Stuck on an idea for a Christmas gift? Give the gift of healthy living. Here are a few of my favorite ideas:

1. Polar Heart Rate Monitor. This simple gadget is great for working out and making sure you make your workouts worth it. It usually costs about $100 and can be found at any major sports store or possibly at your gym.

2. Subscription to a Health magazine. Giving the gift of fitness/nutrition knowledge is great because it keeps giving all year. I love getting magazines and look forward to everything they have to offer each month. A few of my favorite choices are: Health, Fitness, Women’s Health, Clean Eating, Cooking Light and Martha Stewart’s Living. I also make sure Brady gets Men’s Health.

3. Simple exercise equipment. Give a friend who has been trying to get in shape a simple piece of equipment to add to her collection. A kettle ball, a set of light dumbells, a yoga mat or an exercise band are all good and inexpensive choices.

4. A healthy cookbook. I have a HUGE obsession with cookbooks and have a few on my list this year. Think about the type of person you are buying for and get them a book that fits their style – quick healthy meals, vegan recipes, feeding the family on a budget, or crockpot favorites. What ever their style, make it personal. Some of my favorites are Moosewood Low-fat Vegetarian Cookbook, Tosca Reno’s Clean Eating, Ellie Krieger, Eat Drink and Be Vegan and Cooking Light’s Annual recipes.

5. A personal training session. If you know someone who is trying to get in better shape get them a session with a personal trainer. By giving them an hour or a few half hour sessions you could help them to get motivated and on the right track with fitness. If you can, join them during the session! Usually it is cheaper to train with more than one person and it will be more fun! Plus, you can keep working out together when you are done with the training sessions.

I will be back with more Christmas ideas coming your way! Do you have any ideas for me to add to the list? Let me know, I would love to hear from you!

🙂