Another inexpensive gift idea form Spark People

Healthy, Homemade Gifts: Hearty Gourmet Oatmeal
By: Stepfanie Romine : 12/9/2008 2:59:01 PM : 70 comments

In the middle of winter, when the mercury's dropping and the snow is piling up outside, is there anything more comforting than a bowl of oatmeal?

Judging from your answers last week, most of you agree with me. Plain old oatmeal becomes a tedious breakfast rather quickly, but the fancy flavored versions are pricey and full of artificial flavors.

Thankfully, making your own gourmet oatmeal is easy. Flavored oatmeal makes a great gift for the busy professional, a time-strapped mom or anyone who says there's no time for a healthy breakfast.


Stepfanie's Oatmeal Mix
Ingredients
6 cups old-fashioned or steel-cut oats
3/4 c ground flax seeds
3 T cinnamon
1 1/2 cups walnuts, chopped
1 1/2 cups dried cranberries
Mix all ingredients together. Makes 12 servings (about 3/4 cup each)
Store in the refrigerator as flax seeds and walnuts can spoil quickly.

Nutrition info
Number of Servings: 12
Calories: 329
Total Fat: 15.3 g* (This is mostly heart-healthy fats from the walnuts and flaxseed, both of which contain Omega-3 fatty acids.)
Cholesterol: 0.0 mg
Sodium: 1.2 mg
Total Carbs: 44.9 g
Dietary Fiber: 8.8 g
Protein: 8.9 g

Directions
Divide the oatmeal into single servings (1 cup food storage containers work great for this) or deliver the gift in a decorative cookie jar. Personalize this as you'd like. Swap almonds, pumpkin seeds or pecans for the walnuts; use raisins, dried pineapple or some apple rings instead of cranberries. If you prefer sweetened oatmeal: Add cocoa powder and a bit of sugar, toss in some brown sugar or give a bottle of real maple syrup to supplement the gift. You can also use barley, cracked wheat, wheat germ or oat bran.

Bonus: Buy the materials for this oatmeal from the bulk bins at the grocery store to save more money.

How do you top your oatmeal?

Healthy, Homemade Gifts: Chocolate Spoons

A Spark People idea for those of us looking for ways to cut cost on gift this year. I will be sharing more ideas with you. Let's make this a less comercial Christmas and put our hearts and hands into making special gifts this year.

Healthy, Homemade Gifts: Chocolate Spoons
By: Stepfanie Romine (a Spark People contributor)

You might say that chocolate isn't a "healthy" gift. We disagree. Everything is fine in moderation, and dark chocolate (at least 70%) contains antioxidants.

Studies have found that dark chocolate helps prevent heart disease and cancer, and has also been shown to improve mood by boosting the brain chemical serotonin. Some even consider chocolate an effective diet food, claiming that a chunk of chocolate before meals diminishes your appetite.

Just be choosy about your chocolate and monitor your portions. That's one reason we love these chocolate spoons. They're easy to make and are instantly portion controlled.

Chocolate spoons
What you need:

10 Spoons (pick up mismatched ones at the thrift store)

1 cup semisweet or dark chocolate*

Fun extras: crushed peppermint candy, melted white chocolate, sprinkles, shredded coconut

Waxed paper

Plastic wrap

Ribbon

Melt chocolate in the microwave. Set timer for 2 minutes or so, taking care to stir every 30 seconds or so.

Spread out a sheet of waxed paper. Dip clean, dry spoons into the chocolate, then place them on the waxed paper. Allow the spoons to cool slightly, then dip them in the chocolate again. Repeat until chocolate reaches the desired thickness on the spoon. While they're still warm, add the "extras" if you're using them. Place spoons in the fridge to set. Once firm and cool, wrap each one in plastic wrap and tie with a ribbon.

Calories: 43.6 calories, 2.3 g fat (extras not included; you'll only use about 1/2 cup of chocolate.)
*Dark chocolate contains at least 70% cacao.


What's your favorite chocolate combination? Recently, I've become fond of the orange-dark chocolate combination. Would you make these spoons to give to someone?