Holiday Gift Ideas for Fit Foodies who Love to Run, Workout and Eat

Shopping for a “fit foodie” can be tough. I mean, they pour a lot of passion into working out AND eating, and it’s hard to know what makes the cut it terms of supporting that fitness lifestyle. But, the good news about working out, running and hitting the gym is that you can eat a lot, and consequently need good food and kitchen gear to keep up the routine. And, by all means, don’t ever let anyone in your sweat squad get hangry. To help make holiday shopping easier, here are the best gifts for fit foodies – all The Fit Fork approved and the things I am obsessed about!

Moonlight Maker’s Dish Towels: Bring a smile to your kitchen with one or more of these cute and funny flour-sack dish towels! Laughing burns calories, so use these “punny” towels to help clean up after your meal prepping and healthy recipe making! Make from 100% cotton flour sacks, screen printed in eco-friendly, non-toxic ink. Unfolded size is 28” x 28” and they get suber absorbent after a few washes. All handmade by a small, woman-owned biz from Asheville, NC! More designs and other holiday gift ideas at Moonlight Makers  approx. 14.95 per towel

Apron with Built-in Oven Mitts from Grand Fusion – This heat-resistant light canvas apron is so genius, not only to you keep your clothes clean and splatter-free when baking, roasting, or grilling, but you have TWO oven mitts always at the ready – no more frantically trying to find a mitt when something needs to be taken off the heat asap! Adjustable straps, one size that fits most men or women, large front pocket, easy to wash, and available in grey or yellow!  An oven mitt apron is the perfect holiday baking gift for that person who is always losing stuff!

Wildgrain:  Wildgrain is a delicious bread subscription box that also delivers artisanal pastas, pastries all kinds of breads (made with clean, nutritious ingredients) to your door that are frozen and ready to prepare in a flash – no more than 25 minutes from freezer door opening to your mouth opening for the first bite! I love to cook, but baking from scratch is a whole ‘nutha skill set and patience level. Wildgrain is perfect this holiday season for your own entertaining and recipe making but also for giving to fit foodie friends who need a little more carb days in their life!  

Artisan bread, pastas and pastries in the the Wildgrain subscription box, save $30 with code THEFITFORK at http://bit.ly/Wildgrain
Use code THEFITFORK to save $10 on your first box (AND, if you sign up now, they will treat you to a free 4-pack of croissants with each and every box you have delivered for life – and these croissants ARE AMAZING, we fight over them at my house!!!)

Instant® Cold Brewer: Cold brew is the original pre-workout in my opinion. This makes a great holiday gift for food and fitness lovers. The new Instant® Cold Brewer lets you  skip the coffee shop line and make true cold brew at home, in under 20 minutes – no overnight waiting. Use your favorite ground coffee, and customize the brew strength to your preferences. Cold brewer also makes iced tea. Pitcher holds 32 oz for brewing, serving and storing, and is dishwasher safe for easy up. $99

WODBottom: They make fun and funky bootie shorts for workouts. The prints are always novel and SO clever . . . like these tasty snack-cake inspired “Santa Batch” bootie shorts you can get now when you sign up for the Shortie of the Month Club.  When you join, take $5 off your first month and free shipping with code JOINTODAY! Don’t worry, shorts (and fun tanks) available for non-club purchase too – always love their food inspired ones like tacos, pies, donuts and more. Also super cool, the ballsy and funny gym shorts are actually marketing for a bigger purpose – to raise funds for domestic abuse.

Lumen Metabolic Tracker : Any fit foodie looking to dial in their nutrition will love Lumen, a portable device designed to measure track and analyze your metabolism instantly and provided nutrition recommendations to help reach goals. It does this by measuring the CO2 in your breath.  I’ve been using my Lumen for 4 months now and it has helped me make better choices and when and what to eat to perform my best support my athlete lifestyle. It’s also a great tool to help you manage weight or become more aware of how various factors affect your overall health. Save $50 with code THEFITFORK

The Instant® 20-cup Multigrain Cooker:  Not just an ordinary rice cooker, it’s a low carb rice cooker (say what?!)  It offers 8-in-1 functionality and smart features to make rice and grain cooking simple. PLUS features breakthrough CarbReduce technology reduces carbs and sugar in rice up to 40% with a special steam basket that gets carb sugars to separate and drip away from rice while cooking. Of course, also all types of grains – quinoa, oats, you name it. This is one of the best gifts for gym freaks and meal preppers I’ve seen this year.

Organic Herbal Greek Mountan Tea (Spartan Tea):  In ancient times, Spartan warriors drank a refreshing tea that provided energy, healing, and restoration. The elixir’s name in Greek means “he who is made of iron”, and now this same tea is available to you and to gift to your friends – I mean, who wouldn’t want to drink this stuff! This makes a great holiday gift for runners, obstacle course races and others into wellness and recovery. I’m feeling powerful already! Aroo! Save 20% on all Spartan Nutrition products with code SAP-718613Z at Spartan.com

Save 20% on spartan race code: UBST24-TK88D27
save 20% at spartan.com code: SAP-718613Z

ZipTop Bags: Kind of like a plastic storage bowl and a zip lock baggie had a genetically superior baby, these ZipTop Containers are part genius food storage system and part eat-right-out-of bags. Love ZipTop so much for storing staples (like the Spartan Tea and grains), packing them for on the go gym snacks (one size even stands up perfectly in a car cup holder), prepping cut fruit and other ingredients – and even storing, freezing and reheating leftovers. One of the best gifts for meal preppers.

