Are you having guests the entire week before Christmas or even for the big stretch between Christmas and New Year’s? Here are some items they can whip up for themselves easily enough! They won’t require much more than being heated up on a cast iron skillet or even just taken out of a box!
Omaha Steaks’ 2025 holiday lineup features a range of curated gift packages but I say to buy them to keep at home for holiday guests who want to whip up a quick juicy burger or steak. Their seasonal holiday bundles are amazing bargains—like the Festive Gift, which includes jumbo franks, caramel apple tartlets, Butcher’s Cut Top Sirloins, burgers, seasoning, and chicken. For a more premium experience, the Custom Gift Assortment lets you pick seven items to your liking and Premier Gift gives you a little bit of everything including chicken breasts, scalloped potatoes and more. Omaha Steaks also offers various surf-and-turf joys, pairing filet mignon with lobster, side dishes, dessert, and wines for try luxurious gastronomical at home celebrations. As we go to press, orders over $130 ship for free. Visit omahasteaks.com for a bevy of great holiday packages as well as “all-year-round bundle” choices. By the way, one of this famous steak company’s biggest secrets is that their desserts are world class (try the Caramel Apple Tartlets, New York Cheesecake or Tiramisu to find out what I am talking about)!
Wonderful Pistachios is really getting into the holiday spirit with its seasonal No Shells Sweet Cinnamon flavor, which has returned for 2025 in resealable 5.5-oz, 11-oz, and 22-oz sizes. This festive variety was originally launched as a limited-edition treat, blending the crunch of pistachios with warm, sweet spice so it tastes like a healthier, guilt-free cinnamon roll. The packaging also gets a seasonal upgrade—with gold accents, snowflakes, and cinnamon sticks—making it ideal for holiday tables, gifting, or just cozy snacking. Beyond the holiday flavor, Wonderful offers a broad lineup of their most popular pistachios, including No Shells Roasted & Salted, a classic, protein-rich snack; No Shells Chili Roasted which delivers bold spice with red pepper, garlic, and a touch of vinegar; and No Shells Sea Salt for a tangy, salty punch. For bigger seasoning, there’s Salt & Pepper Pistachios, and for sweet indulgence, try Chocolate Toffee Pistachios, which combine dark chocolate, toffee, and crunchy pistachios in every bite. Be sure to check out Wonderful Pistachios’ great sister products like POM Wonderful pomegranate juice, Halos mandarin oranges, and Wonderful Seedless Lemons.
PORTA makes Roman-style, hand-tossed frozen pizzas using high-quality Italian ingredients: flour from Italy, vine-ripened tomatoes, and extra virgin olive oil. Their pizzas are crafted by chefs using traditional techniques and then flash-frozen to preserve that restaurant-quality flavor. Some of the top-selling flavors from PORTA include the PORTA Sausage & Caramelized Onion Pizza which delivers sweet, caramelized onions with savory sausage, and the PORTA Mushroom & Fontina Pizza with earthy mushrooms and creamy fontina. Their PORTA Pepperoni Pizza is frequently praised for its crispy, cupped pepperoni and char-finished crust, while the PORTA Margherita Pizza highlights fresh mozzarella, basil, and authentic tomato sauce. Fans on forums often compliment the crust as being particularly good among frozen pizzas — and I could not agree more! For more info on this cutting-edge brand, visit eatporta.com. I say to buy a ton for holiday company at Sprouts Farmers Market and Whole Foods Market!
Mountain House is one of the most respected names in freeze-dried meals, especially for camping, backpacking, and long-term food storage. Their products are designed to be lightweight yet nutritionally dense, and they’re ready to eat by simply adding hot water — no cooking, pots, or pans needed. They use real ingredients — think beef, chicken, vegetables, fruits — and avoid artificial flavors or colors where possible. Their packaging and freeze-drying process make their meals shelf-stable for decades: they back many items with a 30-year taste guarantee, one of the longest in the survival food industry. Among their most popular freeze-dried offerings are classics like Beef Stroganoff With Noodles, a creamy, savory pasta meal; Fettuccine Alfredo With Chicken, which delivers comfort-food vibes even on the trail; and Chicken Teriyaki With Rice, a saucy, hearty choice filled with vegetables and tender chicken. For breakfast or brunch, their Breakfast Skillet — featuring hash browns, sausage, eggs, and veggies — is a go-to. And even dessert makes the list: the Vanilla Ice Cream Sandwich offers a sweet treat that’s perfectly preserved without refrigeration. These meals consistently get praise from backpackers and preppers alike for their flavor, convenience, and reliability. Mountain House is perfect for guests who just want to add water and eat! Everything is very well seasoned and tastes homemade! For more info, visit mountainhouse.com.
