Podcast Episode #324: Healthy Holiday Gift Guide with Cassy Joy

Topics

1. News and updates from Diane [1:31]
2. Introducing guest co-host, Cassy Joy [3:35]
3. Holiday faves: Food [8:28]
4. Holiday plans and traditions [14:51]
5. Holiday gift ideas: Books [22:41]
6. Holiday gift ideas: Beauty and self-care [28:35]
7. Holiday gift ideas: Food [33:22]
8. Holiday gift ideas: Gadgets [39:08]
9. Holiday gift ideas: Stocking stuffers [44:17]
10. Holiday gift ideas: Hostess gifts [50:34]
11. Closing thoughts on holiday mindset [54:48]

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You’re listening to the Balanced Bites podcast episode 324.

Diane Sanfilippo: Welcome to the Balanced Bites podcast. I’m Diane; a certified nutrition consultant, and the New York Times bestselling author of Practical Paleo and the soon to be released 21-Day Sugar Detox Daily Guide. I live in San Francisco with my husband and fur kids.

I’m the co-creator of the Balanced Bites Master Class, with my podcast partner in crime, Liz. And we’ve been bringing you this award-winning podcast for more than 6 years. We’re here to share our take on modern paleo living, answer your questions, and chat with leading health and wellness experts. Enjoy this week’s episode, and submit your questions at http://blog.balancedbites.com or watch the Balanced Bites podcast Instagram account for our weekly calls for questions. You can ask us anything in the comments.

Remember our disclaimer: The materials and content within this podcast are intended as general information only, and are not to be considered a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Before we get started, let’s hear from one of our sponsors.

Diane Sanfilippo: Today’s podcast is sponsored by Vital Choice seafood and organics. Purveyor of premium sustainably sourced seafood and a certified B corporation. Vital choice offers a wide range of fish, shellfish, humanely raised meat, protein rich bone broths, and paleo friendly snacks like organic dark chocolate, super antioxidant trail mix, and bison jerky. My favorites from Vital Choice are the king salmon and the scallops. And Liz’s favorites are the salmon and the tanner crab. www.vitalchoice.com is your source for real food.

1. News and updates from Diane [1:31]

Diane Sanfilippo: Alright, I’m going to give you guys a couple of quick updates from me before I dive into my conversation with my good friend, and special guest today, Cassy Joy Garcia.

Alright you guys. Right now, my book should be off to print. According to when this episode is airing, and if you follow me on Instagram you will know when that day comes. It’s kind of like; well, like my friend Cassy here, who will have a baby at some point here in the next couple of months. Everyone will know when the baby is born; people don’t need to ask every day leading up to it. Everyone will know. That’s kind of how I feel when people are like; did the book go to print yet? You will know, trust me.

But I’m trying to keep you guys updates on all of the book tour stuff. All the cities that are finalized. So if you just head over to www.21DaySugarDetox.com/tour. You will see all of the upcoming tour stops. And I’m super excited about that. I absolutely love coming to meet you guys. I have stops all over the country, honestly. I’ve listed them out on other episodes, and I’ll continue to list them out. But today, I’m going to keep it a little brief so I can get over to my chat with my friend a little quicker here.

And a couple of other just quick notes about the new book. There are some preorder goodies, so if you haven’t seen me talking about this, you can get my Practical Paleo Holiday eBook, which is great for your Christmas meals or any holiday parties you have coming up. And Diane’s Salad Madness, which is another fantastic eBook. Over 100, I think, different salad ideas and inspiration. And like 20 salad dressing recipes, or something like that. So tons of freebies that basically are worth what that book costs, anyway. So you may as well get in on that preorder.

We’re also offering a special; either coupon code for the online program. Or if you already own the online program, I’m giving you some free calls with me in the month of January. So the people who are already in the online program can get in on some of those group calls. But if you're not already in the program, check out the preorder. You’ll get a little discount.

2. Introducing guest co-host, Cassy Joy [3:35]

Diane Sanfilippo: Alright you guys, I’m super excited. And I get to look at her smiling face! My friend, Cassy Joy, of Fed and Fit is back on the show. What’s up girl!

Cassy Joy: Hi!

Diane Sanfilippo: I feel like, I like that you're kind of like a regular guest cohost. It’s fun.

Cassy Joy: {laughs} I love it. It’s my favorite part of my job. {laughs}

Diane Sanfilippo: {laughs} I really feel like it’s; I don’t know. Our listeners obviously know you, from whether it’s your podcast, or Instagram or whatever. I think it’s really fun to have a set guest cohost. I’m just signing you up. You’re the guest cohost, whenever I need one. Come join me!

Cassy Joy: Do I get to be the Alec Baldwin of the Balanced Bites podcast? {laughs}

Diane Sanfilippo: Totally!

Cassy Joy: Yes! {laughs}

Diane Sanfilippo: He’s on SNL whenever they feel like it, basically.

Cassy Joy: Yeah. Whenever someone cancels. {laughing}

Diane Sanfilippo: {laughing} He’s like; I live around the corner. I’ll be right there. Well, if you guys want to hear more episodes with Cassy Joy, and I think that you should, we have three past episodes. Episode 250, 279, 281. I think you were helping us out a bunch, there, for a couple of weeks in a row, it sounds like.

I know that you did some episodes with Liz, too. So that’s really fun. But also, you guys, Cassy has her own podcast. Do you want to tell them about your podcast real quick?

Cassy Joy: Yeah! So the Fed and Fit podcast. It’s a weekly, 30-minute, pretty mindset focused show. We jive into some geeky nutrition science every once in a while, bring on some cool guests. But it airs every Monday. And you can find the show notes over at www.FedandFit.com.

Diane Sanfilippo: Yay. And I was a guest several months ago. Maybe it was like a year ago, when we were on tour. We recorded an episode in the back of an Uber, or a Lyft, or something about travel tips. Right? And it was very apropos, to be recording in the back of that car.

Cassy Joy: {laughs} It was. Oh man, we got by, by the skin of my teeth. {laughs}

Diane Sanfilippo: It was awesome.

Cassy Joy: it was awesome.

Diane Sanfilippo: What’s new in the world of Fed and Fit that folks should maybe know about?

Cassy Joy: Oh gosh. So we have; well baby girl is due on January 13th. So those of you who have been following for a while have probably seen a slight shift in content. It’s definitely not becoming a mommy blog. But I’ve been getting lots of requests for real-life accounts for how things have been going. So there’s a lot of that on the blog. I’ll be sharing baby registry stuff. I feel like I have a PhD in baby safety now. Oh my gosh, Diane! {laughs}

Diane Sanfilippo: {laughs} Whether you wanted it or not.

