Few things are more dangerous for your wallet than wandering Whole Foods without a shopping list (which happens more often than I care to admit), but during my most recent trip I had a very clear plan. My mission involved stocking up on January’s latest and greatest in order to report back with my thoughts. Guidelines are good!

The new offerings all skew toward the super health-conscious and thus were a little on the pricey side, but here’s a pro tip: If you’re an Amazon Prime member, you can unlock massive savings. (The seafood kits below were 40 percent off for Prime members, among other awesome deals.) If there’s one major takeaway from this shopping trip, it’s that signing up for Prime is definitely worth it if you shop at Whole Foods on the reg.

Back to the task at hand — here’s my haul!

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Everything old is new again, and never is that more true as when diet trends take over the grocery store — and we’re not talking just the Paleo diet here. Best Products reports that Costco has started selling what they call a “tortilla alternative”: cheese wraps.

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Trader Joe’s is the king of dreaming up new and unusual ingredients that suddenly everyone has to have in their kitchens. The prime example is, of course, their Everything But the Bagel Sesame Seasoning that obtained an almost-instant cult-like status. Have you tried it? You really need to try it.

The grocery giant recently added another, super-unique kind of seasoning that I imagine you’re about to see everywhere: Mushroom & Company Multipurpose Umami Seasoning Blend. The mixture of kosher salt, black pepper, red pepper, mushroom powder, and mustard seed promises to give all your dishes an extra savory kick, but can Trader Joe’s make lightning strike twice? To find out, I tried out the blend on three different proteins I typically eat for dinner on weeknights: chicken tenders, ground turkey, and a salmon filet. Here’s how it went.

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Pizza is one of those foods that’s good even when it’s bad, but this weekend I learned the exception to that is when your slice gets soggy. See, Reddit (always a source of intriguing life and food advice) had a post that the best way to reheat pizza is to do it on the stove in a pan and add a little water and cook until completely burned off. “Perfect pizza, like it just came out of the oven,” was the promise.

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In 2018 the U.S. bore the brunt of more than a dozen weather-related disasters, including but not limited to hurricanes, floods, and wildfires, the effects of which spanned the entire country, cost a lot of money, and impacted our nation’s food system at large.

As of October 9, there have been nearly a dozen weather events that each achieved the dubious award of costing over a billion dollars, according to the National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI). This tally did not yet include the raging Camp, Ventura, and Woolsey fires that ravaged California from November through early December.

For many, it’s easy to forget a big storm or fire after the news cycle jumps to the next subject. But for others, especially those whose livelihoods depend on the wellbeing of crops or livestock (i.e., farmers and farm workers), the impacts are more largely felt — and for much longer.

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If you follow a gluten-free diet, dessert might seem like a struggle sometimes. But eating gluten-free doesn’t mean you don’t have any options. In fact, not only are there tons of sweets that are naturally gluten-free, like flourless chocolate cake and pudding, but there are also lots of recipes out there that swap the usual all-purpose flour for alternatives.

Here are 27 gluten-free recipes that are sure to satisfy your sweet tooth.

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If you’ve been in the market for an air fryer, or already have one in your possession (thanks, Santa!), you may have heard a few conflicting opinions about the small appliance.

Some say it’s too good to be true, that you can’t effectively “fry” something with a few tablespoons of oil and hot circulating air. Some say yeah, it works but it takes up too much countertop space for what it’s worth. Some swear by it for a few things like frozen french fries and nuggets. Some are total converts who say it’s the best thing to happen to their kitchen since sliced bread.

So with all of these mixed messages, who are we supposed to believe? The vehement haters? The space-savers? The casual I-tried-it-once-ers? The die-hard devotees? Let’s take a deeper dive, shall we?

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Sheet pan dinners are just about the most brilliant weeknight solution around. Toss a bunch of ingredients on one pan, roast everything together, and in no time you have a complete meal that doesn’t require hours to clean up. It’s even better if the sheet pan dinner is wholesome. These 11 recipes are just that — they’re full of colorful vegetables, lean protein, and whole grains to ensure you’re treating yourself well after a long day.

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This year, instead of starting out with a bunch of resolutions tantamount to a complete overhaul of your life, why not find a few little ways to actually, sustainably set yourself up for some small victories? Because some of easiest-yet-most-impactful changes tend to start in the kitchen, we looked through Sur La Table’s clearance sale to find some ideas.

What we came up with: three brilliant, inexpensive gadgets that will help you make better habits in the new year. Here are our top picks guaranteed to help you have a successful January and an even better 2019.

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This week my oldest, the kid who made me a mother, turns 7. I never imagined I’d be a mushy puddle of emotions about her starting first grade, losing those first baby teeth, and becoming her own type of planner (meticulously planning everything from her own birthday cakes to parties for her dolls).

Just for fun this week, Ella’s planning out our own family dinner too, including her birthday meal on Tuesday. Here’s what my family eats when our first-grader plans dinners for the week.

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