Tag: How We Eat and Drink Now

Thirty years after tomatoes became the first genetically modified produce sold in the U.S., lots of people remain skeptical of science-ified foods. In a 2020 Pew Research Center survey, just 27% of Americans said they felt genetically modified foods are safe to eat, while 38% said they’re unsafe and 33% weren’t sure.

That’s not only a U.S. phenomenon. In the Philippines, for example, activists have been protesting the production of Golden Rice, a type of genetically modified rice harvested at scale for the first time last year. Unlike regular rice, Golden Rice is engineered to contain beta carotene, an addition meant to counter vitamin A deficiency and resulting vision loss. But opponents argue the rice has not been through adequate testing and that there are safer and healthier ways for people to consume vitamin A. “Golden Rice is simply not the solution to the wide, gaping wound of hunger and poverty,” a representative from MASIPAG, a Philippines-based, farmer-led group that opposes Golden Rice, told TIME in a statement.

Golden Rice is only the latest example in a long history of anti-genetically modified organism (GMO) sentiment. Over the years, protesters have torn up fields where genetically modified crops were planted and marched in the streets to criticize companies that produce GMOs. Much of the public’s concern seems to stem from fears that gene editing could introduce new toxicity into old foods; make foods more allergenic; or lead to disease-causing genetic mutations in the humans who eat these altered plants or animals. Since-debunked animal research from the 1990s also caused some people to believe that eating genetically modified food leads to organ damage.

Even though the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), U.S. Department of Agriculture, and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency—which work together to regulate GMOs and make sure they meet food-safety standards—say they are safe, many people remain wary of these science-enhanced foods. “Technophobia is a very common problem,” says Trey Malone, an agricultural economist at the University of Arkansas. “It’s this rosy retrospection that assumes that things used to be better back when. That leads to this belief system that creates pushback against gene-edited and GMO foods.”

What many people don’t realize, Malone says, is that humans have tinkered with their food for a very long time. Even thousands of years ago, farmers would save the best seeds from their harvests and use them to optimize future yields, sometimes breeding them with other plants to create even more desirable crops in years to come. Modern corn wouldn’t exist without this kind of selective breeding; nor would bananas, apples, and broccoli as we know them today. Many of the produce varieties currently available in grocery stores, like pluots and broccolini, are also a result of cross-breeding two species to create a new one.

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Genetic modification is a related but more scientifically advanced process that involves making targeted tweaks to a plant or animal’s DNA to change or create specific traits. This process can be used to alter a food’s flavor, nutritional content, appearance, or defenses against pests like crop-killing insects, and has given rise to foods including Fresh Del Monte’s pink pineapples and non-browning Arctic apples. But while these flashy products grab lots of headlines, the truth is they make up only a fraction of the GMOs sold in the U.S. 

Fred Gould, a professor of agriculture at North Carolina State University who chaired a 2016 National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine report on genetically engineered crops, often leads educational sessions on GMOs. He likes to show a photograph of a supermarket produce section and ask how many of the vegetables in the picture are genetically modified. He gets lots of guesses as high as 90%—but the right answer is zero.

There are a handful of genetically modified fruits and veggies on the market, including summer squash, papayas, and the aforementioned pineapples and apples. And within the past decade, the FDA has approved genetically modified salmon (which grows faster than regular fish) and pork free of a specific allergen. But in the U.S., GMOs are much more likely to show up in processed foods like cooking oils, soy products, sweeteners, and snack foods. Almost all of the soybeans, corn, sugar beets, and canola planted in the U.S. are genetically modified, mainly for resistance against insects or pesticides. These crops are then used to make many of the packaged foods most Americans eat every day.

