Heart Healthy Food Gift Basket

A "heart-healthy" gift basket is a useful gift for a friend with heart issues who recently was in the hospital, a loved one who regards health and fitness highly or someone whose New Year's resolution is to treat his or her heart better. The online medical news site WebMD collaborated with the American Dietetic Association and The Cleveland Clinic to compile what they call the "best of the best" foods to keep your heart healthy.

Packaging

Choose an economically-priced basket by recycling one from your house, purchasing one from a thrift store or buying a new one on sale. The food items for a heart-healthy gift basket can be expensive. Flaxseed, salmon and fruits are pricey, heart-loving items. Save your money for the basket goodies by choosing a basket that has an economical price tag. The gift recipient likely will pay more attention to the inside than the outside of the basket.

Goodies

Select a variety of food items by choosing diverse colors and packages. WebMD's heart-healthy food list includes items such as red wine (adds color and height); tomatoes, red bell peppers, asparagus and broccoli (adds a festive holiday color); oranges (add color and scent); dark chocolate (adds color and diverse packaging) and nuts such as walnuts and almonds (adds texture and pretty packaging when placed in plastic bags and secured with ribbon). Also consider baking. For example oatmeal raisin cookies are a heart-healthy treat because oatmeal has omega-3 fatty acids, which "boost the immune system, reduce blood clots, and protect against heart attacks" and calcium, magnesium, potassium--which aids in lowering blood pressure, WebMD reports.

Arrangement

Select a wide variety of fruits and vegetables from the WebMD list, but don't mix them up in the basket. For example, position all of your veggies on the left. Place fruits on the right with the red wine and chocolate. Form some kind of order in the basket. Think about the kinds of foods you eat together and arrange with that in mind.

Considerations

Type or write a small "menu" and print it on a sheet of card stock. The menu can list the food items in the basket and the qualities they have to aid in heart health. This is a nice addition that helps to inform and inspire the gift recipient.