusual trees and shrubs which form the basis of a woodland garden. Many of these have edible uses.
3. Woodland Plants: Climbing plants, bulbs and herbaceous perennials to grow in a woodland or other shady situation.
4. The Flower Garden: Ornamental herbaceous perennials and their uses.
5. Perennial Vegetable and Herbs: Productive herbaceous perennials.
6. The Pond and Bog Garden: The many useful plants that can be grown in a pond or bog garden.
7. The Edible Lawn: How to grow a more colourful lawn whilst reducing your workload and getting some food.
8. Walls and Fences: Plants that grow in them as well as against them.
9. Hedges, Screens and Shelterbelts: Useful plants that can give privacy, and shelter from the wind.
10. Ground Cover: How to reduce weeding in the garden and also get extra food.
11. A Few Annuals and Biennials: The less well known annual vegetable.
12. The Wild or Conservation Garden: How to provide habitats for our native flora and fauna, whilst still producing food for ourselves.
13. Further Possibilities: A look at some plants which look exciting but of which we do not yet have experience.

Plants For A Future is a resource centre for rare and unusual plants, particularly those which have edible, medicinal or other uses. We practise vegan-organic permaculture with emphasis on creating an ecologically sustainable environment based largely on perennial plants.

Savannah’s Vegan Pancakes
2 1/2 cups flour
4 tsp baking powder
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
3 cups juice (any flavor)

Savannah’s Vegan Cornbread (a hit at potlucks, with vegan chili)
Combine:
1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup cornmeal
1/4 cup sugar (this could be reduced a bit — it’s a fairly sweet cornbread)
4 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
Combine and add:
6 tbsp water
1 cup plain soymilk (could substitute almond milk, etc.)
1/4 cup cooking oil (I use canola)
Mix until smooth. Bake in a greased 8″ pan in 425º oven 20-25 minutes.

Recipes courtesy of Julie Johnston

The Organic Center issued a press release a few months ago First-Ever Estimate of the Dramatic Reduction in Pesticide Risk Possible through the “Organic Option”.

Conventional Fruits and Vegetables with the Highest Pesticide Dietary Risk Index Scores: Domestic

Fruits
Cranberries: 178
Nectarines: 97
Strawberries: 56
Peaches: 54
Pears: 48

Vegetables
Green beans: 330
Sweet bell peppers: 132
Celery: 104
Cucumbers: 93
Potatoes: 74

Conventional Fruits and Vegetables with the Highest Pesticide Dietary Risk Index Scores: Imported

Fruits
Grapes: 282
Nectarines: 281
Peaches: 266
Pears: 221
Strawberries: 78

Vegetables:
Sweet bell peppers: 720
Lettuce: 326
Cucumbers: 317
Celery: 170
Tomatoes: 142

Part of the definition of food labeled organic is that it must be produced without most conventional pesticides and synthetic fertilizers and without antibiotics, growth hormones, genetic engineering or irradiation.

In an article in the NYT earlier this year author Mark Bittman wrote about how “meat factories consume enormous amounts of energy, pollute water supplies, generate significant greenhouse gases and require ever-increasing amounts of corn, soy and other grains, a dependency that has led to the destruction of vast swaths of the world’s tropical rain forests.” He went on to write, “Like oil, meat is subsidized by the federal government. Like oil, meat is subject to accelerating demand as nations become wealthier, and this, in turn, sends prices higher. Finally — like oil — meat is something people are encouraged to consume less of, as the toll exacted by industrial production increases, and becomes increasingly visible.”

In fact, Americans are already buying more environmentally friendly products, choosing more sustainably produced meat, eggs and dairy. The number of farmers’ markets has more than doubled in the last 10 years or so, and it has escaped no one’s notice that the organic food market is growing fast. These all represent products that are more expensive but of higher quality.

If those trends continue, meat may become a treat rather than a routine. It won’t be uncommon, but just as surely as the S.U.V. will yield to the hybrid, the half-pound-a-day meat era will end.

If more expensive meat doesn’t change your eating habits, perhaps the combination of deforestation, pollution, climate change, starvation, heart disease and animal cruelty will gradually encourage the simple daily act of eating more plants and fewer animals.

Only got it a “5″ spicy, but we would probably go hotter next time, as it was a little mild for my taste.