The holiday season is a time to show love and appreciation with gifts that inspire health, creativity, and joy. Whether you’re shopping for a wellness devotee, herb lover, curious kids, or even your furry friend, this guide has something special for everyone. I know what it can be like to be scrounging for last minute ideas, so I have written a last minute idea blog for you.

🎁 For the Wellness Enthusiast

• Massage or Naturopathy Gift Vouchers
  Give the gift of relaxation and rejuvenation. Whether it’s a calming massage or a naturopathy consultation, this voucher is perfect for anyone in need of some self-care.
• Water Filtration Systems
  Clean water is essential for optimal health, and high-quality filtration systems are an investment in well-being. Consider a premium gift like the Earth Tank or Waters Co MyWaterJug. These systems filter out harmful contaminants, including PFAS (forever chemicals), which can negatively impact health. A thoughtful, long-lasting gift for anyone prioritizing clean living.
• Yoga Mat
  Encourage movement and mindfulness with a durable and eco-friendly yoga mat—ideal for those who love stretching their bodies and minds.

🌿 For the Herbal Medicine Lover

• Ceramic Measuring Cups
  Taking herbal medicines is even more enjoyable with these adorable ceramic measuring cups. They’re both functional and charming, adding a little joy to every dose.
• Herb Cottage Gifts
  Browse through an extensive range of dried herbs, seeds, or young plants to grow. A perfect gift for the herb enthusiast ready to create their own remedies or teas.
• Herbal Tea Blends
  A delightful collection of organic teas for relaxation, digestion, or immune support.

🧸 For Kids

• Educational Anatomy and Herbal Medicine Books
  Ignite curiosity with engaging books like the Anatomy Book for Kids and the Herbal Medicine Book for Kids. They’re fun and educational gifts for budding scientists.
• Board Games for Family Fun
  Nothing beats quality time with classics like Operation, Battleship, Top Trumps, UNO, and Spot It.

📚 For the Bookworm

I know this isn’t natural medicine themed, but there’s nothing like losing yourself in a great story, and for the past few years, I’ve discovered the joy of audiobooks. It’s a great way to de-stress, that’s relevant isn’t it?

Whether I’m cooking, cleaning, exercising, putting away laundry, or driving by myself, listening to audiobooks has become one of my favourite ways to unwind and pass time.

• Audible Subscription
  A subscription to Audible is a fantastic gift for anyone who loves reading but wants the flexibility to listen on the go. With thousands of audiobooks to choose from, it’s a gift that keeps giving.
• Gift a Specific Title
  If you’d prefer to gift a specific book, here are some of my favourite reads from the last few years (and you can probably tell I’m a bit of a fantasy fan by these):
  • A Court of Thorns and Roses (ACOTAR) – A gripping fantasy series filled with romance and adventure.
  • The Witches of Eileanan – A beautifully crafted tale of magic, rebellion, and destiny.
  • Outlander – Time travel, romance, and historical drama rolled into one.
  • Crescent City – A fast-paced urban fantasy with unforgettable characters.
  • Dune – A sci-fi masterpiece full of political intrigue and epic adventure.
  • Outlawed by Anna North – A reimagined Western with a feminist twist.
  • The Wheel of Time Series – A high-fantasy epic for fans of sprawling worlds and intricate plots.
  • Quicksilver – A rich and intricate fantasy novel with twists and turns at every corner.

Whether it’s an audiobook subscription or a carefully chosen title, these options are sure to make any book lover’s holiday season extra special!

🥤 For the Hydration Enthusiast

A high-quality drink bottle is a practical and thoughtful gift for anyone, especially those mindful of reducing their plastic use. Whether it’s for kids, work, the gym, or outdoor adventures, these are some of my favorite picks. They’re low-to-no plastic, relatively spill-proof (a must for little ones!), and stylish to boot.