Are your holiday guests into worldwide cuisine? The amazing and unique eat2explore is a cooking‑kit subscription that brings global cuisine into your kitchen with immersive, hands-on experiences. Each box centers on a featured country and includes three authentic recipes, pre-measured spice or sauce mixes, a shopping list for fresh ingredients, and a 16-page explorer booklet filled with cultural insights, history, language, and recommended music or movies. Subscription plans allow you to receive a new country each month, with options for 3-, 6-, or 12-month prepay, and there are versions tailored for families, adults, or allergy-friendly diets. Beyond the cooking, each box comes with interactive touches like flag pins, stickers, and a “passport” for family kits, and members gain access to videos, blogs, and extra recipes. Some examples include the Explore France Kit, the Explore Brazil Box, the Explore Japan Kit, the Middle East & Africa 5‑Country Bundle, and the 5‑Country Vegetarian Bundle, offering a curated taste of world flavors along with educational content and themed activities, making it perfect for families, home-schoolers, or anyone curious about global cuisine. For more info on this ground breaking array of products, go to eat2explore.com.
Some of my favorite fast and nutritious “go to” items are made by Veggies Made Great and this brand’s items can be heated in a microwave in 30 seconds or less. Leave several boxes of these for holiday guests who want to wake up and have a nutritious breakfast almost instantaneously! Veggies Made Great is a frozen‑food brand that really leans into making vegetables fun and tasty by putting veggies first — zucchini, carrots, kale, cauliflower, and more often appear as the top ingredients. Their products are allergen‑friendly (gluten‑free, soy‑free, peanut‑ and tree-nut-free) and crafted with simple, clean ingredients. The company often highlights “real vegetables” as their first inspiration, and they aim to offer portable, nutritionally smart foods that feel indulgent but are rooted in veggies. Some standout items include the Double Chocolate Muffin — which remarkably lists zucchini and carrots as its first two ingredients and has just around 100 calories per muffin. Then there’s the Superfood Veggie Cakes, a savory, low-calorie cake made with a blend of broccoli, kale, cauliflower, bell pepper, and other veggies — perfect for breakfast, a side, or a snack. Veggies Made Great also continues to expand, recently launching new egg patties (in flavors like garden vegetable and Southwest), cornbread and even a Keto Cinnamon Roll Muffin with only 1 g of sugar. For more info on this fast growing healthy food company, go to veggiesmadegreat.com.
High Ground Elixir is a brand of functional, zero-proof sparkling beverages that mixes adaptogenic mushrooms, nootropics, electrolytes, and fruit-derived flavoring to create a wellness-focused drink alternative. Founded in 2024 by co-founders aiming to offer a mushroom-infused drink “that doesn’t taste like mushrooms,” High Ground Elixir wraps its functional ingredients — such as organic mushrooms (e.g. Lion’s Mane for focus, Reishi for stress relief, Cordyceps for energy, along with immune-supportive and gut-health mushrooms) — into clean, fruit-forward sparkling drinks. What makes High Ground Elixir stand out is the combination of taste, function, and sustainability. Each can typically contains only 25 calories, has no added sugar or artificial sweeteners, and is both vegan and non-GMO. The formulas also include natural nootropics like GABA and L‑Theanine to support calm and focus, plus electrolytes and vitamin C for hydration and immunity — making the drinks suitable for a range of situations, from boosting midday productivity to winding down in the evening. Meanwhile the brand is committed to eco-friendly practices: mushrooms are sourced from a zero-waste indoor farm, packaging is 100% recyclable, and they contribute a portion of proceeds to environmental causes as part of their membership in 1% for the Planet. My favorite flavors are Yuzu Lime and Strawberry Peach but they are really all great and give you a real midday boost. Order six packs for $20.99 here: High Ground Elixir.
Nothing gives a quick and healthy burst of flavor to savory foods than good quality EVOO! La Tourangelle is a California-based gourmet oil company inspired by a 150-year-old French tradition of artisan oil-making that began in the village of La Chartre-sur-le-Loir in France. The family behind the brand carried their heritage across the Atlantic and built a modern mill in Woodland, California, where they continue to craft oils in small batches using time-honored methods like slow roasting and expeller pressing. What sets La Tourangelle apart is their deep respect for ingredients — they source premium nuts, seeds, and fruits from trusted growers around the world and carefully extract each oil to preserve its true flavor and nutritional integrity. Their lineup includes everything from everyday cooking staples like avocado, grapeseed, and extra virgin olive oil to specialty favorites like roasted walnut, hazelnut, pistachio, and truffle-infused oils. Beyond performance in the kitchen, La Tourangelle has built a reputation for clean labels, non-GMO verification, and oils that are naturally rich in antioxidants and healthy fats. Pictured above are two of the most popular organic extra virgin olive oils from La Tourangelle: the Bright & Peppery and Smooth & Fruity. Both can be found on the latourangelle.com at $25.99 for 750 ml tins.
