Last Minute Gift Guide | Vegan & Eco & Minimalist

Welcome to the vegan gift guide for the conscious consumer (perfect for you and I and any one who simply doesn’t have their sh*t together in time)!

How does it feel like Christmas just happened? It rolls up so quickly, and then it be like… AH no time! Or is that just me?

Are any of you organized for Christmas morning in November? If so, I bow down to you.

Christmas can be stress-inducing, when really it should be the opposite.

This word ‘Holidays’ should really mean quality time spent with the ones you’re incredibly fond of, giving to those who need it the most, and eating delicious plants in the form of comfort food surrounded by Charlie Brown Christmas tunes and the smell of:

• roasted Meatless Balls and Mushroom Gravy
•  Stuffed Tofu Turkey
• Mashed Cauli Potatoes
• Butternut Swirl
• Hasselback Butternut Pecan Squash
• Apricot Lentil Loaf

But, it’s not always that simple, is it?

If the scramble for presents is taking away from the simplicity of what the Holidays are really about, then you have come to the right place.

PLUS, in the attempt for achieving a sustainable and minimalistic holiday, I’ve added in eco-friendly gift wrapping ideas, at the bottom for you.

Merry Christmas!

THE GIFT OF EXPERIENCE:

What goes on in your town? Make it a gift of experience this year by getting tickets for a concert, festival or play…or maybe a ski ticket, or something like Vallea Lumina… or a staycation itinerary, farm sanctuary visits, or maybe even a mini close-by vacation. Just a few ideas to get the creative juices flowing. Create memories for a gift this year.

KITCHEN + HOME:

• Vegan food wraps
• Air Fryer
• Tofu Press
• VitaMix
• Coconut Bowls
• Bamboo Straws
• Grow Your Own Bonsai Tree
• Vegan Bath Bombs
• Frother

SUPERFOODS/SUPPLEMENTS:

• Stay Wyld Organics Medicinal Mushrooms (Reishi, Cordyceps, Lion’s Mane, Chaga, Turkey Tail)
• Complement Protein Powder + Complement Plus ‘3 in 1 supplement’ (B12 + Vitamin D3 + Micro Algae Epa/Dha)
  • Go here and use Discount Code: ‘HOOKEDONPLANTS’ for 10% off
• Pranin whole food iron + vitamin C (use code ‘hooked’ for a discount)

EAT!:

• Cheeze (there’s so many amazing companies making vegan dairy products now!)
  • Black Sheep Vegan Cheeze (melt their camembert for fondue!)
  • Miyokos Creamery (great for cheeze plates) can be found at Vegan Supply Co
  • Blue Heron Creamery – Vancouver company
  • VioLife (melty for grilled cheese!) can be found at Vegan Supply
• Treats + Snacks:
  • Cacao Now
  • Zimt Chocolates
  • Erin Ireland’s To Die For chocolate cookies
  • Eve’s Crackers
  • Frost Bites cordials
  • Vegan Jerky from Spud.ca  (use code ‘CRVAN-MURJUB for 20$ off your first order)
• Make something and put it in a jar:
  • Puffed Quinoa Dessert Bars 
  • Vegan Mo’s Black + White Cookies
  • Caramel Cacao Bites 
  • Chocolate Chip Cookies

FOODIE GIFT CARDS:

This is your opportunity to show your friends and fam something new, and support a biz you love (PLUS, it’s the ultimate last minute gift idea).

• Vancouver/Whistler Restaurants:
  • The Acorn
  • Virtuous Pie
  • Green Moustache
  • Meet on Main or in Gastown
  • I love Chickpea
  • Eternal Abundance
  • Heirloom
  • Zend Concious Lounge
  • Cafe By Tao
  • Olive & Ruby
  • Juice Truck
  • The Juicery Co
  • The Juice Box Cleanse from Spud Vancouver
  • The Workshop
  • Buddha-Full
  • Indigo Age Cafe 
  • Hey Kokomo
  • Alta Bistro Whistler (amazing veggie burger!)
  • The Naked Sprout Whistler 
  • To look for even more where you live, download the app Happy Cow or the local app Gomae!
• Groceries
  • Spud.ca – Discount Code: CRVAN-MURJUB
  • Vegan Supply Co – every kind of vegan goodie you can think of
  • Local harvest boxes: Ice Cap Organics, Root Down Organics, Laughing Crow Organics
  • Organic Matters – bulk, organic everything
  • Vegan Meat Box by the Very Good Butchers
  • Coastie Craft Burgers

DONATIONS

We mostly think about our close ones when it comes to gift-giving, but there are so many businesses, animals, and people that could really use our help during the holidays. To donate money in the name of someone else, and hand over a card saying you did so, is incredibly meaningful.

