For the past two years, relaxation drinks—lightly carbonated soft drinks with relaxation agents such as the amino acid L-theanine, melatonin, and valerian root—are the new growth area in the beverage category. Low in sugar and caffeine-free, the “family-friendly” drinks are calming, while increasing focus and concentration.

In other words, they’re meant to soothe the mind and body.

ViB, short for “Vacation in a Bottle,” is a favorite of Jessica Simpson and has a number of major athletes as investors. The category originator, ViB, was developed by two Dallas entrepreneurs who observed a growing backlash against the energy drink market. ViB’s main ingredient is the amino acid L-Theanine, the calming ingredient in green tea.

Chill with Unwind relaxation beverage. Photo
courtesy Frontier Beverage.

RelaxZen has gone one further. In addition to its main formula, the company has created RelaxZen DAY FLIGHT and RelaxZen NIGHT FLIGHT for sale at airports, to calm nervous fliers.

We’ve just tried Unwind Ultimate Relaxation, with the catchy slogan, “Tired Of Being Wired?” It did take the edge off.

With only 40 calories for a 12-ounce can (10 grams of sugar), it contains the calming properties of melatonin, rose hips, passion flower and valerian root, with added nurturing from vitamins B6, B12 and C. It’s all natural and OU kosher, in Citrus Orange, Goji Grape and Pom Berry.

Relaxation drinks also come in handy when you’re overly-wired from coffee or energy drinks. They can be found at convenience stores, grocery stores, pharmacies, groceries and other retails.

Headquartered in Memphis, Unwind Beverage is sold in select stores in Virginia, Maryland, Washington, D.C., Delaware, Eastern Pennsylvania, Southern New Jersey, Michigan, Ohio and the New England Region, including Albany, Boston and Hartford. It is available online by the case ($54.95) at FrontierBeverage.com.

Give chocolates in an edible chocolate box.
Photo courtesy Charles Chocolates.

If you’re still stuck for that special Christmas gift, this chocolate box from Charles Chocolates may be the solution.

It’s all chocolate, including the box!

The dark chocolate or milk chocolate selections are in a base of dark or milk chocolate, with a milk chocolate or white chocolate lid. The box is filled with 18 pieces of Charles’ Chocolates most popular bonbons. Including the box, each box is a pound of chocolate.

The chocolate boxes are $60.00 each, but there’s a special offer now: two boxes for $95 (instead of $120).

Purchase online at CharlesChocolates.com.

• Find more of our favorite chocolate gifts for Holiday 2010.

Your photos of Christmas dinner can look a lot better this year.

Prominent food photographer Lou Manna, recognized by the elite Olympus Visionary Program, offers 13 tips for better food photography.

1. Keep your composure.

2. Take a fork’s-eye view.

3. Limit your ingredients.

4. Give your food a sense of style.

5. Clean your plate.

6. Crack the ISO code.

Get full details of these six tips plus the remaining seven food photography tips.

Improve your game [hen]. Photo © Lou Manna.

Our favorite: Breville’s One-Touch
Tea Maker. Photo courtesy Breville.

We love tea and drink several cups a day. The Breville One-Touch Tea Maker is our Appliance Of The Year.

We’ve tried most of the other sophisticated tea makers out there (different brewing times and/or temperatures for black, green, white and herbal teas). This is the best.

Breville’s One-Touch Tea Maker has forever changed the way we brew tea.

With the perfect temperature per type of tea (black, green, herbal, white) and your instructions on how strong you want it, this Breville beauty brews the best tea we’ve ever had. Even teas we haven’t liked taste amazingly better.

It’s fun watching the tea basket lower and brew. You can auto-set the appliance so tea is ready the minute you get out of bed, get home, etc. Over the summer, we brewed two batches daily, which we poured into pitchers and also into re-purposed empty water bottles for grab-and-go iced tea.

We are in love with this appliance. It’s worth every bit of $249.95. Find it at fine retailers and online.

Need something to bring to Christmas dinner? We’re updating this popular post from last year:

Make a beautiful red-and-green Christmas salad by adding “red” greens to your vegetable mix. Or make a colorful and delicious beet salad.

CHRISTMAS SALAD RECIPE

If you can’t find the more exotic red lettuces—red endive, red leaf lettuce, red mustard greens, red oak lettuce, red romaine and the new red watercress—most stores carry the naturally red-veined chard, baby kale and radicchio. If you like, you can mix them with regular green leaf lettuces; but we prefer to keep our Christmas salad in holiday colors.

If you don’t want to make a Christmas salad
with greens, a beet salad has the same
holiday colors. Photo by Sarsmis | IST.

 
BEET SALAD

Lacking the time to make pickled beets from scratch, we used Aunt Nellie’s Pickled Beets & Onions to make this quick salad:

Ingredients

 
PreparationIngredients

1. Empty beets into a large bowl.

2. We used the liquid in the pickled beets for the salad dressing. If you want you can add a small amount of olive oil to taste.

3. Mix in the spinach/chard and basil leaves.

4. Place into serving dish. Top with goat cheese and sprinkle on walnuts.