Part three in our five part series
I think of all the gift ideas that we have, food gifts are the one category that will satisfy even the most difficult people to choose for on your list. The ideas below offer a real diverse selection of options and they all are earth-friendly in either their ingredients, packaging, business practices or all three. Happy shopping.

A delicious and earth-friendly choice for this holiday season is the Canterbury Naturals decadent Organic Fireside Hot Chocolate Mix Trio — Fireside Peppermint Hot Chocolate, Almond Hot Chocolate, and traditional Hot Chocolate. The sample we received in the office was amazing, so rich in flavor but really not that high in calories. It was, hands down, the best hot chocolate mix any of us had ever tasted. And the mixed are either organic or all-natural mixes and free of trans fats, hydrogenated oils, artificial additives, preservatives or colorings. With a retail price of just $4.99, they would make a great hostess gift or stocking suffer.  Canterbury Naturals also produces natural treat mixes like Organic Sparkly Diamond Shortbread Cookie Mix that retail between $6.00 and 7.50. Great options when you need a quick treat for a party or, as we found the shortbread complemented the hot chocolate perfectly. For more information visit Conifer Specialties

Wow, did we love the SodaStream, a home soda-making machines — that cuts back on packaging consumption that comes from purchasing soda. Sodastream machines turn water- from the tap, filter, whatever- into sparkling water or soda in a matter of seconds. It retails from $99 and it a great gift idea. See our video review here or find more information at Soda Stream USA

Do you have someone on your list that you love dearly but you find really hard to buy for? For me, it’s my dad, a great guy who has the habit of buying everything he wants / needs right before Christmas. For that person, a custom cereal or granola from [me] & goji would be a great idea. You can design a cereal for the recipient’s specific tastes from 50+ organic ingratiates. And then you can name the cereal and even put their picture on the container. The sample that we made was delicious and the unique ingrediants like goji berries and whole, dried strawberries made the product unique from others. I compared the quality and taste to homemade granola I sometimes find at high-end resorts. Price: $5-$15 for 21 oz of cereal or 30 oz of granola, or you can give a gift certificate. Find more information at [me] & goji

For anyone on my list, cheese is always a great choice and we try to look for a product that is produced in a sustainable manner. That is why we were excited to learn about Beemster Cheese. Beemster feels responsible for its farmers, its cows and the environment. Caring Dairy is the Beemster program that provides the Beemster dairy farmers with guidelines and advice by making their farms and the dairy more sustainable. In the guidelines for Caring Dairy attention is given to the environment, conservation of energy and other sustainable aspects of farming. For example, there is a minimum number of days required that the cows are outside in the pasture. The Santa’s Choice holiday edition is special packaging for their Beemster Classic cheese, composed of grade-A cow’s milk. We tasted the cheese in the office and were impressed with the rich and complex flavor.  For more information, visit Beemster

From high quality teas to sustainable growing practices to fair trade business philosophies, Teatulia teas represents a company that understands what it means to be an earth-friendly business. The teas hail from a new growing region in the North of Bangladesh and they manage the plants with virtually no tilling, weeding, and use no unnatural irrigation.  They don’t even allow vehicles in the plantations, rather horseback.  They procure ALL of their teas from one single garden and bring it to the US direct to the consumer.  There is no 3rd party blending and the teas are never held in a warehouse for long periods of time.  The Teatulia tea garden is based on a co-operative business model, with over 1200 members participating in the business. The product can either come in bulk or biodegradable packaging with gift pack prices starting at only $12.50. For more information, visit Teatulia

Although not just a gift idea, if you your holidays call for use of disposable dishware, consider the alternative, environmentally-safe “bioplastics” like Dandelion Earth-Friendly Goods. Their ReUsable children’s tableware is made from corn-based bioplastic (PLA) that is affordable, safe and eco-friendly. Traditionally, toddler feeding items are made using conventional plastics comprised mostly of petroleum. Many of these plastics contain Bisphenol A and Phthalates, toxicants that can act as “endocrine disruptors,” which can leach through the plastic after repeated use.  Endocrine disrupting compounds may cause reproductive and hormonal problems.  Dandelion’s line of ReUsable tableware is made primarily from renewable and sustainable corn-based bioplastic which is free of Bisphenol A and Phthalates, and offers an inspired alternative to conventional plastic. See more from Dandelion

Wine.com – the world’s largest online wine retailer — has a great earth-friendly and wallet-friendly gift pack called the Eco Wine Trio. The product offers three premium red wines from Boisset Family Estates, the first fine wines available in revolutionary PET1 bottles in the U.S. These custom-designed PET bottles feature a unique oxygen-barrier that ensures wine quality and taste. The bottles also weigh 90 percent less and have a 50 percent lower carbon footprint than traditional wine bottles. As part of Wine.com’s and Boisset Family Estate’s commitment to a clean energy future they have partnered with EarthEra. Through the unique EarthEra program, Wine.com will direct 10 percent of the retail price of the Eco Wine Trio to the EarthEra Renewable Energy Trust to build new, renewable energy projects in the United States. The retail price of theEco Wine Trio is $29.99. For more information, visit Wine.com

Naumes Gourmet Fruit Gift will match it, pound for pound, a donation of fresh fruit to food banks that feed hungry families for every gift purchased, There five different type of pear fruit packs available from their orchardslocated in Oregon, California and Washington. The retail price of their gifts are $29.95 and that includes shipping. For more information visit Naumes

Finally, the Holiday Herb Wreath is a great gift idea that combines a holiday decoration with usable herbs. Created by Stokes Farm, the Holiday Herb Wreaths are handmade with fresh rosemary and thyme. The wreaths are aromatic, edible and will last for over one year after drying. The wreaths come in a 12″ diameter that retail for $25 or they also have herb swags as well. The distinctive “Christmas Tree” smell of rosemary would be a great addition to any holiday and chefs might also find themselves using snippets while they cook. For more information, visit Stokes Farm