Farm Sanctuaries and Animal Shelters:

Vancouver/Whistler/Victoria:

• The Happy Herd
• Cici Life Farm Sanctuary
• Whistler AnimalsGalore
• Vancouver SPCA 
• Rasta Farm Sanctuary 
• A Home For Hooves

Toronto:

• Esther The Wonder Pig
• Toronto Pig Save
• Wishing Well Sanctuary
• Ralphy’s Retreat
• Happy Trails Sanctuary
• Cedar Row Sanctuary
• More here

Global:

• Edgar’s Mission – Australia 
• Where Pig’s Fly – Australia
• Farm Sanctuary – Gene Bauer’s creation

World Hunger & Shelter & Environmental Protection: 

• A Well Fed World: Plants 4 Hunger helps feeds hungry children without harming animals!

• Give warm coats to those that need the warmth
• Sea Shepherd for the ocean and sea creatures
• Rainforest Trust for the Amazon

EXPERIENCES

• Cooking classes:
  • Nourish Vancouver has great classes with lots of vegan options
  • Rooted Nutrition whole foods cooking
  • Dirty Apron Vibrantly Vegan class
  • Rouxbe Plant Based cooking school (online)
• Gift cards for yoga & other classes:
  • Awesome Arts Academy (all kinds of classes)
  • Turf Living

ONLINE GOODIES

• E Books:
  • #PlantsForAWeek Hooked on Plants E Book
• Online Magazine subscriptions:
  • Mercy for Animals
  • VegNews paperless
  • VeganLife
  • Vista Magazine
• Courses/Meal Planning:
  • Gift the 80/20 Plants Program
    • The fully supported transition towards a whole food plant based lifestyle
    • 1:1 Coaching
    • Hundreds of recipes
    • A community
    • Video lessons from me
    • Meal planning
• Audible subscription: an online library with books ready to listen to anywhere at twice the speed!
  • Listen to books like: Carnism, How Not To Die, Eat to Live, The China Study, Eating Animals, You are a Bad Ass, The Four Agreements

COOKBOOKS

• #PlantsForAWeek E-Book with 30 recipes, a meal plan, and tons of nutrition tips
• Thug Kitchen
• Wicked Healthy
• My New Roots
• The First Mess
• Oh She Glows
• The Edgy Veg
• Raw Vegan Not Gross
• Rawsome Vegan Baking
• Naturally Nourished
• Eaternity
• Thrive Diet
• Hot For Food vegan comfort classics
• No Meat Athlete Cookbook

CRUELTY FREE CLOTHING | JEWELLERY | ACCESSORIES 

These may not work as last minute, but they’re great ideas for future gift-giving!

• Native Shoes – get their new Plant Shoe and Save the Duck winter boot!
• Nice Shoes – gift card
• Moo Shoes – vegan bags and shoes
• Wuxly Jackets – vegan outerwear
• Vegetaryn vegan shirts (like ‘Lettuce Eat Plats’, ‘Eat Plants And Chill’)
• Herbivore clothing
• In The Soul Shine vegan apparel
• Vegan Mascara
• Love Myssa jewellery
• Miriam De Langely jewellery
• YCL Jewels
• Unicorn Goods for EVERYTHING
• Mat & Nat – vegan bags and accessories
• Loa Skin oil – the only product I use

ECO-FRIENDLY GIFT WRAPPING

Can you imagine what a pile of thrown away wrapping paper would look like after Christmas is over?

Apparently it would cover 5000 football fields!!!

Plus, this stuff is died, and laminated, making it difficult to recycle.

So, let’s opt out and go for these natural looking, enviro-friendly ideas instead.

• Scarves from your local Thrift Store or Re-Use-It Centre
• Newspaper
• Brown paper and twine (both can be found at Staples, Michael’s, or your local farts n’ craps’ store;)  for an organic look.
• Jars, cans or boxes you have around the house. Just tie twine around it and, voila!
• Grocery bag totes that they can re-use
• Paper bags
• Any kind of fabric you have kickin’ around! Time to get creative.