The 18 Best Food Gifts for New Parents in 2021

Instant Pot Duo 7-in-1 Electric Pressure Cooker

Excellent

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A multi-purpose appliance like the Instant Pot Duo is a must-have for parents short on time in the kitchen. It can be used as a slow cooker, pressure cooker, rice cooker, steamer, saute pan, warmer, and yogurt maker. It’s equipped with preset controls for soups, stews, meat, and more, and it automatically monitors pressure and temperature and adjusts accordingly during cooking for optimal results. It can even handle cooking from frozen, so if busy parents forget to defrost a few chicken breasts, they can still have a speedy meal on the table.

Cleaning up is as easy as it gets, with our reviewer being "pleasantly surprised to find out the entire lid can go in the dishwasher" along with the stainless steel pot, steamer rack, plastic tools, and silicone ring.

Thrive Market Build Your Own Mixed Meal Bundle

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Microwavable meals are a huge convenience for new parents when they’re too tired or overwhelmed to cook but still need to eat something ASAP. Thrive Market lets you create a bundle of frozen, single-serving meals and send them straight to your doorstep. Bundles are available in counts of six, eight, 10, or 12 meals, and there are both plant-based and paleo options. Most of the meals contain organic ingredients, grass-fed meat, and plenty of veggies, protein, and whole grains so parents will feel like they’re getting a wholesome meal.

Cuisinart Programmable Coffee Maker

Buy on Amazon Buy on Sur La Table

This programmable coffee maker can be filled and set to brew the night before so there’s a hot, fresh pot of coffee waiting in the morning. Exhausted parents will appreciate having one less thing to do in the early hours following a sleepless night.

With its shiny stainless steel design, 14-cup capacity, settings to control flavor strength and temperature, a built-in charcoal water filter, and self-cleaning mode, this model makes it easy to brew the perfect pot of coffee. Our product tester especially appreciated the 24-hour lead time which is necessary for planning a seamless morning routine.

Nutribullet 600W Nutrient Extractor

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The NutriBullet can blend up energizing fruit and veggie-packed smoothies. Parents can also use it to make snacks in a snap, like fresh hummus and salsa, and create their own baby food purees when the time comes to transition to solids in the months to come. There are similar blenders specifically for baby food, but this one will be more versatile in the long run for the entire family. The blender comes with two BPA-free dishwasher safe cups so each parent can personalize his or her own smoothies.

Daily Harvest Gift Box

Buy on Daily-harvest.com

With a gift box from Daily Harvest, new parents can choose nine frozen meals or snacks that take minimal effort to prepare. Offerings include smoothies, flatbreads, energy bites, soups, oat bowls, harvest bowls, and chia parfaits. Smoothies are ready to blend with liquid of choice and soups and bowls just need to be heated in the microwave or a skillet. Everything is organic and plant-based, making it easy for parents to get their daily dose of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains.

Hydro Flask Wide Mouth Water Bottle

Buy on Backcountry.com Buy on Urban Outfitters

Help parents keep up with their hydration needs (especially important for breastfeeding moms!) with a large-capacity reusable water bottle. Hydro Flasks are made from stainless steel with double-walled vacuum insulation, which means cold drinks stay icy for hours. The bottles are available in fun colors and are dishwasher safe. We recommend choosing a 32-ounce (i.e. 4-cup) bottle with a straw lid so parents don’t have to refill too often and can sip one-handed while they’re balancing the baby.

Glasslock 18-Piece Assorted Oven Safe Container Set

Excellent

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Do new parents a favor and pack up any food you bring them in storage containers they can keep. Parents will appreciate not having to keep track of which containers belong to whom and getting them returned in a timely fashion. This container set features nine differently sized glass containers with BPA-free lids. The leak-free containers are safe for the oven or microwave so short-on-time parents can heat food up without dirtying extra dishes. Our reviewer noted the smaller containers were perfect for storing snacks, which are handy for adults and young kids alike.

Bonus: Glass food storage is non-toxic and preferred by many parents for storing and warming baby food.

Gourmet Gift Baskets Champagne & Truffles Gift Basket

Buy on Gourmet Gift Baskets

What better way to celebrate than with a glass of bubbly and gourmet chocolate? Since alcohol is on the list of things to avoid during pregnancy, wine-loving moms will appreciate a little indulgence. After all, they just put in serious work and deserve a treat! This gift set contains your choice of prosecco or premium Veuve Clicquot or Dom Perignon Champagne and assorted sweets.

