There never seems to be enough time between Thanksgiving the New Years with buying gifts, making holiday meals, and hosting (or going to) lots of parties. We’ve discovered some food ideas that can save you time and put a little zing into your holiday entertaining.

Tuscanini Parchment Crackers. Add a new twist to crackers at your holiday entertaining.

At RFT our editors have a new addiction: Tuscanini Parchment Crackers. These crackers, which are imported from Italy, are handmade and paper-thin—and absolutely delicious. They come in three flavors: With Olive Oil; With Olive Oil and Rosemary; and With Olive Oil and Oregano. All of them are delicate, delectable, and not overly “herby.”

And, unlike many commercial crackers you buy, these don’t contain any chemicals or preservatives. They contain re-milled durum wheat semolina, olive oil, salt, brewers yeast and rosemary or oregano. That’s it. No mystery ingredients you can’t spell. Just good, solid, real food.

Tuscanini crackers are baked, never fried, so they’re an ideal swap for flatbread, chips, or calorie-heavy snack crackers. Each package contains four servings and two crackers (one serving) contain only 140 calories. These are the perfect crackers for serving with super thin slices of salami or cheese. We love them. If your local store doesn’t carry these, you can order them online from Amazon.

These handmade, paper-thin crackers are good, solid, real food.

Ginger Beer. Here’s a beverage alternative for non-drinkers.

The holidays are filled with booze and some of us who don’t drink alcohol can feel a bit left out. Try Brooklyn Crafted’s new line of ginger beer. These ginger beers are made with 100% fresh, unfiltered ginger pieces you can actually see in the bottles. They come in 7 fluid ounce mini bottles and four flavors: Traditional Ginger Beer, hot and spicy with notes of candied ginger; Earl Grey, complex flavors with more moderated ginger flavor; Mango, lots of flavor layers of mango and ginger; and Lemon Lime, a 7-Up style drink with delicate ginger notes. You can purchase Brooklyn Ginger Beer at New York City Restaurants and selected retailers and online.

Brooklyn Crafted Ginger Beer in several flavors brings a non-alcoholic twist to holiday beverages.

Dorot Frozen Herbs. Save holiday entertaining time and money with this clever idea.

How often have you bought a knob of fresh ginger, use a little and wasted the rest? Or purchased some fresh basil only to have it turn to mush in your refrigerator? Enter Dorot Frozen Herb Cubes, one of those clever kitchen hacks that can save you money and time. Dorot has flash frozen fresh herbs into mini ice cubes that you keep in the refrigerator. When you need garlic, parsley or basil, you simply pop out the cubes. Voila! Easy-peasy. These flavored-filled cubes will last in your refrigerator for up to two years.

Dorot herbs are non-GMO, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, and soy-free, and contain no preservatives or artificial flavors. Dorot is kosher and halal. You can find these time-savers in veggie aisle at most major grocery retailers including ShopRite, Stop & Shop, Kings, Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods, Wegman’s, Ralph’s and Safeway, among others.

Dorot packages easy-to-use portions of ginger, garlic, and basil.

Tim’s Cascade Limited Edition Chips. This a cure for the ho-hum chips and dip routine.

Just in time for the holidays, Tim’s Cascade Chips, a beloved company that makes potato chips in the Pacific Northwest, has come out with two new, limited edition flavors: Maple Bacon and Hawaiian Sweet Chili.

Tim’s Maple Bacon Chips are the company’s thick and crunchy variety with delicate sweetness and smoky bacon flavor. The perfect sweet-smoky push and pull of flavor. These chips are gluten-free and, like all of Tim’s Chips, contain no preservatives or artificial flavors.

Hawaiian Sweet Chili chips have a spicy bite of ginger with background notes of lemon. The heat, which is pleasant rather than overwhelming, sneaks up. Chili lovers will like this one. Tim’s Chips are available at most grocery stores. – Bobbie Hasselbring, RFT Founder

Hungry for more? Here’s a unique cocktail to serve, using ingredients you probably have in your pantry.