• Yeti
  Durable, sleek, and excellent at keeping drinks hot or cold for hours. Perfect for both adventurous spirits and busy professionals.
• Citron
  A great option for kids, with fun designs and practicality in mind. These are functional, spill-proof, and easy for little hands to use.
• Planet Box
  Known for their commitment to sustainability, Planet Box water bottles are ideal for eco-conscious families.
• Hydro Flask
  A cult favorite for good reason—these bottles combine practicality with a stylish design, and they keep beverages at the perfect temperature all day long.

This is by no means an exhaustive list, but these are some of my go-to recommendations for drink bottles that balance function, sustainability, and style. They make great stocking stuffers or standalone gifts for anyone on your list!

Check out my gift list from a few years ago for more ideas

Happy gifting, and may your holidays be filled with love, wellness, and joy! 🎁✨

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you click on these links and make a purchase, I may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. Thank you for supporting my work and helping me continue to share valuable content!

The post Christmas Gift Ideas – 2024 appeared first on Alison Mitchell Naturopath.

Book review: The Garden Apothecary by Reece Carter

What a beautiful book Reece has created.

The wonder that is herbal medicine is available to everyone, but just how to make use of the beautiful gift from Mother Nature when you haven’t been trained in herbal medicine can be a little daunting. This book makes herbal medicine doable for everyone, and the collection of home remedies will also hopefully help you to improve yours and your families health.

There is a wide range of remedies – creams, teas, tinctures, foods, gummies, addressing many issues such as colds and ‘flu, stress, sleep issues, skin issues, digestion and more.

Most people think of home remedy books as those faded books stored in our grandmothers bookshelf or in the second hand bookshelf, but this book is a modern take on those classics that you will find yourself returning to again and again.

And the herbalist that delivers this information is a different picture to the traditional herbalist stereotype – not a gypsy-esque woman wearing shawls and beads, but a charming muscular man (Reece is a model in his spare time) who sweetly dedicated this book to his Mum.

There’s plenty of eye candy in this book, and not just the pages with the tight shirts. Beautiful pictures of amber bottles, raw herbs, spices and luscious gardens are the pages I dwell on the most.

I am so excited to see this type of information being shared into the world. The remedies are gentle but effective, the recipes are easy to follow and achieavable.

There are so many brilliant recipes in this book I can’t list all of my favourites, but some include the herbal tea blends pg 120-121, the skin repair body cream pg 68 and lemon balm ointment for cold sores pg 73 (I love these herbs!) and the ‘Forget-Me-Not’ Salsa Verde pg 104 (I love herbs used in food).

There’s guides on how to grow you own herbs, where to source them, and information about what the herbs are useful fore.

If you want to start growing your own herbs or making your own recipes, check this book out. It is something you’ll keep coming back to, not just for the recipes but the scattering of health tips and naturopathic wisdom as well.

The Garden Apothecary by Reece Carter

The post Book review: The Garden Apothecary appeared first on Alison Mitchell Naturopath.

Getting your children to eat well is a big concern for many parents. The struggle involves not just knowing what to feed your child, but how to get them to actually eat it. Meal time battles are a great source of stress, and it’s in response to this that paediatric nutritionist Mandy Sacher has created her book: Wholesome Child.

I’ve come across a fair few cook books aimed at children, but Wholesome Child is currently my favourite. This is not just a recipe book but an impressively thorough nutrition guide as well. It includes digestible information about the different food groups, additives and preservatives, good vs bad fats, sugar, and tips for dealing with fussy eaters. There are also lunch box ideas and meal plans. The recipes are aimed at children between 1-6 years of age, however my husband and I have enjoyed the dishes as well.

The book is structured around an 8 step guide of incremental changes that can be made to your diet, which will allow you gradually introduce healthy foods and phase out unhealthy foods. Dramatic diet changes are rarely well appreciated by young or old, and by making small steps it helps to reduce the negative responses your child may have.

