Gifts good for the heart...and the planet
The other night, Shane, Alex, and I were at the mall as I needed to pick up some more groceries for the reverse advent calendar for the food bank. As we strolled the mall, a few things became clear. Most of the stuff had to travel a long way to be here, the poor quality of most of the stuff, and that none of us wanted any more stuff. Even for Christmas presents.
One thing did catch my eye as we were leaving though. Soup. Yup. Soup. Those little premade mixes all wrapped up like a sausage! I then remembered that our neighbour likes soup mixes. I also remembered that Sara wanted to give her teacher something healthier than a cookie mix.
Perfect. Soup mixes make great presents. The mixes are pretty when done in layers. Also, plant-based mixes are not only healthy but have a lower carbon footprint.
It is great to have mixes on hand in your pantry for those busy weeknights too! Mixes made in reusable jars are also the gift that keeps on giving! (Uncle Eddie comes to mind!)
We enjoyed making the soup mixes but I also think that mixes, and other homemade goodies are special for the recipient. Why? Receiving gifts made from love means that someone has taken the time to make something useful, pretty, and tasty just for you!
A gift from the heart, but a healthy gift good for the heart!
As Sara and I prepped some soup mixes this weekend, it dawned on me that we have maple syrup that we harvested that would also make great gifts. No preservatives, VERY local, tasty, and a labour of love.
But not yet pretty.
So, I enlisted the help of Alex to make labels for our syrup. Something we have been talking of doing for the past few years but alas it hasn’t happened! Till now. Along with our challenges being a forcing factor for getting some much-needed retrofits completed, so has the challenges help challenge our habits in many other ways as well. Including using what we have on hand…and making it awesome!
Which has been a gift good for our hearts as well!
With our maple syrup now labelled and the love soup mixes ready to go, I can’t help but think of the Grinch.
“Maybe Christmas (he thought) doesn’t come from a store. Maybe Christmas perhaps means a little bit more.” — The Grinch
Merry Christmas – From the Foreman’s
Maple Syrup from OUR backyard!