The Big Book of Organic Baby Food: Baby Purées, Finger Foods, and Toddler Meals For Every Stage

Buy on Amazon

Most babies don’t start eating solid food until they’re around 6 months old, but foodie parents will appreciate having a beautiful and educational cookbook to flip through in the meantime. This bestseller is written by a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist and filled with full-color images and over 230 nutritious recipes. It’s also jam-packed with information on introducing solids, the best foods for each feeding stage and age, and a section of recipes parents can enjoy now or as a family, once the baby is an established eater.

Williams-Sonoma Three Days of Comfort Entrees

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If you’re unable to whip something up yourself, you can still send a new family a few meals with Williams-Sonoma’s prepared entrees. Getting dinner on the table is fast and easy since these dishes simply need to thaw in the refrigerator overnight and then bake for 30 to 40 minutes. There are options for Italian, chicken, and vegetarian entrees, but we’re partial to the Three Days of Comfort, which includes ultra-cozy and hearty turkey meatloaf, shepherd’s pie, and chicken spinach lasagna. Each dish contains eight servings, so mom and dad can make several meals out of the leftovers.

OXO BREW Clarity Cordless Glass Electric Kettle

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An electric kettle may not be the first thing that comes to mind when you think of new parent life, but it’s a big help for parents who rely on boiling water for warming bottles and sanitizing pacifiers, bottles, teethers, and breast pump parts. This model heats water faster than a stovetop which will be appreciated during the middle of the night feedings. It holds up to 1.75 liters of water and has a glass and stainless steel design that’ll complement most kitchens.

Harry & David Gift Box

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New parents tend to receive a lot of casseroles and baked goods, so a gift that includes some fresh fruit can help round out the offerings. This gift set includes half a dozen Royal Verano pears, plus an assortment of snacks, including cheese, summer sausage, seeded crackers, and nuts. Parents can pick at their leisure or set out a little bit of everything for a sweet and savory snack plate.

Munchkin Milkmakers Sampler Pack

Buy on Amazon

Support a new breastfeeding mom with lactation consultant-approved treats. This sampler pack includes tea, snack bars, and packs of cookie bites that are made with oats, flaxseed, brewer’s yeast, and fenugreek—all ingredients thought to promote healthy milk supply. Some reviewers swear these snacks boosted their milk production, but even if a new mom doesn’t notice a difference or decides not to breastfeed, she’ll have extra snacks on hand to satisfy postpartum hunger pangs. 

Uncommon Goods Tea Drop Sampler

Buy on Uncommon Goods

This tea sampler contains five tea blends made from organic tea leaves, herbs, and raw cane sugar in a convenient dissolvable tablet form. They’ll receive 25 tea drops total in flavors like blueberry acai and rose earl grey packed in a rustic wooden box. Parents can drop one into a mug of hot water and let it dissolve for an instant cup of tea to savor—no bags, special tools, sweetener, or other ingredients required!

Contigo AUTOSEAL West Loop Stainless Steel Travel Mug with Easy-Clean Lid

Excellent

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This travel mug has a push button that’s easy to use one-handed and a leak- and spill-proof lid so parents don’t need to worry about hot coffee or tea getting everywhere if it happens to get knocked over or tossed into a diaper bag or stroller basket. Insulated stainless steel keeps drinks hot for hours, which new parents will appreciate when the baby's schedule doesn’t allow them to finish a cup in one sitting.

However, during our tests, we found this mug was a bit inconvenient to wash as the bottle isn't dishwasher-safe, so it's a better choice for those parents who are used to washing some dishes by hand.

Thrive Market One Year Membership

Buy on Thrive Market

Spare new parents the chore of grocery shopping with a one-year membership to digital-based Thrive Market. Parents will be able to shop an extensive selection of healthy groceries, essential household items, and personal care products from the comfort of home and have everything delivered to their doorstep. 

KIND Variety Cube

Buy on Kindsnacks.com

We can’t emphasize the importance of nutritious grab-and-go snacks for new parents enough, and snack bars perfectly fit the bill. This variety pack contains 20 KIND bars in eight flavors including almond coconut, dark chocolate cherry cashew, and caramel almond sea salt. We love that they’re made with wholesome ingredients like nuts, coconut, dried fruit, and honey and are good sources of protein, fiber, and iron.