Give the gift of good health

This week marks the last dash of the holiday season, when the final presents are plucked off store shelves for safe keeping under the tree. (A gentle nudge to holiday procrastinators -- if you haven't started your shopping, now might be a good time to get moving.)
If Santa's elves have already done the heavy lifting on your Christmas list, maybe it's time to think about stocking stuffers -- those pint-size, portable presents that are something of an exclamation point to your declaration of holiday sentiment. The great thing about these gifts is that they don't have to cost much to leave a big impact.
Here are 20 ideas for stocking stuffers to encourage a year of physical activity, good eating and less stress. After all, there's no better gift than good health.

1. Dark chocolate

Here's the skinny on dark chocolate -- it's been touted for boosting mood, lowering blood pressure and improving cardiovascular health. Credit the main ingredient, cocoa, which is the source of good-for-you flavonoids that provide the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effect.
But quality and quantity are two important considerations. Milk chocolate, in addition to having more sugar and less fiber than dark chocolate, is made with less cocoa so it doesn't convey the same benefits. Instead, look for dark chocolate that's made with at least 70 percent cocoa. Also, keep in mind that dark chocolate is still high in saturated fat -- although it doesn't appear to raise bad LDL cholesterol levels -- and calories.

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Recipe: Tempered dark chocolate

Servings: Makes enough tempered chocolate for the candied hazelnuts and honeycomb.
Note: Tempered chocolate is chocolate that has been treated in such a way that it is smooth, shiny and has a nice snap to it when you bite into it. It's a technique of candy making that is all about combining the proper ratio of melted chocolate with unmelted chocolate in order to achieve just the right temperature and consistency. It's not difficult to do. It just takes some attention — and the results are definitely worth it.

 

Nancy Silverton's dark tempered chocolate. (Myung Chun / Los Angeles Times)

1 pound bittersweet chocolate (minimum 66% cacao), roughly chopped, divided

Set a metal bowl over a pot of water or fill the bottom of a double boiler with water and bring the water to a simmer (not a boil) over medium-high heat. Add 11 ounces of the chocolate to the bowl set over the water and warm the chocolate without stirring until it melts and becomes thin and liquid. Take the bowl off the heat and add the remaining chocolate, stirring constantly with a rubber spatula, until all of the chocolate is melted. Use immediately.

Each ounce: 159 calories; 1 gram protein; 9 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams fiber; 13 grams fat; 8 grams saturated fat; 0 cholesterol; 0 sugar; 1 mg sodium.

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