Christmas Foodie Gifts for the Food Challenged

Before I had my own food allergy issues and other diet related concerns,  I didn't think about food gifts beyond sending Southern Season baskets to my friends and family, especially those who moved up north and couldn't find the great regional specialities the South has to offer.

Most folks have to order online but I am close enough to make a road trip to Chapel Hill, NC and walk around in awe of this store that has everything for the gourmet, the chef, the child in everyone. Their selection is so large and diverse that I've been able to find things there I can't find anywhere else. Walking through the aisles gives me cooking inspiration and options for getting out of the GF and corn-free rut.

Southern Season is also the perfect inspiration for coming up with gifts for those who love food but sometimes food doesn't love them back.

Here's a sample in the aisles of this huge store:

Hard to find gluten-free snacks like Brussels sprout bites!

Every kind of hot sauce, barbecue sauce and any other sauce known and unknown to man!

Everything from gorgeous Christmas dishes to...

Yep, duck fat caramels!

We all don't have a Southern Season near by to help us shop for foodie gifts for the food challenged. But never fear, there are plenty of options thanks to on-line shopping, expanding speciality aisles at local grocery stores, and general awareness about food allergies and health issues.

Here are my tips for gift shopping for food challenged foodies:

Give food related gifts that have meaning.  ManO knew my favorite eggnog glass was fading away to nothing but glass so he searched online for the decades old Dairy Queen give away. Jackpot. My kids found NC State Howling Moo eggnog for me, only to discover it had corn syrup after they gave it to me.   They went on campus during finals, with all that traffic, to seek it out and were so excited, they didn't check  the ingredients. No worries, I can make do with organic cane sweetened nog. But I was really touched they went to all the effort. Such a great family!      

The original Dairy Queen glass is on the left!

Give kitchen gifts that make cooking fun again.   It can be stressful to have to relearn recipes or make sure a meal is "clean." My daughter gave me a cutting board that I could use for my blog. It made me laugh. What a daughter! Colorful mixing cups, an apron, sharp knives....the list is endless.

I had a dachshund growing up. Now I have a wooden one.

 
Give blank cook books: As much as I love allrecipes.com and the Food Network, if I adapt a recipe and don't write it down, it'll disappear. So I bought a lovely recipe book filled with blank pages. It has become my go-to holiday cookbook because my favorite new recipes are in one spot.

Give ingredients:  Let's face it. Living with allergies or food issues is not cheap. Most folks with food allergies often just do without rather than spend the money.  A bag of GF baking mix, spices that turn ground pork into pure breakfast sausage, organic ingredients for soup, all put in a gift box with a recipe or two make a thoughtful gift.    

 So, do you have a favorite foodie store you like to visit in person or on-line? Have you received a food related gift you loved and what made it great?  Have you given a food related gift that was a hit?