By eating these foods, the average American has for decades been part of a “natural experiment,” Gould says. People in the U.S. and Canada have been eating GMOs for decades, whereas they’re consumed less frequently overseas. If GMOs were linked to serious health problems, researchers would expect to see them reflected in comparisons of the health of North Americans relative to Europeans. But “when we look at the data,” Gould says, “we don’t see any signs.” Indeed, researchers have found no evidence of GMO-related increases in cancer, obesity, kidney disease, gastrointestinal issues, autism, or food allergies in the U.S. and Canada versus Europe. Research in animals has also shown no evidence that consuming GMOs causes genetic mutations, organ damage, or fertility problems.

“We’re very careful about saying there are no effects. We haven’t found any effects,” Gould says. There’s always a chance new risks could come to light with time, he says, but he feels that’s unlikely based on what the science has shown so far. 

Malone agrees that, based on the available research, there’s no clear reason to fear genetically modified foods and plenty of reasons to embrace them. Gene-editing can not only make foods more nutritious, but also streamline their production processes to improve sustainability, he says. Planting genetically modified crops, research suggests, may increase yields and allow farmers to produce more food on less land, while simultaneously cutting down on chemical pesticide use. Meanwhile, fast-growing genetically modified salmon theoretically requires fewer resources to raise compared to conventional fish.

As Malone sees it, innovations like these are the strongest reason for people to embrace GMOs, particularly as it becomes clear that the status quo isn’t serving the planet or its people. “Production systems across the planet are realizing that we are going to have to confront climate change. We are going to have to adapt,” Malone says. “Agriculture can be part of the solution.” 

You are what you eat, as the saying goes. But it might be more accurate to say you feel how you eat, since the burgeoning field of nutritional psychiatry suggests your diet plays an important role in your mental health. 

The right mix of foods and nutrients may serve as a buffer against stress, anxiety, depression, and a range of other psychological issues, research suggests. Studies have shown, for example, that people who follow a Mediterranean diet—one heavy on fruits, vegetables, legumes, olive oil, and fish—tend to have lower risks for depression than people who don’t. Piling your plate with foods like these may even be better for mental health than social support, a known psychological booster, according to a study from 2017.

There may not be an immediately obvious link between what goes into your belly and what happens in your brain. But “humans are one highly complex, highly integrated system,” says Felice Jacka, co-director of the Food and Mood Centre at Australia’s Deakin University and first author of the 2017 study. “The body and the brain…are in constant conversation.” 

Indeed, there’s a rich body of evidence to suggest that physical activity of nearly any type, duration, and intensity can improve mental health. And now, leading health authorities, including the World Health Organization, acknowledge that nutrition plays an important role, too. 

“Hippocrates was onto this eons ago. He made the connection between the gut and the brain,” says Dr. Uma Naidoo, director of nutritional and lifestyle psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital and author of Calm Your Mind with Food. Now, modern science is catching up.

Researchers are still learning about exactly how food influences mental health, but it seems that the gut microbiome plays a key part. Trillions of microbes live in your digestive system, working to break down components of the food you eat and interacting with numerous other parts of the body along the way, Jacka explains. Just as they nourish the physical body, nutrient-dense foods nurture the microbes in your gut, which translates to a range of benefits—including, research suggests, better mental health. One 2023 study in mice linked a type of bacteria found in foods like yogurt to lower levels of stress, and potentially lower risks for anxiety and depression, apparently due to its ability to regulate parts of the immune system.

The gut also has a direct line of communication to the brain via the vagus nerve, which runs from the brainstem to the large intestine. Mood-regulating neurotransmitters, including feel-good serotonin, are made in the gut. And once the gut pumps them out, the vagus nerve “acts like a two-way text messaging system that allows neurotransmitters to go back and forth, up and down, all the time,” Naidoo explains.

Although the science isn’t settled, some researchers have even posited that the mineral zinc, which is found in foods including oysters and nuts, may boost levels of a protein that promotes new growth in the brain, potentially leading to better cognitive function and mental health, says Dr. Drew Ramsey, an assistant clinical professor of psychiatry at Columbia University and author of Eat to Beat Depression and Anxiety. By eating well, “you’re giving your brain cells all the nutrients they need to grow and thrive,” he says.