Cassy Joy: I didn’t want it. {laughing} I didn’t. So, there’s a lot of that stuff going on. And we’re working ahead to build a really good backlog. There’s this funny thing that happens when you plan ahead; right? Because I wanted to build at least a three-month maternity leave just in case {laughs}. You know, you never know what you need. And gosh darn it, the content just gets better and better if you plan ahead. I need to remember this lesson. But, I’m excited. 2018 is going to be great. I’m really excited about what’s coming to the blog. And specifically, January. But lots of holiday stuff coming around. I’m sure I’m missing something big.

Diane Sanfilippo: They can come listen to your podcast and hear some updates on what’s going on.

Cassy Joy: Perfect. I like that. Yeah. Go there. {laughing} But yeah, that’s about it. Baby’s growing. Belly’s growing. Diane, earlier; she was like; do you hear that knocking noise? I’m like, oh that’s my belly. {laughing}

Diane Sanfilippo: Bumping into the desk {laughs}. I’m like, you're going to need to stop that while we record.

Cassy Joy: Oh yeah. But things are great.

Liz Wolfe: This episode of the Balanced Bites podcast is sponsored by Primally Pure Skincare. Primally Pure makes skincare products that are truly natural and nontoxic. Using ingredients like tallow from grass-fed cows; organic and fair trade coconut oil, and organic essential oils. In addition to being safe to use, their products also provide users with real, noticeable results. At www.primallypure.com, you’ll find their bestselling natural deodorant that actually works; face mists made from locally sourced and organic hydrosols, and their newest product, Nature Spray, an all-natural insect repellant.

You’ll also find Diane’s favorite Primally Pure product, dry shampoo, and my favorite, the Everything Spray. As a special bonus for you, Primally Pure is offering a free lip balm with your first purchase of one item or more. Simply add a lip balm to your cart along with any one item, and use the code “balancedbites” during checkout to receive one of their lip balms for free with your order. Head to www.primallypure.com and check out their range of safe and effective all natural skincare products.

3. Holiday faves: Food [8:28]

Diane Sanfilippo: Alright. Let’s talk a little bit about just some holiday stuff. Because it’s the holiday season. And I know you’ve been posting and working on tons of holiday recipes. I have tons of holiday recipes. Some that are on the blog already. Some that are in my eBook. But let’s talk about favorite holiday foods. What are some of your favorites? Let’s go savory first, and then we’ll talk about sweet.

Cassy Joy: I love this. One of my favorite holiday foods; I mean, I’ve got to go classic. Green bean casserole. It’s so good. I love it.

Diane Sanfilippo: Do you have a recipe on your blog for that?

Cassy Joy: I do. {laughs} I do, yeah. And I gave it a facelift in the Holiday Feast eBook, which is not currently available for download. We’re saving it for a special giveaway, so stay tuned. But yeah. It’s just always so yummy. It’s really great. Especially if you find a way to make those crispy onions that go on top.

Diane Sanfilippo: Yeah. I think I did; I don’t know why in the heck I did a recipe for that in one of my sugar detox books. I must have been working on recipes around the holidays. Or I think I had my cream of mushroom soup, which I absolutely love, that’s in the 21-Day Sugar Detox. It’s one of the original books; I think it’s in the first one. And I made a green bean casserole with that. I was like; do I even know how to make a casserole? We’ve had this discussion a few times. {laughs} So I was like, what is a casserole? I don’t know what I’m doing.

But I think I did some crispy shallots, or something. Gosh, I can’t even remember what I did. But yeah, super delish. I think my favorite is stuffing. I think for me, stuffing is the thing that kind of gets all the flavors together. And traditionally, the one I’ve been doing year after year is a sausage stuffing. Or dressing, as some may call it. I don’t actually stuff it in the bird. And it is on the blog. It’s also in that Practical Paleo Holiday eBook. But the reason I love it is it has all those flavors. It has the sage, and the whole turkey flavor situation. You know, the onions and carrots and celery. And then I also use cranberries in it, and they cook until they pop basically. So you get this savory and sweet. I just love it.

And I actually love it because it’s great as leftovers. This recipe uses chestnuts, so it kind of gives it a little bit of that starchiness that you would normally get from bread, and it’s a totally paleo recipe. But I absolutely love; when I say absolutely, I feel like Tyler Florence. It’s absolutely fantastic. {laughs} This could be our delicious dish episode. But when he; he says fantastic a lot. But it’s really fantastic the next day in a frittata. So I take the leftover sausage based stuffing, if you have any sweet potatoes or butternut squash. And get that all mixed into a frittata the next day; oh it’s so good. And it’s so good with gravy on it. Love. It’s like super favorite.

What about sweet? What’s one of your favorite sweets? Are you a pumpkin pie girl?

Cassy Joy: I’m not. Is that terrible?

Diane Sanfilippo: No. I mean, it is what it is.

Cassy Joy: {laughs} I’ve made a couple of recipes that I’ve really liked, but I don’t like traditional pumpkin pie. I don’t mean to throw this giant company under the bus, but you know like a Costco pumpkin pie. It has zero appeal to me.

Diane Sanfilippo: Yeah.

Cassy Joy: And those tend to show up at a lot of family gatherings. But I would say I’m an apple pie girl. I love it. With the crumble topping. That’s my favorite.

Diane Sanfilippo: I’m for sure a pie girl. Like, pie over cake any day. And I love apple pie, totally. And we pretty much always do an apple, because Scott is a big apple pie guy. He is not a pumpkin guy. He’s like; no squash belongs in the house ever. {laughs} Although I kind of make him eat it in different forms pretty much all the time. But pumpkin pie sounds like the worst idea ever to him. He’s listening; hi honey!

Cassy Joy: {laughs}

Diane Sanfilippo: {laughs} He’ll be editing this whole show. Hopefully not cutting out the part where I throw his hate for pumpkin out there. But we definitely do apple pie also. I love it. I also love for Christmas time; I love a flourless chocolate cake. I think it’s great anytime, but because you know, we try to keep things like decadent desserts really to holidays. A flourless chocolate cake.

There’s a recipe in Mediterranean Paleo Cooking. There’s actually, the flourless chocolate brownies in Practical Paleo could be made into a cake. It’s pretty much a flourless cake recipe that I decided to make into brownies. And then there’s also one for a peppermint version in Practical Paleo Holiday that I also took those honey mints that you can get at Trader Joe’s. Or Heavenly Organics sells some. And I chopped them up and put them on top. I’m super into the chocolate mint stuff.

Cassy Joy: Oh my gosh, that sounds awesome.

Diane Sanfilippo: {laughs} Is Cricket like; yup, give me some of that! Kick, kick.

