Here, we've found some of the best foodie-focused gifts around. The best part: Most of them are made right here in South Florida, so you can support local too.
The BroBasket... for that bro in your life.
The BroBasket started with a simple idea: If a guy can send flowers to a girl, what can she send to a guy? What began as a class project at California State University ended with a few obvious answers — like, say, a cold bucket full of beer. Today, the concept has become a real business, baskets designed to be the perfect gift for any type of guy, delivered straight to his door. Each basket is mainly food- and drink-focused, ranging from the "Gym Rat," a healthy selection of canned tuna, protein bars, beef jerky, and packs of whey protein powder to the "Hop Head," packed with four bottles of California-brewed IPAs, a pint glass, flavored popcorn, hazelnut chocolates, and bottle opener. Visit thebrobasket.com.
My Organic Juice Bone Broth… for that health nut in your life.
It might not sound very appetizing, but any health-loving, on-trend foodie will know what bone broth is. To put it simply, it's just a fancy word for an intense, protein-rich soup stock made with any animal bones — beef, chicken, or whatever — that you roast and simmer with vegetables for up to 48 hours. It's not exactly a new food (grandmothers have been making it for ages), but those who swear by it say the vitamins and minerals you get from the broken-down bones have powerful healing properties that can help do everything from alleviating joint and gut pain to boosting your immune system and even brightening skin and making your hair shiny. It's also a conscious way of eating, following that nose-to-tail philosophy of using the whole animal (including the bones). Now you can get an all-organic, locally made bone broth with the 48-hour bone broth from Boca Raton-based My Organic Juice that uses grass-fed bison marrow, apple cider vinegar, filtered water, and red sea salt. Visit myorganicjuice.com.
A bottle of locally made rum… for that guy (dad, brother-in-law, uncle) in your life.
This year, two local distillers came onto the craft spirits scene in South Florida, each specializing in rum: Ben Etheridge, creator of Black Coral Rum in Riviera Beach, and South Florida Distillers in Fort Lauderdale. Since launching in Broward County one year ago, South Florida Distillers founders Avi
Bone Lee's Original Gourmet Hot Sauce… for that grilling fiend in your life.
Wanted: One really good hot sauce to finally end your search for the perfect meat marinade and condiment. Found: Wilton Manors-based Bone Lee's Original Gourmet Hot Sauce, a South Florida product that's handcrafted in small batches using a blend of cayenne pepper and "country" spices inspired by Georgia's
A juice
Moms are great at making everyone else food, but when it comes to her own needs, it's not always so easy. Does she spend every December talking about getting back into yoga and kicking off the new year with a juice cleanse but then never manages to get around to it? Don't buy her a Vitamix she'll never use. Buy her the juice
A subscription to
Hand-dipped lavender almonds made using a 150-year-old Macedonian recipe. Artisan-crafted vanilla marshmallow from Arizona. Wild harvested teas with flavors like Douglas fir tips. You won't be able to find any of these products at your local farmers' market, grocer, Trader Joe's, or Whole Foods — but you can have them delivered straight to your front door. It's all thanks to husband-and-wife team Anne and Seraphim Danckaert, owners of the Fort Lauderdale-based artisan food delivery service
A week of DeliverLean… for that picky teenager who can barely work a microwave.
Teenagers are pretty much always hungry. Rather than watch them live off pizza, fast food, and Chipotle, we suggest getting them a more nutritious option — one that doesn't even involve leaving the house. Oakland Park-based DeliverLean is one of South Florida's premier delivery meal services, a variety of portioned, calorie-controlled meals that are dropped off to customers' homes or offices as required. The meals combine plant-based proteins with fruits, veggies, and complex carbs that have been designed by DeliverLean's executive chefs. Not only is it
A growler of fresh kombucha… for that raw foodie in your life.
Sure, fermented black tea might not sound too appetizing to most, but to the raw foodies out there, kombucha is a refreshing naturally carbonated beverage chock-full of b-vitamins, enzymes, probiotics, and a high concentration of acid that claims to help with everything from weight loss and improved digestion to immune support and joint pain. In Palm Beach County, One Kombucha owner Danny Mancini produces a rotating list of flavors at his Palm Beach Gardens-based kombucha brewery, where patrons can go to get growler fills or purchase bottles of kombucha in flavors like grape, passionfruit, and — for the holiday season — apple spice. In Broward County, you can find another local kombucha maker making equally funky stuff (a top seller is the starfruit hibiscus) thanks to Fort Lauderdale-based
Nicole Danna is a food writer covering Broward and Palm Beach counties. To get the latest in food and drink news in South Florida, follow her @SoFloNicole or find her latest food pics on the BPB New Times Food & Drink Instagram.