Snap-Corner Silicone Baking Mat (No Leak, Non Stick) From Grand Fusion: This is a pretty handy-dandy adjustable baking mat. Not only can you bake cookies on it that slide right off without spray, the corners fold up to create a leakproof tray that will contain juices as you cook. As a silicone baking tray, it’s perfect for oven-baking salmon, chicken breasts, veggies and such without having mess running all over the pan (like never use foil again!). Super easy clean up, oven-safe to 450F degrees and fits in half-sheet pan (about 11.8” x 15.75” snapped up). $14.99

Seriously Good Chili Cookbook: 177 of the Best Recipes in the World: This one is for the protein lovers!!! All the best chili recipes around (and, ohhh . . .did I mention that little ole me has a recipe featured — Beef Mushroom Quinoa Chili (pictured above), it’s a bona fide winner! This book is from Brian Baumgartner — remember him? He was Kevin on the hit series “The Office” and one of his most epic episodes was when he dropped that huge pot of chili all over the floor at the office party. Available in Hardcover Spiral and Kindle

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. I may earn a small commission on purchase made through links, however the price to you remains the same. Proceeds help offset the operating costs for The Fit Fork, thank you and happy holidays!!

Holiday Gift Guide (and Tips) for Mom and the Sporty Family

This post is sponsored by adidas. However, all comments, opinions and enthusiasm remain my own. Thank you for supporting companies that support The Fit Fork.

As the mom of three young adult males, wife to lifelong athlete and hardcore fitness fan myself, I can confidently call myself an expert on the gear needs and desires of a sporty family. First, there’s “needing” something essential for the playing of a particular sport – like shin guards, or a helmet or a running bra that fits just right. Other times (and probably more frequently), there’s the wishing of some epic new gear, like those buzz-worthy sneakers that just dropped, a jersey in support of a favorite team, or some fancy sunglasses.

holiday gifts from adidas - thefitfork.com

The holiday season is always a great time for me to gear up my family (and myself) with sports and fitness gifts. Whether we are training for and competing in our individual sports, or enjoying some fit family togetherness during off-season, vacation or a few found moments of free time, athletic gifts from adidas is a simple and stylish way to treat the squad -everyone is happy! Read for these mom-approved gifts for the sports and fitness fans in your family.

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{Slow Cooker} Salted Caramel Chocolate Crunch Holiday Gift Recipe

Slow Cooker Salted Caramel Chocolate Crunch - TheFitFork.com

I would be thrilled if you would head over to Love Grown Food’s Facebook and/or Pinterest page and vote for my holiday recipe creation (by “liking” or pinning) – {Slow Cooker} Salted Caramel Dark Chocolate Crunch! This scrumptious salty-sweet snack couldn’t be easier to make in the slow cooker . . . . yes, Crock Pot power! Just dump in everything but the chocolate and let it mingle and caramelize together while you tend to other holiday tasks like wrapping gifts, addressing cards and hauling out the holly. Chocolate chips are melted in at the end and then it just cools for a bit on parchment paper. By using Power O’s, a crunchy cereal made from a blend of beans that adds protein, I’m able to bring a little balance to this sweet snack mix.

If you don’t gobble up the entire recipe at once, this Salted Caramel Dark Chocolate Crunch makes a nice addition to any holiday party snack lineup or can be packaged up in jars with pretty ribbon for gift-giving.  Remember to go vote through the Facebook or Pinterest links, it’s really easy.  Thank you.

Slow Cooker Salted Caramel Chocolate Crunch - TheFitFork.com

Salted Caramel Dark Chocolate Crunch Recipe

  • 3/4 cup butter
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 4 cups “O’s” cereal like Cheerios or Love Grown Power O’s
  • 2 cups mini pretzels
  • 2 cups oyster crackers
  • 2 cups toasted almonds
  • 2 cups dark chocolate chips
  • 2 tablespoons coarse sea salt

1. Melt butter in a saucepan.
2. Stir in sugar and vanilla until well blended.
3. In a large slow cooker, combine cereal, pretzels, almonds and crackers. Pour in melted butter mixture and stir to coat.
4. Cook on high for 2-3 hours with the LID OFF, stirring occasionally. Mixture will be done when sugar caramelizes to create a glaze over ingredients. Please keep an eye on ingredients, as slow  cooker temperatures can vary from model to model or with age of the appliance.
5. Turn heat to low and stir in chocolate chips. Put lid on slow cooker and let chocolate soften for about 5 minutes.
6. Remove lid and stir mixture to distribute melted chocolate. Do not continue to slow cook after chocolate has melted.
7. Spread mixture on parchment paper and immediately sprinkle with coarse sea salt. After mixture has cooled and hardened, store in an airtight container.

Makes about 10 to 12 cups.