Cassy Joy: She thinks that sounds amazing. We made it through the end of today with a couple of Trader Joe’s little snacks so I’m with you. Have you ever had sticky toffee pudding?

Diane Sanfilippo: Hmm. I don’t think so. I think by the time I was with it enough to maybe know what it was, I was maybe gluten free, but didn’t know how to do it gluten free. Right; it’s like a bread pudding kind of deal?

Cassy Joy: Yeah. Well the way that I’ve made it, it’s like a cake and then you have kind of this caramel buttery sauce that goes on it.

Diane Sanfilippo: Oh yeah, that sounds good.

Cassy Joy: And then whipped cream. My mouth is watering.

Diane Sanfilippo: You're like, talk to me. {laughs}

Cassy Joy: It is this gooey, caramel-y, delicious cake. And we made one for the holiday feast. And I think it actually might be on the blog. I think we might have published it last year. It is so good. I would take that over cookies or anything.

Diane Sanfilippo: That sounds good. That’s pretty much how, if I’m going to do cake, it’s like wait. Just break the cake apart and then pour some caramel on it. I could totally get into that. That sounds really good. I will be right over. {laughs}

Cassy Joy: {laughs}

4. Holiday plans and traditions [14:51]

Diane Sanfilippo: So what are you guys doing for the holidays? Are you guys going to be with your parents, where are you guys going to be?

Cassy Joy: Yeah. We’re one of those families that splits our time. We manage to synchronize our watches. So we do Thanksgiving and Christmas and alternate. So we’ll be in San Angelo, where Austin is from, for Thanksgiving. And there will be baby lambs and baby goats. My in-laws call it granddaughter bait. {laughs} They always have baby lambs and baby goats. And so that will be a lot of fun. And then Christmas will be here in San Antonio, just because who knows when the next addition of the family will want to pop out. {laughing} Sounds terrifying. So yeah, we’ll be here. I’ll be propped up on a couch. Knocking into things with my big belly.

Diane Sanfilippo: I love it. I love it. We’re definitely going to be home. And hanging out in the city during holidays is so great, because it’s so quiet. It’s like, it’s kind of eerie but also totally awesome. So I’m really looking forward to that. I love that the streets get a little bit emptier. There’s more street parking if anyone is hanging around. Or we might have friends come over. We might actually have a couple of friends come over. We’ve done it before, we’ve kind of had a friends-giving kind of deal. And just have folks who are not traveling on the holidays.

But my parents are coming here, actually. So by the time this airs, they will already have been here. But they’re coming in actually tomorrow for just a few short nights to hang out with us here in the new house. So this will be kind of our Thanksgiving family time, so that will be nice.

Diane Sanfilippo: What traditions do you guys have with your family? Are there any either ways that you guys decide who all is going to cook things, or someone decorates? Or are there gift-giving traditions or any of that with you guys?

Cassy Joy: Traditions for; there’s more traditions around Christmas time, you know, is what we celebrate mostly. And around gift giving season, when you have adult children; we all got to this point where we just didn’t want to keep gifting everybody something. And so we do a big secret Santa draw, and that’s become a lot of fun between all the adult kids. So that’s a lot of fun. That’s one of our traditions.

And then, I don’t know. We started something last year; we keep joking with my mom that we’re going to make it a tradition. {laughs} We showed up at her house the day she decorated her tree with this big box, and we put it under her tree. And we had her open it, and there was a puppy in it. {laughs}

Diane Sanfilippo: I remember that.

Cassy Joy: And so we were like; oh, where’s the puppy box? Who gets the puppy box this year? {laughs}

Diane Sanfilippo: I would not put it past your family to gift somebody a puppy every year. I feel like that would definitely happen. You guys have a lot of animals over there.

Cassy Joy: We do have a lot of animals. One of my favorite traditions, though, that my mom and dad do. They have an architectural engineering company that they run. And it’s kind of extended past just their employees now. But they one year went to Costco in February; whenever it was Costco was really marking down all of their holiday decorations. And they bought all of the biggest, tackiest, blowup things you could find. And the next year, they elfed, is what they call it, the yard of somebody random.

Diane Sanfilippo: Oh my gosh.

Cassy Joy: And so it’s usually…

Diane Sanfilippo: It’s like TPing, but Christmas-ifying.

Cassy Joy: Yes! They go to their yard, and they set up all of these big blow up, glittery, shiny things. Usually on the 23rd. And they do it at nighttime, so when they come back from dinner, or whenever they’re away, they get to drive up and see this wonderland. {laughs} It’s so funny.

Diane Sanfilippo: I kind of love that. I kind of want to do that one day when Scott’s not here. Just make it into a winter wonderland. Just cut snowflakes out of paper {laughs} and hang them everywhere.

Cassy Joy: I love it. You’ve been elfed! {laughs}

Diane Sanfilippo: That would be amazing. You’ve been elfed. That’s awesome. I love it.

Cassy Joy: How about you?

Diane Sanfilippo: I feel like, sort of like post holiday into New Year’s tradition, the past, I don’t know if it was last year too. I feel like a couple of years, Scott and I were actually away and on vacation for New Years. And that was super fun, because we’re not really big, let’s go out and party or be at a bar or anything like that people. But when we weren’t home, it was like this extra little celebration. So that’s definitely been a tradition.

But this year, I’ll be starting my book tour the next day, on January 2nd. So I think this year, it’s just going to be about kind of lying low. Things have been really in transition between my parents going; they’re snowbirds now. So for anyone from the Northeast who maybe uses that term. They head south for the winter. And they’ll be in Florida for several months.

So it does kind of disrupt some of the old traditions that we did have. So it’s kind of like creating the new normal. I think part of it is that they’ll probably continue to come here for a visit before that, and that will probably be a new tradition. My sister lives in London, so getting everyone together is definitely not easy and doesn’t always happen. So I think that will probably be a new tradition. And then next year, maybe we’ll plan a trip.

But then another, for me, because it’s a winter tradition. It feels a little bit holiday-ish. Because I try and wear all of my sweaters in the span of four or five days. But I’ll be up in Salt Lake City and then in Park City for the Sundance Film Festival. And that’s definitely a really fun winter tradition for me. Because I’m not otherwise a winter person, which is why I live in San Francisco. I like fall and spring; decidedly. But for a few days a year, I’ll bear the cold. Bring out my long North Face coat, and what are they, sorrel? How do you say the name of it? You know fashion.

Cassy Joy: Sorrells?

Diane Sanfilippo: Sorrells. I have some Sorrell boots. I wanted the boots with the fur, but they were sold out the year that I wanted to get them. So I see them and I’m sad that I don’t have the boots with the fur. Mostly because of the song.