Step 1: Whole Grains – Replace processed grains with whole grains and focus on variety

Step 2: Reduce Sugar – Set healthy limits and create structure

Step 3: Increase Vegetables – Get creative and persevere

Step 4: Boost Protein – Balance healthy animal proteins with vegetarian options

Step 5: Healthy Fats – Focus on good fats and avoid processed low-fat foods

Step 6: Balance Fruit – In the recommended amounts, it’s a healthy part of a child’s diet

Step 7: Rethink Dairy – Moderate milk consumption and focus on high-calcium foods

Step 8: Avoid Nasties – Eat real food that is free of preservatives, additives, artificial colours, GM ingredients and excessive sodium

With the focus on making small changes, these suggestions are ones you are likely to stick to. It also helps that the recipes genuinely taste good.

Generally the recipes are gluten free and low in dairy, and use alternatives to sugar such as maple syrup, and use coconut oil rather than butter. Most commonly they are recipes you and your children are already familiar with such as brownies, cupcakes, fish fingers and patties, but they are boosted with vegetables and other healthy ingredients such as seeds, good fats and other wholegrains.

Spread throughout the book are charts and tips which allow you to make modifications to the recipes, for instance a guide on how to bake with different flours is extremely handy if you wanted to adjust some of the baking recipes to suit what you have on hand. Initially I didn’t have the variety of ingredients Mandy suggests, so adjusted the recipes to use spelt or wheat flour where gluten free was called for, or puffed rice instead of puffed quinoa, and when carob powder is used I’ve just used extra cocoa powder. But because I really like all the recipes and plan to keep cooking them, I’ve been gradually adding to my collection of pantry staples.

My favourite sections include Mandy’s suggestions on dealing with fussy eating, her guide on additives and preservatives, and her thorough guide on sugar which includes an eye opening section on hidden sugars and suggestions on how to curb sugar cravings and swap the worst offenders for healthier, but still tasty, alternatives.

On top of all that, the book is just gorgeous. The rainbow charts, decorative details and vibrant photography make it a pleasure to read through. This is a recipe book that you can immerse yourself in, and I have done this on numerous occasions. I like to sit down with Ash and say “What would you like to make today?” So far he has picked out the veggie platter (that wasn’t a recipe but he liked the picture, pg 47), choc chia pops (pg 89), strawberry milkshake (pg 225), carrot and cinnamon muffins (pg 83) and flaxseed crackers (pg 185).

One of the big successes we had was the Mac ‘n’ Cheese, which I am excited to share the recipe with you.

Mac ‘n’ Cheese

Serves: 4
Prep: 30 min
Cook: 30 min

Ingredients

• 2 Cups Brown Rice Penne
• 1 Cup Cauliflower Florets
• 1 Cup Zucchini, Peeled And Shredded
• 1-2 Tbs Coconut Oil
• ¾ Cup Milk Of Choice
• 1 Tbs Tapioca Flour
• 1 ½ Cups Cheddar Cheese, Shredded
• 1 Tbs Chia Seeds
• Sea Salt And Pepper, To Taste
• 1 Tsp Paprika Powder

Method

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Cook the pasta until al dente. Drain and set aside.
3. Place cauliflower in a food processor and process until it reaches a rice-like consistency.
4. Heat oil in a large frying pan and sauté cauliflower and zucchini for about 5 mins.
5. In a saucepan, warm ½ cup of milk.
6. In a small bowl, whisk together the remaining milk and the flour until there are no lumps. Then whisk this mixture into the warm milk. Continue whisking gently until milk thickens to the consistency of heavy cream.
7. Mix cheese, chia seeds, sautéed cauliflower and zucchini into the milk-flour mixture and season with salt and pepper. For a smoother consistency you can process using a hand held blender.
8. Place the pasta in a casserole dish and pour the cheese and veggie sauce over it. Sprinkle with paprika powder and shredded cheese (optional) and bake in the oven for 30 mins until the top is golden.

Tip: For a school-friendly version, place mixture in mini muffin holders and bake for approximately 25 mins to create mini mac ‘n’ cheese muffins. If your child does not like the sight of seeds, them leave out chia seeds and use chia powder instead.

The post Review: Wholesome Child Cookbook and Nutrition Guide (plus Bonus recipe!) appeared first on Alison Mitchell Naturopath.