Finance Foodie's 2015 Holiday Gift Guide: Best of the Best

By: Finance Foodie

The holiday season is drawing near and Team Finance Foodie has been hard at work trying to find the best of the best for your favorite foodie friends and/or yourself. It’s been a whole lotta work (and delicious fun), but we managed to whittle down the list to our Top Five Guide filled some good eats, some good drinks, and even something for good sight (to see all the treats, natch)!

Best for the Friend With A Sugar Addiction
Mochidoki mochi ice cream
MSRP: starting at $20 for 10 piece box
I’m a big proponent for eating dessert first and nothing satisfies my sweet tooth than the chewy goodness of mochi ice cream. That’s why when I heard about Mochidoki (www.mochidoki.com), an online purveyor of these little baby bubbles, I did a little happy dance!

Box of Mochidoki - Assorted Flavors

While Mochidoki offers the traditional mocha flavors (red bean, green tea, etc.), what makes this company super cool is their eclectically out-there (but yet still really tasty) concocted flavors like Lychee Colada and Raspberry White Chocolate Crunch. Plus, these mochis are conveniently available to be shipped all over the US – so I know what I’m getting Cousin Sally with her hand always caught in the cookie jar this year (that is, if I resist eating these sweet pieces first!)…

Best for the Caffeine Fiend
Ninja Coffee Bar
MSRP: starting at $149.99
I know I can’t get started in the morning without a nice cup of Joe, but spending $5 at my local coffee shop for that pick me up is something that feels super wasteful. With the Ninja Coffee Bar (http://www.ninjakitchen.com/ninja-coffee-bar-cf080/), I am able to make a customizable retail store quality cup of hot or iced coffee quickly and efficiently in my pajamas. The drip brewer style coffee bar uses what they call a “Thermal Flavor Extraction” technology, which delivers a variety of sizes and styles while achieving the perfect brew richness level every time.

Ninja Machine with Milk Frother (included)

The device is super easy to use and it comes with a recipe book that showcases a few dozen different coffee drinks that can be made with the machine. So unless you have counter space to spare (HA! not in my Manhattan apartment), I suggest you chuck all your other caffeine makers because Ninja Coffee Bar does it all in one small machine!

Best for the Vision Impaired Foodie
Eyezen Glasses
MSRP: varies based on style
For all the Finance Foodies who read this site (like right now) and sit in front of a computer for 8 hours a day, our eyes get quite the workout - and this is before we lay our eyes on our delicious food and drink. I know I don't want bad eyesight to ruin my visual experience while eating, so I wear glasses using Eyezen (www.eyezenusa.com) lenses.

Eyezen Prescription Lenses with D&G Frames

Eyezen lenses, which come in prescription and non-prescription, are specially coated to reduce exposure to harmful blue-violet lights emitted from screens of phones, tablets, televisions and computers that can cause headaches and eye strains. So with my Eyezen lenses, I feel good knowing that I continue updating my Twitter and Instagram and my Blog without straining my eyes too much!

Best for the Charitable Snacker
Love With Food Monthly Snack Box
MSRP: from $7.99 / month

When 3pm rolls around at work, I get hangry for a snack. I can't stand the terribly unhealthy vending machine snacks in our office (cardboard Yellow No 5 cookies anyone?), so I'm glad I discovered Love With Food's (www.lovewithfood.com) monthly subscription snack boxes.  Filled with an assortment of organic or all-natural, GMO-free, gluten-free items, these grab-and-go snacks give me the boost I need to power through the last few hours of the day.

Love With Food Deluxe Box

Not only is my tummy happy, but my wallet feels good too knowing that Love With Food donates a meal to a food bank in the US each month someone is a member - to date they have donated almost 700k meals! Love With Food's boxes come in different sizes/price points and you can cancel the subscription anytime.

Best for the Busy Hostess with the Mostess
Crazy Cuizine Asian Style Frozen Meals
MSRP: from $6.99 at major supermarket chains

During the holiday season, I love to have friends and family gather at my place for a great meal but I hate the food prep.  Spending all day in the kitchen cooking leaves me exhausted and in a foul mood - not ideal for when guests arrive!  Therefore, I rely on Crazy Cuizine (www.crazycuizine.com) to fill in the blanks. Crazy Cuizine is a line of restaurant-quality family-sized frozen meals with global flavors, such as Chinese, Korean, Indian and Japanese.

Crazy Cuizine

Let's face it, no busy urban dwelling professional I know wants to spend all day marinating, seasoning and cooking chicken - so why not grab some of Crazy Cuizine's Sweet Chili Chicken from the freezer, throw it in the oven and put it in a wrap with some lettuce and onions? Ta-da -- Sweet Chili Chicken App Wraps in under 30 minutes (more recipes like this can be found on their website)! Crazy Cuizine has saved my skin / temperament this holiday season - hopefully it will do the same for you.