I’ve wanted to do a health & wellness themed Christmas Gift Guide for a while but for a person who loves to shop its been difficult getting it down to a ‘Top 3’ so I’ve gone with the products I find myself recommending the most to my clients in clinic & of course ones I use myself. They’re perfect for your own wish list or for the person in your life who wants to take their self-care to the next level!
1. NUTRIBULLET
My number one gift has to be the Nutribullet, this is where it all started for me! I asked for one as a Christmas gift, started making green smoothies & was hooked as I saw my health begin to improve. It’s a great entry level blender, suitable for smoothies, blending soups & making nut butters. I think this is the perfect size blender for a single person or somebody who would use it only a few times a week. There are quite a few models available now & all come with a selection of accessories that make it easier to ‘drink on the go’ or safely transport your soups or smoothies to work. Prices start at £59.99 but they’re often on offer so look around for the best deal & as with everything buy the best model you can afford.
P.S. If cost isn’t a consideration & it’ll be used more regularly then I’d highly recommend investing in a Vitamix. I say investing because they’re at least a couple of hundred pounds more than a Nutribullet (or other entry level blender) but you’re really scaling up here with the motor power, features & jug size, making it easier to make smoothies for the family or batch make soup in one go. Again, the price differs depending on the model's features.
2. OURA RING
Remember a couple of months ago we saw all over the press Prince Harry sporting an unusual looking chunky ring, well those in the know spotted his Oura ring straight away. This ring, with its advanced technology, is the ultimate wellness hack when it comes to tracking sleep & activity 24/7 in a discreet & stylish way. Not only is it a must-have if you’re looking to better understand your body’s needs but it has so many features including tracking sleep stages, heart-rate variability, daily activity & also really importantly & most overlooked by many people, when you should be taking time for rest & recovery. Available in different finishes, prices start at around £250.
Not a gift for the self-conscious person in your life due to the slightly wacky look they give (think The Fly) but for somebody who’s serious about improving quality of sleep & regulating hormones 'Swannies' are what they need! The body has a natural sleep cycle (circadian rhythm) meaning we naturally rise with the sun & retire with sunset but due to artificial lighting, blue light emitting electronic devices & ingested artificial stimulants, the hormones that regulate this cycle are being thrown out of kilter. Poor quality sleep impacts massively on our health & wellbeing & the lenses in these glasses are specially designed to block out blue light supporting easier sleep, more restful sleep & feeling better refreshed on waking. Available in lots of different styles, they also have ‘fitovers’ for prescription lenses, prices start at around £50.
If you’re looking for more budget gifts, for Secret Santa or stocking-fillers, here are a few more ideas -
Buy a lovely glass jar (or bottle) & fill it with magnesium flakes for a relaxing bath experience. Add a selection of organic essential oils like lavender, frankincense, jasmine & ylang-ylang which can be used with the flakes & will enhance the relaxing properties of the flakes. There are lots of essential oil brands, ensure you choose good quality, I like Tisserand .
Put together a mini hamper of goodies for the ‘wellness warrior’ in your life – for example, a bamboo travel cup (I like these Pukka designs), some different herbal teas, a tiffin lunch box, some beeswax food wraps, a sprouting starter kit & maybe a water kefir grains starter kit.
For the person who is interested in introducing a more flexitarian/meat-free/plantbased diet into their lives, a couple of book recommendations for beginners would be the new Deliciously Ella Plant-based Cookbook (which is only £7.99 on Amazon at the moment) or Amelia Freer’s The 10-Day Plan. The recipes in both these books are lovely & nourishing without needing specialist ingredients or kitchen skills.
I really hope you've found the above suggestions helpful & I've linked all my recommendations to their websites so you can get more product information but as always, search around as you'll find deals on other sites such as Amazon.
As always, thanks for reading & I wish you all the happiest of Christmases!
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