Cassy Joy: {laughs}

Diane Sanfilippo: But yeah, those are some traditions for me, and they’re definitely a little more wintery than specifically holiday. But we definitely hit that point at some time, maybe several years ago, about the whole not gifts for everyone. Just as adults, we value the quality time over anything. And for sure, we love cooking meals, and being home, and eating and doing all of that together. So yeah, maybe the friends-giving thing is more like; friends-giving or friends-Christmas. If people want to come over for Christmas and have that little tradition.

Cassy Joy: That’s sweet.

Liz Wolfe: The Balanced Bites podcast is sponsored in part by the Nutritional Therapy Association. The NTA trains and certifies nutritional therapy practitioners and consultants (including me; I’m an NTP), emphasizing bio-individuality and the range of dietary strategies that support wellness. The NTA emphasizes local, whole, properly prepared nutrient dense foods as the key to restoring balance and enhancing the body’s ability to heal. Nutritional therapy practitioners and consultants learn a wide range of tools and techniques to assess and correct nutritional imbalances. To learn lots more about the nutritional therapy program, go to http://www.NutritionalTherapy.com. There are workshop venues in the US, Canada, and Australia, so chances are you’ll be able to find a venue that works for you.

5. Holiday gift ideas: Books [22:41]

Diane Sanfilippo: Alright. So we are going to talk about some gift ideas. We’ve got a handful of categories, because obviously we’ve got lots of different things we can talk about. So maybe we’ll throw out a handful of books, and maybe these are books that people can purchase in print. Or maybe there’s some audio books. Because I know Cassy and I both love audio books. And I’m pretty sure there’s a way to either gift them, or maybe do like an Audible gift card or something like that. If you listen to podcasts, you probably would love audiobooks. So keep it in mind, especially if it’s what I call a reading book. {laughs} You obviously wouldn’t buy a cookbook on Audible. They’re not on Audible.

Let’s give a shout out quickly to our friend Michelle Tam, of Nom Nom Paleo. If you guys don’t already have her newest cookbook, Nom Nom Paleo, Ready or Not, it’s definitely awesome. Her books are always extremely thought out. The whole family gets involved. Her husband helps to design it, and they’re just really engaging, amazing books. So if you're looking for a paleo cookbook and you want something new that you know will be super reliable and delicious, definitely check out Ready or Not from Nom Nom Paleo. It’s the one with the bright yellow cover.

What’s one from you?

Cassy Joy: Oh, can I steal one of yours? {laughing}

Diane Sanfilippo: You can steal you. {laughs}

Cassy Joy: Oh man. Well because this one is actually on my list, is the new book by Brené Brown, Braving the Wilderness. And I’m really excited about it. I started doing reading lists on my blog; really, I was thinking audio listen lists. But I called it a reading list to be more social acceptable. And this is one of them. I’m really excited about this book.

Diane Sanfilippo: Have you started it yet? I started listening to it. Her voice is very soothing to me.

Cassy Joy: Is it? I haven’t started it yet. I’m on Slaughterhouse 5 right now. But {laughs} you can; did you know one of the coolest things about Audible, actually. I’m in no way affiliate other than I just give them lots of money. One of the cool things about Audible is when you finish a book on Audible through your app, you can gift it to one person.

Diane Sanfilippo: I was not aware of that.

Cassy Joy: Yeah, you have to rate the book. So let’s say you finish reading…

Diane Sanfilippo: Ooh! This is such a good tip, Cassy!

Cassy Joy: Ooh, yes!

Diane Sanfilippo: I love it.

Cassy Joy: Yes. I love it. So after you finish listening to Braving the Wilderness, by Brené Brown, you have to go through and rate it. Don’t just click out of that. When you go through and score the performance, and the story, and the overall. And then it gives you a little pop up, and it says you can gift this book to one person. And you choose the person, and it gives you a link, and you can put it into a text message. And they can only receive a gifted book once, but it’s been really cool. Whenever you finish a book; at least I do. I always think; “Gosh. So-and-so would have loved this book.”

Diane Sanfilippo: That is awesome.

Cassy Joy: So that’s a really cool way to gift it.

Diane Sanfilippo: I love that. I love that. Yeah, I started listening to it, but I mistakenly started listening to it at bedtime, which then I don’t know when I fell asleep or what she was talking about. Because I like to listen to books as I’m falling asleep. Or if I can’t fall back to sleep, if I wake up early for some reason. And her voice is super soothing. So once I finish it, I think her book will be on the list of ones that I go back to to relisten to at night.

But one that I listen to a lot is What I Know for Sure. Jeeze, I don’t even know if I know the title for sure. I listen to Oprah’s book; I’m pretty sure it’s called What I Know for Sure. And I just; that one is, I don’t know. It’s just life lesson after life lesson. And she’s got a new book, The Wisdom of Sundays. I haven’t checked, I’m assuming it’s available on Audible. Although, it’s quotes from all different people, so I’m not 100% sure. But I would assume she has put that on Audible as well. Which, again, I’m just a super fan of her voice. And I’ve noticed that she and Brené both have sort of deeper voices, so now I’m like; oh, I should probably lower my voice. {laughs} So it can be more soothing for other people.

Cassy Joy: {laughs}

Diane Sanfilippo: So those are some good ones. Of course, it wouldn’t be a favorite books list if I didn’t mention my own brand new book, the 21-Day Sugar Detox Daily Guide, for those of you who are interested. If you have done the 21-Day Sugar Detox before, I think you're going to love it. If you’ve never done it. If you're curious about it. Even if you only want a 21-day meal plan that’s super, super done for you, and sugar free. I honestly have to say this; it’s my program. But if you were like; I'm going to do this program but I’m going to use this as my 80-90% guideline. Like, no you won’t be doing the 21-Day Sugar Detox, but if you already eat pretty healthfully and you just kind of want that as your reset, and you can kind of just deal with it; it’s a done for you meal plan. I think you guys are going to love it. Really help you out. And if you don’t follow meal plans, you can still use tons of recipes in it. I think you’ll also love those. So you can totally check that out.

And I think that will be it for book recommendations. Anything else just hanging out there for you on books, or is that pretty much it?

Cassy Joy: No, I think that covers it. The only other one that I love to gift people if I’m always at a loss; “What can I give this person?” Is the book, a lot of folks have read it. But the Alchemist, have you come across that one? It’s a short little read, it’s a short listen, it’s like 4 hours. But that’s always a fun one to gift people. And that’s one of those, if you give it to them and they already have a copy they can give it to somebody else. But it’s just such a fun little reflective read.

