Heart & Healthy Food Gifts

A food gift can be a nice present for almost anyone, such as friend, family member or work colleague, and a heart-healthy food gift can show how much you care. Foods in a heart-healthy food gift should help lower heart disease risk, by lowering cholesterol levels or preventing high blood pressure.

Snack Foods

A care package with heart-healthy snack foods can be a good food gift. Do not include traditional gift snacks such as sausage sticks, full-fat cheese or refined snack crackers, since these may be high in saturated fat, cholesterol and trans fats, which all raise levels of "bad" LDL cholesterol. Instead, include mixed nuts, whole-grain crackers, dried fruit or roasted soybeans. These foods are high in potassium and dietary fiber, and they may lower the risk for heart disease, according to the Linus Pauling Institute Micronutrient Information Center.

Fruit Basket

Fill a basket with fruit for a heart-healthy food gift. Fruit is generally high in dietary fiber, which lowers cholesterol levels, and potassium, which may prevent high blood pressure, according to the 2010 Dietary Guidelines from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Citrus fruits, apples, pears, bananas and oranges are easy to transport and pack. For some variation, add some avocados or olives. These fruits are high in calories, but they are heart-healthy because of their monounsaturated fatty acids.

Mediterranean Assortment

Consider giving a gift that contains foods from a Mediterranean diet, which is an eating pattern that may lower the risk for heart disease, according to the Langone Medical Center. Plant-based foods, such as beans and whole grains, are important components of the diet, and the gift can include a dry soup mix with a variety of beans, or a whole-wheat baking mix. Include a bottle of olive oil for its cholesterol-lowering monounsaturated fatty acids.

Heart-Healthy Condiments

Carefully choose some spreads or dips for a heart-healthy gift. Nut butters, such as cashew or almond, can be a heart-healthy option because of their healthy fats, dietary fiber, potassium and phytosterols, according to the Linus Pauling Institute Micronutrient Information Center. Hummus, with garbanzo beans and sesame oil, is also high in unsaturated fats, fiber and potassium. A fruit spread, such as blueberry or apple, can be healthy, but make sure that it does not have added sugars.