The holidays are upon us! It’s the season of giving, so why not give a holiday gift that keeps giving? Check out these nine holiday gift ideas that will bring better health to all.
1. Mama Love Organics – This small business offers organic loose leaf herbal teas. Tea contains tannins which offer a number of health benefits like fighting inflammation and providing antioxidant support, but they also can interfere with mineral absorption in the body—especially iron. Herbal teas have less tannins and can provide additional health support such as helping with sleep, immunity, and digestion. For this reason, I like their Carob marshmallow tea which contains marshmallow root (not to be confused with the candy form of marshmallow—totally different) which is good at helping digestion and healing the gut lining. Give the holiday gift of good digestion!
2. Frog Hollow Farm – I found this business when I was going through my gut healing journey. I had a ton of food sensitivities and was limited on the types of fruits I could eat. I like their conserves because they don’t contain any hidden fruits in them—they are what they say they are. My favorite spread is the apricot, but you really can’t go wrong with the peach and nectarine/plum—fresh, organic, and pure deliciousness! I’m thinking the next spread I’ll try is their Meyer Lemon! They offer a lot of unique products including fresh organic fruit, making this the perfect holiday gift for those you love.
3. Kira Stokes – During the pandemic I had to switch from working out at the gym to fitness at home. I discovered Kira Stokes via her workout App and she whipped me into serious shape. Her workouts are moderate to advanced, but she also offers her own workout gear—one of my favorites are her bands. As they say—sitting is the new smoking! And the result is, weak glutes and posterior leg muscles. Kira’s bands are the highest quality product on the market—I’ve had many bands break on me, but these are thicker than most and will wake up your glutes. Kira offers a free seven-day trial on her App so you can check out ways to get your glutes activated!
4. Kira Stokes – I gravitate towards resistance training and power yoga and felt I needed to incorporate some cardio into to my workout routine. I loved the “idea” of jump roping but was worried about lacking enough coordination to do it and the impact it would have on my joints. Well, let me tell you that my worrying was unnecessary. It took me several tries (and I consulted a couple of YouTube videos) to get the hang of it (and practice makes better). Jump roping is my new jam! It’s low impact as you only jump a couple inches off the ground and when you have proper form it feels great. I definitely noticed muscle fatigue around my ankles but over time that has subsided, and I feel stronger. Kira offers an adjustable jump rope and she’s been jumping for over 25 years, so she knows how to develop a quality product. She also provides instructional videos to help you with your jump rope adventure!
5. Frau Fowler Tooth Powder – All I can say about this product is that it’s a game changer! My teeth are prone to staining easily (and I don’t drink tea or coffee). Once I started using this remineralizing, fluoride-free product, it changed my oral health. When I use this tooth powder with my Sonicare electric toothbrush, it’s like getting a professional dental tooth polishing. It also has whitened my teeth. I was afraid to release this secret to others (for my own selfish reasons—I don’t want them to run out of this product), but when I introduced it to my family—they LOVED it! And have ordered their own. You don’t use water with this product, so the minerals stay on your teeth. This is a great holiday gift idea!
6. Wild Rooster Farm – This Etsy store offers some natural soaps for you and YOUR CANINES! Yes, you read that correctly. The soaps contain all natural ingredients and are safe for your pets too. It offers some interesting soap scents like grapefruit hibiscus, pumpkin, eggnog, and lavender lemongrass. Please note that those soaps tailored to your dogs are specifically labeled as “Farm Dog Shampoo Bar” to make your shopping easier.
The skin is our largest organ and what we put on our skin makes its way into our bodies–period. So, look for natural ingredients in your skincare products. I like these natural soaps because they don’t contain toxins and avoid all of the most harmful chemicals that are found in many popular skincare brands.
7. Silver Dollar Candle Co. – Silver Dollar Candle Co. utilizes a unique, proprietary blend of 100% soy wax that’s free from coloring and dyes. They also use fragrance oils to scent their candles that are free of phthalates and nitro musk. I like to light candles when I take a mineral bath and I prefer soy candles over paraffin wax candles. Paraffin wax is a petroleum by-product that is created from the sludge waste when crude oil is refined into gasoline. Soy wax is made from soybean oil.
8. Blue Mountain Organics – I found this company when I was looking for different types of sprouted foods during my gut healing program. Blue Mountain Organics specializes in providing certified organic, raw, and sprouted nuts, nut butters, flours, grains, dried fruits, and superfoods. I especially like their sprouted nut butters. Seeds, nuts, grains, and legumes provide a lot of nutritional benefits, but they also contain phytates (anti-nutrients). By soaking them, the dormant seed starts to germinate, and the anti-nutrients are cast away. Phytates binds with calcium, magnesium, iron, copper, and zinc, making it hard to impossible for you to absorb those minerals. By sprouting grains, legumes, nuts or seeds, not only are you neutralizing phytates, but you’re making them easier to digest and to assimilate their nutrients.
9. Touch of Herbs – Did you know that many adults are deficient in minerals and don’t know it? This is why I promote bath salts and use them from time-to-time. There are many health benefits to soaking in a salted bath because it’s a good way to get trace minerals (which are absorbed into your skin from the mineral-rich water). Himalayan salts are detoxifying, ease aches and pains, smooth and hydrate the skin, and ease stress. Be careful though, not all salts are created equal. Get a product that is limited in ingredients (there are a lot out there that have a lot of unnecessary and toxic additives)—all you need is salt (and an essential oil can be nice too). Touch of Herbs has just that type of philosophy with their bath salts—simple and healing. They are also handmade which makes them even more special.
