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Neon Tommy - Annenberg digital news

Holiday Gift Guide: Health Nut Edition

Ashley Seruya |
November 16, 2013 | 1:13 p.m. PST

Staff Reporter

Fitness gadgets, such as the FitBit family of upscale pedometers, are perfect gifts for friends and family trying to lead an active lifestyle (@GadgetsMexico/Twitter).
Fitness gadgets, such as the FitBit family of upscale pedometers, are perfect gifts for friends and family trying to lead an active lifestyle (@GadgetsMexico/Twitter).
The 2013 holiday season is fast approaching. With it, of course, comes the gift-giving frenzy.

Whether you celebrate Hanukkah, Christmas, Kwanzaa, or something in between, picking out presents for all the special people in your life can be a trying experience. Gift cards and cash feel impersonal. Wandering the mall, praying for inspiration to strike, is overwhelming. Sometimes, finding just the right gift to show how well you know and cherish a loved one can feel near impossible.

Neon Tommy's gift-giving guide is here for you, turning mission impossible into mission possible. 

Many of us have fitness gurus in our circle of friends and family. Some of them feel at home in the kitchen, whipping up healthy dishes of all kinds. Others find their zen at the gym, sweating out the day's worries with their workout routines. And still others are just embarking on their journey toward a healthy lifestyle.

Whichever health type your friend or family member fits into, we guarentee this list will satisfy them this holiday season.

For the Foodie

1. The Right Tools

Health food innovators love finding new kitchen tools to change up their daily routine. First, ensure that your healthy nut has their kitchen stocked with the proper essentials, such as an immersion blender to make yummy soups in a cinch, a Kitchen Aid to wow their guests with culinary creations, and a NutriBullet for their morning green smoothies. If those bases are covered, surprise your chef this holiday season with a more unique kitchen tool to spice up their healthy creations and inspire new dishes. 

Juliene Peeler: Many health-concious foodies try to find new and creative ways to add more vegetables to their diets. To help them along, buy them a juliene vegetable peeler. Not too expensive or overly complicated, the juliene vegetable peeler will allow your creative cooks to transform vegetables into pasta-like strands. Zucchini is a popular pasta replacement, and this peeler works perfectly to create "zoodles." Top the nutritious zoodles with anything you would normally put on spaghetti, and you have yourself a dish full of vitamins and nutrients, instead of a bowl of simple carbohydrates. Check out this recipe for Zucchini Spaghetti and Meatballs.

Yonanas Ice Cream Machine: Ice cream is both heaven in a bowl and a health-nut's nightmare. Help your health nut have their ice cream fix without it ruining their diet. Dole's new Yonanas product takes any frozen fruit and turns it into a soft-serve ice cream consistency. This allows those watching their sugar intake get their sweet fix without sabotaging their day.

2. The Right Cookbooks

Maintaining a healthy lifestyle can be hard when meals become repetitive. Help your chefs avoid a food rut by seeking out some of the healthiest and most creative cookbooks. There are many kinds of cookbooks out there. Some focus on certain dietary lifestyles, such as gluten free recipes or paleo food plans, while others focus on wholesome eating with big flavor. Find the cookbook that best represents your loved ones' eating style. It is sure to inspire them to try new dishes and continue nourishing their bodies with healthful meals. They will definitely thank you once the post-holiday reality check sets in in January.

Check out some of these health-conscious cookbooks for inspiration:

Hungry Girl's Ultimate Guilt Free Cookbook

Vegetarian Everyday by The Green Kitchen Stories bloggers

Gather, the Art of Paleo Entertaining by Bill Staley

Zucchini Noodles, or "Zoodles" are a great alternative to starchy pasta, and add a heaping serving of vegetables to a dinner plate (@Kindfood/Twitter).
Zucchini Noodles, or "Zoodles" are a great alternative to starchy pasta, and add a heaping serving of vegetables to a dinner plate (@Kindfood/Twitter).

For the Fitness Freak

1. Some Techie Motivation

Even the most dedicated fit-monger can lose stride during the holidays, when constant family events and celebrations can stymie a fitness groove. To keep them from this fate or to help get them back on track, give them a gift that will push them to get more from their workouts as well as be active in their everyday activities.

FitBit Pedometer: Whether it's the Force, Flex, One, or Zip model, any fitness fanatic will love one of these upscale pedometers in their stocking. Paired with a free smartphone application, a FitBit tracks the number of steps you take, stairs climbed, your sleep patterns, and more. More importantly, individual members can create personal goals for the day, urging those wearing a FitBit to keep their physical activity high throughout the day. Similar products inclue the Nike Fuelband and the Jawbone Up.

CatEye Fit Wireless Cycling Computer and Pedometer: If you have a friend or family member who is a serious biker, this gift is a must. Whether they bike to and from work or are training for a bike tour, this device is a great motivator. It tracks distance traveled and calories burned while biking, and also works as a pedometer when out of the seat. This encourages movement throughout the entire day, helping them stay active constantly.

Heart Rate Monitor: Heart rate monitors are the most accurate gadget to track workout intensity. Find the perfect model to help motivate any hardcore gym-goer.

2. Some Awesome Equipment

New workout gear can make a huge difference in anyone's routine. Help fit friends and family change it up to get the most out of their workouts by tying a bow on some essential workout accessories.

Sports Headphones: Sweaty workouts can be grueling without music to pump you up. Unfortunately, most headphones are not equipped to handle high intensity movement. Constantly popping loose earphones back in is a nuisance, interrupting workout flow and ultimately bumming you out. Make sure your friends and family never have to leave the gym dissapointed again by gifting them a set of good sports headphones. Head to your local Best Buy and ask a sales associate to help you find the perfect set, or look online for the most popular brands among seasoned atheletes.

Customized Yoga Mat: Any yogi will tell you that choosing a mat is a very personal experience. But discovering the perfect yoga mat all wrapped and rolled up under the tree may be just the thing to help your yogi feel right at home in their yoga practice. There are many different websites that provide yoga mat customization, some even allowing you to upload your own image or design. Let your creativity flow, and create something personal and meaningful to help your yogi find zen.

For the Friend On A Weight Loss Journey

1. Help Them Portion Control

Portion controlling meals is one of the easiest and most effective ways to shed pounds and retrain the brain about proper food consumption. Eyeballing portion sizes, however, is never easy. Research has shown that people tend to underestimate the amount of food on their plates, leading to unbalanced diets and weight gain. Help your friends and family along by gifting them unique portion control items.

Measure Up Bowls: These ceramic bowls have measurement indicators on the inside, making portion control easy as pie. Pour cereal, pasta, or rice inside and you will instantly know when you've reached the proper serving size.

Hapi Fork: It is well known that eating quickly can cause weight gain and poor digestion. Slowing down when eating, however, can be difficult. Ignoring our fast-paced eating habits is no longer an option with the introduction of Hapi Fork. This ingineous gadget counts the number of bites the user takes in a certain amount of time, and then analyzes eating habits from the data collected. The results can be viewed online, and can open the eyes of anyone trying to change their eating habits. 

2. Help Them Track Progress

Digital and Bluetooth-enabled scales, such as the FitBit Aria, will help your friends and family easily keep track of weight fluctuations. FitBit automatically generates online charts and data when weigh-in information is sent via Bluetooth from the scale to the internet. The scale also tracks your body fat percentage and BMI (body mass index), giving you more information on progress and achievements. This is key in a weight loss journey, and your friends and family will surely thank you for looking out for them. 

Reach Staff Reporter Ashley Seruya here or follow her on Twitter here.



 

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