6. Holiday gift ideas: Beauty and self-care [28:35]

Diane Sanfilippo: Love it. Alright, so for beauty and self-care, obviously we’ve got some jointly loved brands that we always talk about. First I’ll mention Primally Pure, who is one of our podcast sponsors who we absolutely love. I know you're a huge Primally Pure fan. What are some of your favorites that you use, and some favorites that you love to gift?

Cassy Joy: Ooh, I love this question. I do love Primally Pure so much! Their body butter is one of the most luscious products I think I’ve ever. It’s a tallow based body butter. I really like the vanilla almond flavor is my favorite. I keep it next to my nightstand, and I put it on every night. That’s one of my favorites. Their lip balms. I keep one in every purse and coat pocket. Those are some of them. And then of course their fast mists! I love the toners. They’re my favorite toner across any brand. The rose and mint, if it’s in stock. Or the Everything Spray is another good one.

Diane Sanfilippo: Love that. I definitely love the lip balms, as well. The cocoa scented one; I’m obsessed with that. And the dry shampoo. I really like having that, especially when I’m around the house and I just want a little bit of a refresh but I don’t want to be using toxic stuff. I really like the way it smells. It kind of smells like a thin mint cookie. {laughs} It’s smells chocolaty. I love that.

Of course, we are both Beautycounter consultants. So, Beautycounter holiday sets. Is there anything from those that’s super grabbing you? Maybe something that’s new?

Cassy Joy: Oh my gosh. I think it might not be available right now. I don’t know when this is; the intense color lips. Those 5, they’re the lip sheer formula, but they tripled up the pigment. Those are incredible. I love them! Diane’s sporting them. They’re gorgeous.

Diane Sanfilippo: I’m wearing one. And I came to sit down on this video, and well Cassy thought I looked cute, but I really just have a greasy bun and lipstick on.

Cassy Joy: She looks way cuter than I do. I’m wearing my husband’s old T-shirt. {laughs}

Diane Sanfilippo: Well I’m still wearing pajamas from last night. We’re both a little worse for wear at the moment, you guys.

Cassy Joy: I could use a swipe of that color intense lip stuff. But those are great. And I love that they’re peppermint flavored. The lip glosses are also, as far as makeup goes in the holiday kits. The lip glosses are wonderful. New colors, and I love the peppermint finish. What about you?

Diane Sanfilippo: Love those. Obsessed with the nudes eyeshadow palette, which hopefully is still around by the time this airs if people want to check it out. I also love the; I mean I’m a huge fan of the lipsticks, as well, that you were talking about. The cream eyeshadow. I didn’t try the smoky one yet, but the nude one. I even like it as a base for eyeshadow. It’s just a really cute, natural pink color. And then there’s also a liquid eyeliner with that, which has been super fun to try and play with and figure out. So loving those.

And as a gifty thing, I really like the mini facial oils. Just because those are little samples for people to try and see which one they love. But who knows what of all of that will still be available! All of the holiday sets, honestly, are awesome. There’s one that’s a charcoal bar and charcoal mask together that are obviously always some of the most popular products. And if you guys are curious about that stuff, you know you can email either of us. We have Beautycounter emails that you can email to and get some help picking stuff out. But huge fan of all of that!

I have, actually right here at my desk, two Beautycounter lip glosses sitting here for just such an occasion that I might need to throw one on.

Cassy Joy: {laughs}

Diane Sanfilippo: How funny.

Cassy Joy: I love it. And you know what else I like to throw out there, though, for Beautycounter for a holiday gift? Are the entire collection of skincare treatment. So when I think about, for example, my mother-in-law and we wanted to get her something nice, I'm going to just gift her an entire set of probably the rejuvenating line. You know, which is Beautycounter’s aging gracefully line. So if you're looking for something that I think is above and beyond, maybe, what you're going to find in the holiday sets. And maybe you're not looking for something makeup specific, but skincare specific, that might be something worth thinking about.

Diane Sanfilippo: Yeah, that’s a good idea too. Because the price point is still within reach for something you would give to someone close, or your mom, or somebody you might be spending a little more on. But it’s also maybe something that she wouldn’t totally splurge on, but she’ll totally love and appreciate. So that’s a really good idea.

7. Holiday gift ideas: Food [33:22]

Diane Sanfilippo: Alright, let’s talk about some food ideas. What about some food gifts? Do you have some that you have given, or that you are thinking about giving this year? Or maybe I’ll start with a couple, since I keep throwing them to you.

Cassy Joy: {laughs} I have one off the top of my head. I’m going to spring one on you. One that I’m going to do this year; every year I try to bring one homemade food gift idea to the blog. It’s the thing you give your postman, or your neighbor, or your colleagues. The people who you just; you want them to have something more than a card. {laughs} This year, I’m going to do collagen hot chocolate. I added an extra syllable in chocolate! {laughing}

Diane Sanfilippo: {laughs}

Cassy Joy: I’m going to do collagen hot chocolate, in just a nice mix with the added boost of the collagen peptides. So I’m excited about that. It’s going to be really easy to make for folks, put it in a mason jar, wrap it with a ribbon. But yeah, I’m excited about that one.

Diane Sanfilippo: I love that. That sounds really good. I feel like everybody loves hot chocolate. That’s a good idea.

Cassy Joy: Yeah.

Diane Sanfilippo: A couple of ideas. Speaking of chocolate; I’ve talked about Date Lady chocolate sauce on the show before, just over the years. And just as a side note, aside from the sponsors you guys know that we have, and the fact that we’re Beautycounter consultants, none of this is sponsored. These are just things that we love. And sometimes they don’t all change from year to year, because we like the same things sometimes {laughs} year after year.

But Date Lady chocolate sauce I really love. And I actually think a chocolate sauce or a fudge sauce is a nice gift. It’s a nice little stocking stuffer, that can be a fun little hostess gift. I think it’s nice because someone like me, who; I appreciate something like sparkling wine or champagne, but I’m just not a huge drinker. Sometimes I’ll cook with wine, but bringing wine to me, it’s a little like; it’s lovely.

Cassy Joy: {laughs}

Diane Sanfilippo: I appreciate it. I just will put the chocolate to better use in my pie hole.

Cassy Joy: {laughing}

Diane Sanfilippo: {laughs} I just will use it more. So I love that. And here’s one; we had somebody ask recently. I don’t remember if it was on the podcast or it was somewhere on Instagram. But somebody asked if there was a subscription they could get that was paleo friendly, because they wanted to give a parent a gift who had just gone paleo. And I did recommend checking out if Pete’s Paleo did something like that; they used to be a sponsor of ours, and I don’t know if they have something monthly. But you could easily just set an alarm on your calendar to send one week of meals per month.

