This month is all about making presents for the dear ones around us and in case you are still hesitating what to offer you can have a look on my last blog post. One of my beautiful discoveries this year was the Agrestis olive oil. I made myself a present and got a beautiful gift box made of the olive oil (which I have already been using) and 3 different pestos. I have to say that I usually make my own pestos, but it feels nice to try from time to time some bought combinations too.

Knowing the quality of this oil brand, I knew that these pestos would be something else than the classic pesto you can find in your after the corner shop. If you are interested in a healthy lifestyle, you are certainly already reading the list of ingredients of the products you are buying. One of the ingredients you should try to avoid are the refined oils, which are found everywhere. In chips, sauces, mayonnaise, ice creams, even skin care products … just to mention a few. Practically all processed foods contain refined vegetable oils. The main reasons brands are using these oils is because they are so cheap. The long process these oils pass makes them bad for us. They are are too high in omega 6 (omega 6/omega 3 ratio which once was 3:1 moved to somewhere 15:1in western world today) and are associated with inflammation (hello health risks and even bad cholesterol). That being said, please pay attention to what you buy and make sure you choose only those products which contain cold-proccesed organic oils, because no heat or chemicals was used during the extraction process. That’s why I am so happy about these 3 pestos: they don’t only look so pretty, but they come with clean ingredients. And no other fillers. Just vegetable, nuts, olive oil and spices.

While the dried tomatoes pesto was something I was already familiar with (and immediately was eaten on crackers and pasta’s), the wild fennel was a delicious discovery. The interesting mix between the wild fennel, tomatoes, pine nuts and raisins makes it a delicious add to vegetables. We all loved it on brussels sprouts with some extra lemon juice and decorated with some pomegranate seeds: it could make a Xmas dish. But it can be used on your favorite vegetables or just like this, as a spread. Or in your pasta’s, for your busy days.

From the cappers and almond pesto we made smashed potatoes with. What a delicious easy combination. And because I wanted some more colour, I used the purple ones, but this would go on simple potatoes too.

What I also loved about this box is the fact that it also included a post card (which gives you the option to adopt an olive oil tree from Agrestis & receive olive oil each harvest – how fun is that). In case you want to make yourself an eco healthy present, you could use this voucher for 15% off – Natalia15%.

I hope I gave you some ideas for your Xmas table but also a present idea for your loved ones.