Healthy Gift Giving
If you’re looking for a gift for a friend or family member who has cancer, chances are you’re searching for something special. Traditional temptations, such as sweets or spirits, may provide comfort, but don’t support the healthy lifestyle essential to treatment and recovery. To lift up the person you love, think outside the box.
Free Friend Time
Gifts of time don’t cost anything, but come with priceless memories. You could:
Create a handmade coupon for “quality time,” where the recipient chooses what to do
Plan an active outing, where you walk, jog, swim or play a game
Set aside time to go through photos and make a scrapbook together
Give a gift of service, where you offer to do errands, clean house or cook a meal
Fitness Fare
Options abound when it comes to encouraging fitness, including:
Membership to a health club
Personal fitness tracker, such as a Fitbit
Gym bag or workout clothes
Yoga mat
Handheld weights
A walking stick for stability
Gloves for special activities, such as golf, skiing, biking or weightlifting
Exercise videos or a subscription to an online service like Daily Burn
Healthy Foods
Food is always a welcome gift, especially when you make it easier to purchase and prepare nutritious meals. Consider:
A gift card to an online vendor, such as Home Chef or HelloFresh, that sends the recipient everything they need to prepare a meal at home, including ingredients
Fresh or frozen pre-made meals from a local source like Naomi’s Kitchen
A gift card to a store that offers grocery delivery service. One example is Hy-Vee’s Aisles Online service.
A fruit basket with herbal teas, coffees, spices and healthy breads
A gift certificate to healthy local markets such as Natural Grocers, New Pioneer Co-op or other health market
A Breath of Fresh Air
Plants make wonderful gifts and can also function as room purifiers. Numerous houseplants are known to absorb airborne toxins, eliminate respiratory irritants and reduce the effects of gases, fumes and exhaust that may sneak into the house. A few plants that are powerful air cleaners are English ivy, peace lily, Boston fern, wax begonia and spider plants. Check the following resources to see additional plant names and their health benefits.
Additional Health-Conscious Options
Still stuck? You can’t go wrong with these choices:
Instant Pot (the new smart cooker), a steamer or a wok
A cookbook of healthful recipes or, better yet, your personal collection of favorites
A subscription to a health-focused magazine such as EatingWell, VegetarianTimes or CookingLight
Wishing you and yours the healthiest of holidays!
Leesa Morrison
Ghosh Center Health Coach