I can’t believe the 2014 holiday season has begun (and that the year is almost over)!
This has been such a fun year for Everything Erica and I couldn’t be more excited to share my gift guide for a foodie with you! Over the course of 2014, I’ve been exposed to a ton of really cool, food-related products, services and gadgets. While it’s been hard to narrow it down , I think I’ve finally rounded up the best of the best for the foodies in your life.
1) A Green Polka Dot Box Membership: I’ve found in 2014, that more and more people are becoming more into organic and non-gmo foods. Unfortunately, unless you live in a large city or make a ton of money, the high cost and scarcity of these types of foods makes them SO hard to find.
Enter the Green PolkaDot Box. This membership-based website will give the foodie in your life access to hundreds of all natural, non-GMO foods at wholesales prices and deliver them right to their door. The annual membership fee of $49.95 and I think it makes the perfect gift. It’s sort of like an online Costco for health nuts!
2) Truffle Oil from Fig & Olive: Have I died and gone to truffle heaven? I first tasted this decadent white truffle oil when I was dining at one of my favorite restaurants, Fig & Olive in Chicago. After gushing over how delicious it was throughout the entire meal, I asked the waiter if it was possible to bottle some up to take home. He told me I could actually buy it online! When I went to the website, I learned all about how Fig & Olive is obsessed with every aspect of their olive oils including the ingredients and offers some of the world’s finest olive oils. I ended up sticking with the truffle oil and I use it in lots of my favorite dishes like mashed potatoes and pasta!
3) Everything Erica Cooking Classes/Programs: Do you have friends who love to cook? Or perhaps you have some friends who could use a little extra help in the kitchen? Well, I’m here to help! I offer three awesome programs that any food lover will be sure to enjoy! Starting at just $40, my classes and programs are perfect for culinary novices and passionate foodies alike. Oh and if you don’t live in Chicago, I offer Skype Classes too! E-mail me at [email protected] and we will set something up!
4)Stone Wall Kitchen Speciality Food Club: Growing up, I spent every summer in Maine. On the way to our cabin, my family and I would stop at the Stone Wall Kitchen headquarters and spend hours there. We would browse, sample and buying everything in site (because it’s all so good). Since moving to Chicago, I noticed I was experiencing withdrawals. That’s when I discovered the food club from Stone Wall Kitchen. This is the perfect monthly food club for that special someone (or maybe for yourself). Every month, Stonewall selects an assortment of their creative and award-winning specialty food items based on the season and delivers them each month. You can choose from a three, six, or twelve month membership.
5) Gift Baskets at Dylan's Candy Bar">: If you’ve ever been to Dylan’s Candy Bar in NYC, you know this place is a dream for anyone with a sweet tooth. Now, Dylan’s has created these incredible gift “buckets” full of your favorite candies (both new and retro). Starting at just $40, you can send someone a basket full of Fundip, Poprocks, Nerds, Skittles and more! Nothing says you care like a years supply of sugar, right? 🙂 I promise that whoever is on the receiving end of this will be one happy camper!
6) Love with Food Box: So…this made my list last year, but it’s so good, it’s worth repeating. Honestly, of all the monthly subscription boxes out there, this one is my favorite. I’ve had it for about a year and a half and I plan to give it too all my foodie friends this year. Basically, once a month, the Love With Food box send you a box of unique, interesting and difficult to find, snacks right to your home.
The box is healthy too! It is full of all-natural or organic snacks that will open your eyes to some pretty neat companies. Subscription memberships start as low as $10/month! Your first box is free is you use this link.
7) Urban Remedy Nosh Box: Urban Remedy is a line of raw, ready-to-eat snacks, meals, cold-pressed juices and energy boosting tinctures. Every product they make blends cutting-edge nutrition with Traditional Chinese Medicine to offer you healing foods that taste as delicious as they are effective! This year, I fell in love with the brand and lots of my friends will be getting their Nosh Box from me. This is a perfect gift for someone who has everything or for someone who loves to try new organic foods and snacks! Oh…and Cindy Crawford is a partner/brand ambassador of the line. Just take one look at her and you’ll want to do whatever she’s doing!
8) Teavana Perfecta Maker: I literally use this thing almost every single morning and it honestly brews the perfect cup of tea whenever I use it! It is an efficient, simple and clean way to steep tea. To use it, you just add tea and water at the correct temperature, then put the tea maker on your favorite mug. The patented drain mechanism will strain the tea into your cup and keep the leaves in the tea maker! So easy and such a great gift for any tea lover.
9) “Eightysixed” (A book by Emily Belden): This can’t put down book is truly a foodies dream. Without giving away too much, the book is about this young, twenty-something year old girl, Emily, who finds herself in the most relatable (yet totally hysterical) situations in and around dating. Much of the book takes place around Chicago and in many of the amazing Michelin Star restaurants (like Alinea, Schwa and more). I promise this will be one of the best gifts you give all year!
I love hearing all about new gift ideas! What are some of your favorite gifts to give to your foodie friends over the holidays?
Love always,
Erica
