Stress-free through the Christmas season
Every year we resolve to do all our Christmas shopping in peace. But December is approaching faster than we would like and in the city center people are frantically running from one department store to another looking for the perfect gift. It doesn't actually take much to give your loved ones a little something. A few ingredients and a little time - and you've got your gifts ready that will not only make the recipient happy, but will also get you through December stress-free. In this blog post we present you with some of our favorite last minute gifts that you can make yourself in no time at all. Of course plastic-free, sustainable and above all delicious :)
Vegan coffee coconut scrub
Let's start with the cozy part. Vegan coffee-coconut scrub is not only easy to make, but also smells super nice. It only consists of two components: coffee grounds and coconut oil. The scent of this scrub alone will make you completely relaxed. And while you mix the delicious scrub, you can drink the coffee that you brewed beforehand. To prepare it, you only need the two components mentioned, which you mix together, and a container in which you fill the coffee grounds. A reusable glass or an empty jam jar are particularly suitable for this so that the aromas last as long as possible. When the coconut oil is running low, you can mix the coffee grounds into the glass straight away. With a lovely message on paper, it makes a particularly good gift.
Chai tea blend to give as a gift
We often associate Christmas with the fragrant spices that are in the air when we stroll through the Christmas market after work and where there is one treat after another. We can also bring all of these wonderful scents into our own living room and make ourselves really comfortable, for example with a good chai tea, which we can drink throughout the day - hot or cold. The tea tastes even better as a lovingly prepared tea blend. That's why a homemade chai tea blend is one of our favorite gifts.
You need these ingredients for the Chai tea mixture:
5- 10 peppercorns
3-5 cloves
2-3 green cardamom pods
1-2 cinnamon sticks
1 star anise
1 small piece of ginger
A pinch of nutmeg
2-3 tsp black tea (alternatively rooibos tea)
You can grind all the ingredients in a mill and fill them into a container so that the aromas last for a particularly long time. A card with a lovely greeting and a beautiful gift ribbon will really spice up your homemade gift. You can also write the instructions for making tea on the card:
The ingredients are brought to the boil in a pot with half a litre of water. To allow the aromas to develop properly, they should simmer for at least 10 minutes, or longer if you like. Finally, take the pot off the hot plate, add the black tea and let everything steep for another 3 minutes. The chai can now be poured into a container through a sieve and drunk immediately or throughout the day. The chai tastes particularly good if you add a dash of oat milk (or a milk drink of your choice) and a good spoonful of honey.
Baking mix from the jar
What would Christmas be without a piece or two of chocolate and all the delicious baked cookies and cakes? :-) And let's be honest. As lovely as the Christmas season is, it can also be stressful. Treating yourself to a chocolate cake or two as a reward can help. It's even tastier if you make it yourself. That's why this gift is perfect and our top 3 DIY Christmas gifts.
For the baking mix in a jar you need the following ingredients:
200 g flour
1 packet of baking powder
20 g cocoa
100 g sugar
1 pinch of salt
1 tsp Bourbon vanilla sugar
50 g walnuts (hazelnuts or almonds also taste good)
100 g dark chocolate drops
Before you simply fill everything into the glass, you should mix the flour and baking powder well. You can also mix the sugar with the pinch of salt and the vanilla sugar. Then you can fill the ingredients into the glass and layer them on top of each other. If you don't have a funnel, you can simply roll up a sheet of paper or something similar to make a funnel.
When baking, fresh ingredients must be added:
2 eggs
100 ml cream
100g butter
If you want to bake the vegan version, you can also add a small glass of sparkling water, vegetable margarine and vegan cream instead)
Now all the ingredients can be mixed well in a mixing bowl and put into a rectangular cake tin. This can be baked in the oven at 180 ° C for about 40 minutes until crispy.