Or another option would be Five Mary’s has a farm club subscription; I think that’s what it’s called. Or Farm Box. So Five, like the number five, Mary’s. And you can check them out. I’ve talked about them on Instagram a bunch. But they definitely have fully pastured meats and all of that; you could check them out.

What else? Of course, you guys. Balanced Bites spices. We should have inventory on everything coming up here pretty soon. The Mega Med spice blend is actually going to be out of rotation for a little bit. So if you’ve tried it and you love it, we still do have some left. However, I’m replacing it. And there will be five new blends. So in total, what is that? 16 I think total blends. So it’s going to be super fun. I can’t wait to release those all to you guys. I can’t wait to tell you and show you what they are. I’m super excited about these because they’re just totally, totally new.

Cassy Joy: I can’t wait! I used the Greek Blend tonight, on some fish.

Diane Sanfilippo: You did?

Cassy Joy: I did. It was delicious.

Diane Sanfilippo: I love that. So I’m trying to think what else. We talk about Kasandrino’s olive oil all the time. Olive oil is another one of those really lovely gifts to give to anyone. I think, if you're at a loss for what to give someone, I know people bring wine a lot of places. But as I said with the chocolate sauce; I think olive oil is right up there. Like a nice, high quality olive oil. Who wouldn’t love to get a bottle like that? Hello, I would.

Cassy Joy: Absolutely.

Diane Sanfilippo: I think that’s just a great gift. Sometimes he’s got promotions. I say he because I’m, you know, friends with the owner. But sometimes they’ve got promotions going on. And I think it’s something great to just look out for, and maybe; you don’t want to stock up too far in advance. But something to keep in mind in the future if there are ever fall sales, or something, to get two or three bottles that you can keep on hand for gifts for the holidays. I think that’s a great one.

Cassy Joy: I think that’s a wonderful idea. Another idea that I saw a long time ago on Joy the Baker, her blog. I’ve told you so many times; I love her stuff. {laughs} #Notpaleo. But she does a homemade gift idea every year also, and one of my favorites that I saw of her was she took sea salt and did a vanilla bean sea salt mix.

Diane Sanfilippo: Ooh, that sounds so good.

Cassy Joy: Isn’t that great? I made it one year. It’s really easy. You just buy your favorite vanilla beans; there were these really great Madagascar vanilla beans that I got. We deseeded them, and then hand mixed them in with some really good sea salt, and put them in little jars. It was such a fun thing to gift people. You know when you make chocolate chip cookies, and you just want to put a little something on top.

Diane Sanfilippo: {gasp} Yes!

Cassy Joy: It was just the perfect little pinch!

Diane Sanfilippo: I love that! We have a vanilla sea salt here, and we do use it. And it is one of those things that you may or may not buy for yourself. And actually, I think the first time we got one it was in a little set that we were gifted. So such a great idea, I love that.

8. Holiday gift ideas: Gadgets [39:08]

Diane Sanfilippo: Alright, what about gadgets? Are there any gadgets that you’ve been into? Like, I don’t know {laughs}.

Cassy Joy: {laughing}

Diane Sanfilippo: You reminded me of Grover.

Cassy Joy: {laughs}

Diane Sanfilippo: We’re on video, and Cassy’s head just flipped back so far in her thinking position, that it was like Grover, when Grover’s going to laugh, and Grover throws his head back.

Cassy Joy: {laughing}

Diane Sanfilippo: I just love her. You're so cute.

Cassy Joy: Oh my goodness. I’m trying to think without taking one of your ideas. I’m going to…

Diane Sanfilippo: These ideas are up for grabs.

Cassy Joy: Ok, I’m going to take one. So my favorite one is the Instant Pot. And it’s so funny; when I say Instant Pot, I find myself enunciating that word very carefully, {laughs}.

Diane Sanfilippo: Girl, you and me both! {laughs}

Cassy Joy: It’s so commonly mispronounced as “Instapot.” But it is the Instant Pot.

Diane Sanfilippo: Why does that bother us? It really bothers me, I don’t know why!

Cassy Joy: {laughing} I don’t know why either. It’s one of those things I’m persnickety about. But yeah, it’s the Instant Pot. Man I really love it. It’s a really good price point. It’s right around I guess $100.

Diane Sanfilippo: Something like that.

Cassy Joy: Depending on the one you get. And for those of you; I’m sure most folks are familiar with it. But if you're not, it’s a multicooker. So the concept is you get a slow cooker, a pressure cooker, a rice cooker all in one. It has a really handy timing feature. And the pressure cooker capability of it; I like it because when it clicks into place, it gives you a little jingle. {jing-a-ling} And it just is so reassuring; “Oh, I have the lid on right. I’m not going to blow my house up.” {laughing}

Diane Sanfilippo: Totally.

Cassy Joy: I really enjoy it. There’s a lot of books out there now that really have catered just to the Instant Pot; especially paleo type recipes. So I think that’s a really great gift. Especially somebody who has a confined kitchen space. Because it really does help replace a lot of different products.

Diane Sanfilippo: Or anybody who’s been learning how to cook real food and wants to make broth a lot faster. Broth takes about 2 hours to cook, and then some time to cool down. But rather than simmering all day. And like you said, if you have a smaller space, keeping the smell of the broth kind of contained. I know a lot of people are super put off by how it smells when broth is simmering for 24 hours in a slow cooker or on your stove or any of that. So I think that’s a really good idea, too, with the Instant Pot. I have a 6 quart; do you also have a 6 quart? Or do you have an 8 quart?

Cassy Joy: I think I have the 8 quart.

Diane Sanfilippo: I wish I had an 8 quart. So for anybody who cooks a lot, and if you have a family for sure, I think the 6 might be too small very quickly. Just as a little side note. I definitely go the 6 quart because it wasn’t quite as expensive, and I wasn’t sure. But if you're like; ok I’m going to try this, I would say if you're feeding more than two mouths, probably get the 8. I just think it will hold a lot more and be a better use.

So what else? We’ve been enjoying having our Amazon Echo, it’s called. You know, Alexa. And I don’t know, I don’t use it for a ton of things quite honestly. I use it for music and the kitchen timer the most, because I can be doing things and just tell her to set a timer. Tell her, like she’s a person. {laughs} But you can set multiple timers, and I really find that useful, because it’s just right in the kitchen. You can play Jeopardy on it, for anybody who was following along a couple of months ago. Somehow, my name was in a question on the Echo Jeopardy game, and I was just totally flabbergasted! But it was a category about healthy books, I think, basically. I don’t remember what the name of the category was called. But that was pretty cool. So of course, now I’m totally partial.

