Our best and brightest ideas for you to give and get.

FOR THE GOURMET:

One of the most impactful and memorable parts of experiencing a new country or region is the culture you discover within its food. Taste and smell have powerful association with memory, and flavors and aromas can really bring you back to wherever you discovered them. Delicious & Sons has captured the essence of Mediterranean cuisine in their line of organic sauces, dips, and glazes, and wants to share those flavors with the world, whether you’re looking for a new taste memory or want to relive your favorite sunny vacation. Delicious & Sons is a family of natural, organic, non-GMO products with an attractive design and are very easy-to-use. They are easy to incorporate into a healthy lifestyle and are available to everyone.

Delicious & Sons sources all of their ingredients at origin from Italy & Spain, giving Americans the opportunity to experience the best offerings from the Mediterranean region at affordable prices, shipped right to their homes. Ricky & Monica, the husband and wife team behind the brand, want to everyone to be able to enjoy the rich flavors grown in their region, and continue to normalize healthy, clean, and adventurous eating.

If you’re looking to feature ways to experience culture alternative to jumping on a plane, try Delicious & Sons who easily provide travel through taste, it’s pure Mediterranean cuisine from a jar. Only the best ingredients are used to create the most exquisite products. Our favorites are Ggarlic Aioli with Basil & Lemon, Porcini Mushroom Spread, Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto Rosso, and Basil Pesto Genovese.

Their spreads start with natural, organic vegetables and go on to become the star ingredients in salads, pasta dishes, or sandwiches. Their small range of Italian truffle products adds a touch of elegance to any plate. Their unique, egg-free aiolis with saffron and orange, or lemon and basil elevate each and every bite. Their balsamic glazes will liven up any dish. Pasta sauces transport you to sunny Italy. And their pestos enthrall just by opening the jar. Visit hello@deliciousandsons.com

Skinny Pasta, the makers of Konjac-based pasta alternatives, has made its U.S. debut and is also available and popular in countries around the globe. Consumers will love this because Skinny Pasta is completely free of sugar, wheat, lactose, soy, salt, cholesterol, fat and preservatives. Its main ingredient, the Konjac plant, is native to Southeast Asia and contains Glucomannan, a dietary fiber. This makes you feel full with less food and provides a nice bit of fiber in the process.

Skinny Pasta is a great option for Weight Watchers’ members and all health and diet-aware consumers who are looking for a healthier pasta option but seek great taste. Skinny Pasta has nine calories per serving and has zero Weight Watcher SmartPoints value per serving versus traditional pasta which has around 200 calories per serving and five SmartPoints.

For the first time in the U.S., this ancient Japanese plant is available nationwide in Skinny Pasta, which harvests Konjac roots to create noodles of numerous shapes perfect for pasta dishes, salads, soups, or snacks. Available in a variety of forms, including a traditional noodle shape, couscous, spaghetti, lasagna, fettuccini, and rice, Skinny Pasta is perfect for your favorite staples like soups, salads, and stews as well as a side dishes for meals and family favorite recipes. Skinny Pasta is great for vegetarians, vegans and those who follow a gluten free diet, as well as pasta lovers looking for a “suitable” alternative. Best of all, every shape is ready to eat within 1-3 minutes, cooking briefly in your microwave. Some great recipes can be found at skinnypastausa.com including Skinny Cannelloni and Cheese; Baked Skinny Pasta Mac & Cheese; Skinny Pasta Pad Thai with Vegetables and many more. Weight Watchers has identified Skinny Pasta as a great option for those looking to balance their daily SmartPoints budget and/or looking for a healthier option, while still maximizing taste in their dishes. The Weight Watchers SmartPoints plan, is part of the company’s Beyond the Scale program, that takes the information provided on the nutrition facts label for calories, sat fat, sugar and protein and converts it into one simple number.

BOOKS MAKE THE GREATEST GIFTS

HAVANA LIVING TODAY by Hermes Mallea published by the outstanding house of Rizzoli is a study in Cuban home style now, both stylish homes that survived the Cuban Revolution as well as innovative Havana interiors created in recent years amid the beginning of a new era and lifestyle. Hermes, who was born in Cuba, returned to his native country to document the homes that survived the Cuban revolution and showcase these innovative Havana interiors.

Far from the cliché images of dilapidated palazzos and 1950s-era cars, HAVANA LIVING TODAY presents a vibrant, creative, and forward-looking city through the lens of an eclectic collection of domestic interiors. Recent changes in Cuba—such as the easing of restrictions on travel and commercial real estate enterprises—have led to a flurry of world-class renovations, giving rise to a palpable hopefulness in the Cuban capital and innovative interiors for a tropical lifestyle.

This is an insider’s view of the styles present in this revitalizing city, taking the reader into the elegant, eccentric, sophisticated, and classical melange of the city’s finest and most fascinating interiors, the first book of its kind to counter long-held preconceptions about how people live in Havana, presenting a vision of the city that international visitors have rarely seen until now, offering fresh inspiration to design aficionados and homeowners in warm climes.