A travel enthusiast is probably one person who is harder to please when it comes to gifts. Most likely, that person enjoys more experiential gifts rather than material things. Since the gift-giving season is right around the corner, kindly remember that these travel warriors need necessities when they are off gallivanting in another foreign land. So here are my must-have picks of the season- all of which will not break the bank:

Hiking in Patagonia, Chile with a Guanaco.

1. Polarized sunnies
Unless you are traveling to somewhere the sun doesn't shine, a pair of polarized sunglasses is a must. I'm not fond of buying expensive, branded sunglasses because I usually break them or lose it while traveling, so a pair of affordable, fashionable and comfortable sunnies is always with me during my travels.


2. Mirrorless camera
My last post was all about why I switched to a mirrorless camera after many years of carrying a DSLR. Here are some reasons why a travel warrior would need one.


3. Hydration backpack
Thank me later! For those who are fond of hiking until hours on end, your life will depend on your water intake. The advantage of having a hydration backpack is that it is lighter and water is more accessible than if you were to bring a water bottle of your own.

For those following the latest photography trends, the surge of mirrorless cameras started happening a few years ago. This year, all the big brand names launched new mirrorless cameras in the market that can actually compete with the quality of the tried and tested DSLRs.

Goodbye dear DSLR!

What is a mirrorless camera?
If you still don't know what I'm talking about, a mirrorless camera is exactly what the terminology is. There is no mirror! According to PC Mag, the camera's body is thinner than a DSLR because it does not use a mechanical mirror to switch the scene between the optical viewfinder and image sensor. This also means that it can be built smaller and lighter than a DSLR.

Update: If you are still over the fence of which meal-delivery service to try, check out this post.

Blue Apron, one of the foodtech startups in the competitive grocery-to-table aka your kitchen space, is giving away two free meals. There is no catch for my dear readers based in the U.S. Just click on this unique link and follow the steps to redeem your Blue Apron meal.

Disclaimer: I received a free one-week supply (3 meals) care of my friends at #Foodiechat.

Once you schedule your delivery, expect to receive a humongous, heavy box. I was shocked when I came home to claim my Blue Apron package from my condo's lobby. I was expecting a grocery bag to be waiting for me. But oh no(!), my molars even started to hurt while carrying the box. As I was opening it, I quickly realized that the majority of the weight was due to the packs of dry ice. I also had to figure out which ingredient matched to the three recipes I selected- (1) lemon thyme turkey cutlets, (2) pan-fried orange shrimp and (3) ratatouille filled zucchini.

The heavy box that made my tooth hurt.

As of writing, I only had time to cook the shrimp dish. I will be updating this same article as I finish my whole week's worth of meal. Just like any other meal prep service, Blue Apron comes with an easy step-by-step recipe. What I found odd about the shrimp recipe are the following:
- The addition of a "big pinch of salt" in the jasmine rice- unnecessary sodium intake
- No overall cooking time duration
- No nutrition facts
- Even though I followed the recipe, except for the substitution of oil for butter, the orange, ponzu sauce needed a teaspoon of cornstarch and water to thicken
- Please pre-mince the garlic and ginger

Must sort out many ingredients for 3 recipes.

Easy to pan-fry, but I got lazy and cut the garlic and ginger into small cubes instead of mincing.

My other pet peeve of any online delivery meal service is the lack of ability to customize a meal, i.e. I would have preferred brown over jasmine white rice. Otherwise, I had a tasty meal good for two people thanks to Blue Apron. Total prep plus cooking time was 20 minutes, excluding the time to carry, open, segregate the items and flatten the box for recycling.

Try Blue Apron for yourself here. I'd love to hear what you think!

Last year, I also reviewed a similar service called MakeEatEasy, which was a more personal experience since I met the co-founders who hand-delivered the groceries in an eye-catching purple recyclable grocery bag and told me about their vision for their company. Based on funding round, Blue Apron is definitely farther along as a company and hopefully can make improvements, particularly on their recipes, at a faster rate. Please lessen the weight of the shipping box as well for the sake of petite chef-wannabes like yours truly.

Tada! Hard to mess up this pan-seared orange shrimp recipe with jasmine rice.