Cassy Joy: {laughs}

Diane Sanfilippo: And I have a Fitbit, which I definitely like having it. I talked about this a little bit with Mark Sisson a few weeks ago, where sometimes people get super caught up, and like, oh it wasn’t a good day if I didn’t get all my steps. But I’m more of a congratulate myself when it goes well type. {laughs}

Cassy Joy: {laughs}

Diane Sanfilippo: I’m like, oh look! I hit 10,000 steps today. Is that Gus?

Cassy Joy: It is Gus.

Diane Sanfilippo: Are we getting a visitor? Oh, there he is! Well it wouldn’t be a podcast without a Gus. Aww.

Cassy Joy: I’d get up and open the door for him, but it’s going to take him another 30 seconds to a minute to get there. {laughs}

Diane Sanfilippo: {laughs} He’s so cute.

Cassy Joy: He’s adorable.

Diane Sanfilippo: Yeah, I like wearing the Fitbit. I’ve been posting sleep tracking, and people always ask what app that is. I’m like, it’s not even a special app, it’s just the one that comes with the Fitbit. I like it. I don’t have one with a heart rate monitor. I just kind of like it wearing it sort of as a watch and seeing what I’ve done that day. But nothing too crazy. I think those are all the gadgets I’ve got going on. I don’t really have anything else.

9. Holiday gift ideas: Stocking stuffers [44:17]

Diane Sanfilippo: I think the next thing that I want to talk about are just really small doo-dad gifts. Little random stocking stuffers. I’ve got a couple that I can mention. So I don’t know if there’s anything on your mind for little stocking stuffers. But first of all, not a day goes by that someone doesn’t ask me about the ice cube trays I’ve been using {laughs}. So I made a link. If you go to www.BalancedBites.com/ice it will take you to these little mini ice cube trays. Because I have a thing about ice. But I think that would be a super fun stocking stuffer, if you know someone is into ice. And look, if you don’t know if someone is into ice, pay attention to their ice habits. {laughs}

Cassy Joy: {laughs}

Diane Sanfilippo: I’m very particular about my ice. Anyway, I love those. Or you can ask for them, obviously. And my other little stocking stuffer that I love is my pop socket. Which I believe is pretty much around $8 or so. And I cannot tell you how much I love this thing. It’s the best $8 I spend anytime I buy one. I think I’m on my second or third one. They last a long time. But it’s basically just a little handle thing for the back of your iPhone. It can stick and restick multiple times. It doesn’t really leave any kind of gunky residue. And I like to move it around.

I use my phone for filming videos quite often. It won’t necessarily mount a phone to a cabinet or something. I use different mounts for that, but I’ll often just kind of collapse the pop socket on the top of my laptop, and just use my phone and just put it right there on top of my laptop for calls or videos. And it’s for sure kept me from dropping my phone many, many times. So I absolutely love it for that reason. So those are my couple of little stocking stuffers. I’m sure both of those are under $10.

What you got, Cassy? You’ve got a stocking stuffer?

Cassy Joy: I do. I would say, one that we always put into stockings are going to be lip balms. So we already talked about them, but those Primally Pure lip balms are something that we’ll always drop in. This is an unconventional one; I always like to give tools, also. This is not necessarily as specific and helpful as yours.

Diane Sanfilippo: What?!

Cassy Joy: I do; little multitools, you know? Where it’s got an Allen wrench and a screwdriver. Those ones that just fold up and go into people’s purses or gym bags. Those are always really handy.

Diane Sanfilippo: You're obviously from Texas.

Cassy Joy: {laughing}

Diane Sanfilippo: I feel like that’s a country type of thing.

Cassy Joy: Is it?

Diane Sanfilippo: Yeah. But I like it.

Cassy Joy: Look at this handy tool set.

Diane Sanfilippo: Very useful.

Cassy Joy: And those are usually really affordable, also. Ooh, I have a good one! Before I get to my last one. I saw this, and I don’t know how much it is. I’m going to put it in a gift roundup, if I can find it again this year. I’m sure you can search for it. It is a little weight; a little bitty scale, that you use to pick up your luggage. And it will tell you how much it weighs.

Diane Sanfilippo: I love that.

Cassy Joy: So that you can figure out before you go to the airport!

Diane Sanfilippo: I mean, Cassy. I understand why you would want this.

Cassy Joy: {laughing} It’s a problem.

Diane Sanfilippo: I mean, it’s a good idea. That is a really good idea. I like that.

Cassy Joy: isn’t it? It’s a little handheld scale. Anyway, that’s another one. And I remember it being really affordable.

But the last one is one of my aunt’s, this is something that she does every single year and she puts them in everybody’s stockings. And it’s one of those things that makes {laughs} your head go, huh? The first time I got it. She gave everybody hair caps. Those plastic caps, hairnets, that you put on your head when you're dyeing your hair. You know what I’m talking about? Those really old-fashioned ones?

Diane Sanfilippo: Like a shower cap?

Cassy Joy: That’s what they’re called {laughing}.

Diane Sanfilippo: {laughs} I love you so much.

Cassy Joy: {laughs} A shower cap. So she gets these really budget…

Diane Sanfilippo: Like cool ones? Oh.

Cassy Joy: No, these are really budget. And she gives them to you to keep in your kitchen so you can throw over something if you want it to just grab onto a bowl.

Diane Sanfilippo: Oh, yeah.

Cassy Joy: So, anyways.

Diane Sanfilippo: I’ve seen you do that. It’s such a genius idea. Over a big salad or something. Because putting plastic wrap over that is a pain.

Cassy Joy: Exactly! Yeah. But you’ve got this…

Diane Sanfilippo: Just put a little shower cap over it.

Cassy Joy: A little shower cap! And they’re disposable. Because Aunt Sandy gave us 100 of them, so {laughing}.

Diane Sanfilippo: {laughs}

Cassy Joy: So that’s a good one.

Diane Sanfilippo: I remember seeing you do that, and sharing that tip. And then I just thought, before you fully completed that sentence, {laughs} I was like, oh do you wear them in the kitchen, like if you're cooking bacon but your hair was clean and you didn’t want your hair to smell? But I mean who doesn’t want their hair to smell like bacon? I’m not sure.

I just thought of another really good gift that aligns with your luggage scale, and that would be luggage cubes. If you know somebody who travels a lot, it’s such a great trend right now to have hard sided luggage. Which, I’m not quite sure why I love my hard-sided luggage, but I do. I definitely have one that has the 4-wheels instead of 2 now, and it’s very, very easy to push around the airport. But without the cubes, I would be at a complete loss. I just find; especially last year when we were on tour. I was like, ok great. All my tour dresses are in this cube, and workout clothes are in this cube. And I know exactly where to look.

