Vermont Creamery’s exceptional cultured sea salt butter has a maple accent for the holidays. Photo courtesy Vermont Creamery.

If you can’t find the products, you can make your own.

You can “zing anything” in your water bottle with Aqua Zinger and Citrus Zinger, new concepts that should have great appeal for lovers of flavored water.

The two new water bottles (actually thermos bottles that keep your drink cool as well) make naturally-infused flavored water, full of vitamins and other nutrients plus antioxidants. Commercially flavored waters use extracts.

The double wall stainless steel thermos bottles keep your drink and ingredients insulated. A wide-mouth top allows for the easy addition of ice cubes. As a thermos, the products can be used to carry hot beverages as well.

Both create a convenient new way to enjoy drinking water, adding your favorite flavors to satisfy your palate.

The Aqua Zinger infuses flavor from fresh fruit and/or herbs into your water bottle. Photo courtesy Brookstone.

First, the Aqua Zinger: a water bottle that naturally infuses still or carbonated water with the juice and essence of fresh fruits and herbs: basil, blackberries, citrus, ginger, kiwi, mint, peach, raspberries, strawberries and other favorites.

The fruits and herbs go into the bottom, screw-on base where grinder blades pulverize them and send the essences to infuse into the water. Mix and match and get creative: The flavors and ingredients are limited only by your imagination.

Aqua Zinger Flavored Water Maker is $26.00 to $29.00 in stainless steel with aqua, lime green, hot pink or black accents; at Brookstone stores and Amazon.com.

Citrus Zinger is a combination water bottle and citrus juicer. Photo courtesy Brookstone.

CITRUS ZINGER

When life gives you lemons, add them to the Citrus Zinger. Designed specifically for citrus fruits, Citrus Zinger juices clementines, lemons, limes and other citrus, and infuses the water with the juice. (Most oranges and grapefruits are too wide for the bottle-size juicer.)

It’s the easiest way to extract citrus juice and infuse the flavor directly into your water bottle, enriching your water with vitamin C and flavonoids (citrus antioxidants).

Citrus Zinger is available in aqua, lime green and orange for $20.

MORE TO ZING

The company also makes:

 
Learn more at ZingAnything.com.

We like this charming candy globe from Williams-Sonoma:

The six-inch-diameter, reusable papier-mâché globe is filled with 10.9 ounces of classic holiday favorites: a milk-chocolate Santa, cinnamon gummy Santas, red-and-white peppermint twists and a medley of sweet jelly beans and sour gummy stars.

The treats are beloved by kids and adults alike.

If you want to create your own nostalgic candy gift, look for a papier-mâché box or other reusable packaging and head to the candy store to make your selection.

What are those emotionally stressful situations? The holiday season: shopping, decorating, entertaining, dieting (yeah, sure). It all adds up to seasonal insanity, says the Chocolate Crisis Center.

Their solution: a variety of chocolate candy pills that “will give you the fortitude to survive the season.”

Or the office. Or the kids. Or anything, one chocolate bite at a time.

The Chocolate Crisis Center, which is not a government agency but a Denver-based producer of confections, packages confections in classic pill bottles and First Aid kits: Caramels, truffles, nuts and fruits are enrobed in rich Belgian dark or milk chocolate.

These delicious confections are then topped with cocoas, spices and fruit essences for a wide range of delectable taste surprises—all with a humorous “First Aid” twist.

Everything we tried was delicious. Individual bottles, called Daily Doses, are delightful stocking stuffers or party favors.

Various kits are larger gifts. There are Calamity Kits, Major Crisis Kits, a Minor Crisis Kit and a Shock Treatment Kit, some assembled from your choice of the Daily Dose candies:

A reusable first aid kit is filled with bottles of chocolate “pills.” Photo courtesy Chocolate Crisis Center.

There’s more, including Holiday Blues Peppermint Creams, a large blue bottle of jumbo “pills” the size of a nickel, a gentle peppermint coating over a soft, green minty center. The mint is very delicate—there’s no throat-cooling blast of peppermint oil. Seven big “pills” per serving is more than most people need to be cured.

Order online at ChocolateCrisisCenter.com or phone 1.800.329.6950.

The rich flavors of eggnog in a family-friendly ice cream. Photo courtesy Talenti.

Talenti Gelato has been a NIBBLE Top Pick Of The Week twice—that’s how much we like it.

This superb brand is selling luscious Old World Eggnog Gelato through the end of the year: the flavor of traditional egg nog transformed into rich, creamy gelato.

It’s a perfect, easy New Year’s Eve dessert: served plain; in a parfait layered with chocolate sauce, amaretti or shortbread cookie crumbs; over pound cake or brownies; even atop apple or pecan pie.

There’s no alcohol in this gelato, but you can pour a shot of rum or brandy over it to turn it into a spirited dish.

Old World Eggnog Gelato is made with fine Tahitian vanilla beans, hormone-free cream and milk, fresh egg yolks, pure cane sugar, pure vanilla extract and, of course, nutmeg.

The eggnog gelato is rich and indulgent, but has about 30% less fat than conventional premium ice cream. The suggested retail price is $4.99 to $5.99 per pint.

Old World Eggnog is available in only until the end of the month, so stock up now. Find a Talenti retailer near you: store locator.
Fortunately, there are some 20 other flavors of gelato and sorbetto to keep you happy for the rest of the year.

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ICE CREAM AND GELATO

Here’s the scoop.