For someone like me who is, I’m the person with the paperweight that says, a cluttered desk is a sign of genius. My grandpa had that. I know where everything is, but it’s a complete cluster and mess. But I will find it, trust me. But it saved me a lot of time, compared to previous tours where I just couldn’t find the stuff I was looking for, and we only had a little bit of time. So I really love packing cubes. And there’s all different kinds. You can find them on Amazon, or all over the place.

10. Holiday gift ideas: Hostess gifts [50:34]

Diane Sanfilippo: Well. {laughs} I think maybe we could jump to hostess gifts, which we talked about a little bit. But there are a couple more really cute ideas here that I think would be good to share. Do you want me to go ahead and jump in on these?

Cassy Joy: Yeah, go for it.

Diane Sanfilippo: Ok. So I already talked about chocolate sauce and olive oil. But this other one could be either a plant, in a pot. Which you all know I will recommend a pothos any day, because I think they’re pretty easy to take care of. Or you could give clippings. And I would recommend giving clippings from your own plant that you have started to see roots grow on, so it’s not like this is going to die in three days. {laughs} It’s something that you know is going to have some roots. But I think that that would be such a great gift. I’ve had some friends give me little plants, some of which I’m able to keep alive pretty well. Some of which I’m not as great at. But I think those are super easy to care for if you have the pothos clippings in a glass mason jar. Put a little bow around it.

I’ve personally loved having plants like this around the house. Because I was spending a lot of money from hydrangea, from Trader Joe’s, which do last quite a while. But they do, also, die. And it’s like I was spending, I don’t know, $10 to 15 every two weeks or so. Not that that’s a crazy amount, or that you shouldn’t just buy flowers if you want them. But it’s been fun to buy a plant that might be $10 at the hardware store, get a cute pot for it, and then be able to sort of propagate it into these other jars. So I really love that idea. And who doesn’t love a cute mason jar? You can get the colored ones, the green ones or purple or any of that. And just stick a bow around it. I think that would be such a great little gift.

Cassy Joy: I love it. Something that I did one year; I have not had my act together quite as well since then, but I started rosemary in a bunch of different little seed starters, and then gave those out once a little sprig popped up.

Diane Sanfilippo: Oh, I like that too.

Cassy Joy: Yeah.

Diane Sanfilippo: That’s a good one. Just along those lines, but it’s something edible too. To your point about the salt; I had also done, I’m just remembering, way, way back. And this is, you know, sort of an old incarnation of the first things that were maybe a Balanced Bites spices, but not quite just fully blends. I was making rosemary and sage salt back when I was getting rosemary at the farmer’s market for like a dollar for a million bunches of it, which is so much rosemary I couldn’t get through it all. And I remember making some rosemary salt, and then I jarred some extra of it. So kind of along those same lines. If you think somebody would definitely use something savory and you’re not sure about the vanilla, then that’s another great one. Those recipes are actually in Practical Paleo.

Or any of the spice blends. You could buy them, the premade Balanced Bites spices. I think those are a great hostess gift, or you could make some of the blends if you want to. I think those are just super fun, and you know, maybe it’s something that somebody wouldn’t have thought to get for themselves, but they would really enjoy it.

Cassy Joy: I think that’s a great idea. Another one that’s on here would be the Beautycounter soaps or lotions. Those are good ones for hostess gifts, I think. So you're showing up at someone’s house, put a cute ribbon around it, whether it’s from the holiday set. I know some of these aren’t going to be available for very long, if they aren’t now. I think the soaps are still.

Diane Sanfilippo: And there’s the standard pump soap and hand lotion. Which I was surprised. The hand soap was a little on the pricy side. They may have a set or something at some point that may have a gift price. I’m not sure. But we use the hand soap, and I really love it. And it’s nice to have one without some of those gunky ingredients. But I tried the hand lotion for the first time at an event recently; one of the Beautycounter events. And I was like; oh. That lotion is really nice. My hands felt great after putting that on. And I’m not usually a hand lotion person.

Cassy Joy: Oh, that’s a great idea. I love that, the pumps. Tie another ribbon around it, and you're good to go. Yeah, I think that’s a great idea.

11. Closing thoughts on Holiday mindset [54:48]

Diane Sanfilippo: Yeah. Alright, guys. So we’re going to close out today’s show. Just a couple of closing thoughts for you guys. We talked recently on episodes about warding off the holiday stress. I know lots of you are with me in the Healthy for the Holidays Facebook group, so we’re talking about just kind of how to handle different situations. Whether it’s family, or parties, or all the food that’s around. Who do you buy gifts for, who do you not buy gifts for. All of that stuff. We just want to help you guys keep kind of a healthy, balanced; wink, wink. Get it? Balanced? {laughs} Mindset going into all of this stuff.

And hopefully some of these ideas are useful for you. If you guys have more ideas, please definitely come share them in the podcast comments. You can share them in the Instagram comments. I would love to hear, not only what you guys are buying for other people, but what’s on your wish list? Tell us a little bit about yourself and what’s on your wish list so maybe somebody who’s reading the comments can see what someone, maybe their cousin would want or someone that they’re buying gifts for.

And hey; if you're a teacher, let us know what your favorite teacher gifts are. Maybe it’s a Starbucks gift card, or Amazon, or Target gift card. I’m pretty sure those are always welcome. My mom was a teacher, and I remember all the gifts she would get, and how many I would claim as the 10-year-old. I’m like; which ones do I get? And it was always the candy, probably. Or the pencils or mugs. I just take all her gifts.

But hopefully we can help you guys stay just kind of chilled out and all of that. Any last thoughts from you?

Cassy Joy: No. I think enjoy it. And, I talked about this once up on a time. I think it was Liz, maybe. I don’t know if she was on my podcast or something else. But, my philosophy around the holidays is eat the pie if you want the pie kind of thing.

Diane Sanfilippo: Totally.

Cassy Joy: And I think we get to a point where we get so conflicted, and so worried, and then feel so guilty after we enjoy something like that during the holidays that we do more damage with stress about the pie than the pie maybe would have done on our bodies. And so I say go in, make empowered decisions, and move on from it. Just enjoy yourself.

Diane Sanfilippo: Good advice. Alright, you guys, that’s it for this week. This was such a fun show, I hope you guys enjoyed it. You can find me, Diane, at http://dianesanfilippo.com. And Cassy at www.FedandFit.com. Don’t forget to join our email lists for free goodies and updates you don’t find anywhere else on our websites or on the podcast. While you’re on the internet, please leave us an iTunes review. We love to read what you guys are thinking about the show. We’ll see you next week.