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Jacka isn’t overly prescriptive about what people should and shouldn’t eat for peak mental health. But, as a general rule of thumb, she suggests orienting your diet around a wide variety of plant-based foods, such as fruits, vegetables, nuts, beans, herbs, and whole grains, and limiting how often you eat ultra-processed foods, such as packaged chips, cookies, and snacks.

How and where you eat is also important, Ramsey says. Many people build their shopping lists primarily around what is cheapest and easiest to prepare. But developing an emotional connection to food, whether by purchasing it at farmer’s markets where you can meet the people who grow it or by slowing down and sharing meals with friends and family, can nourish the mind and soul as well as the body, he adds. “Through our relationship with food,” Ramsey says, “we can build community.”

If you’re looking for specific mood-boosting foods, here’s what science suggests you should put on your grocery list.

What to eat for better mental health

Omega-3 fatty acids: While much of the research is preliminary, there’s some evidence that eating foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids—including seafood, nuts, and plant oils—at least a few times per week can improve mood disorders like depression and bipolar disorder.

Cruciferous vegetables: Veggies including cauliflower, broccoli, cabbage, and arugula contain compounds that reduce inflammation, which is linked to a range of health issues including depression and anxiety. In one 2022 study, people who ate multiple servings of cruciferous veggies each day had significantly lower self-reported stress levels than people who ate less.

Fermented foods: Famous for feeding your gut microbes, fermented foods like plain yogurt, kimchi, and sauerkraut are powerhouses for enhancing the brain-body connection. Some research suggests that eating two to three servings per day is linked to measurable reductions in stress and depressive symptoms. 

Spices: Cinnamon, saffron, turmeric, black pepper, and other spices are rich in antioxidants, contain anti-inflammatory compounds, and improve metabolism, which may also boost mental health. Whenever you’re preparing food, Naidoo recommends reaching for spices to add flavor, rather than salt or sugar.

Beans and leafy greens: Some research suggests anxiety is related to magnesium deficiency—so eating foods that are rich in this mineral, such as beans, spinach, and Swiss chard, may help calm the mind.

Good riddance to that pack of chicken thighs you never got around to making for dinner, and the single-serve yogurts that seemed like a good idea at the time. Those browning bananas on the counter? Bon voyage; may they enjoy their trip to the landfill.

If that attitude toward food sounds cavalier, it’s also realistic: One-third of all food in America is wasted, according to a MITRE-Gallup report published in November—which means the average family of four spends at least $1,500 annually on food that ends up being thrown out. To visualize the amount of (often perfectly fine) food that’s wasted nationwide, picture stuffing it into 1 million semi-trucks, or letting crops that grow on farm land large enough to cover California and New York just rot.

Food waste has numerous implications, including on the economy (it cost the U.S. $310 billion in 2021), food insecurity (waste can lead to higher prices), and the environment (it places an enormous burden on natural resources), not to mention your personal budget. “The reasons people throw away food are, in my mind, ridiculous,” says Adam Lowy, executive director of Move For Hunger, a nonprofit that fights hunger and food waste. Reducing the amount of food you toss is “a real cost-savings.”

If you’re interested in cutting back on food waste at home—and saving money in the process—get started with these expert tips.

Make a shopping list.

Preparing for the grocery store is “a really important moment in the art of food management,” says Dana Gunders, executive director of ReFED, a nonprofit dedicated to ending food loss and waste in the U.S. “People who make lists and stick to them tend to save time and money—and they also waste less food.”

If you’re not a list person, you can still get into the habit of eyeballing your cart before you check out, Gunders says. Think through your schedule and whether you’ll have time to cook and eat everything you’ve selected. Already have a few restaurant meals on your calendar? Know you’ll be popping a couple frozen pizzas into the oven? Make sure your cart accounts for the nights when you won’t need fresh ingredients.

Get friendly with your freezer.

“You can freeze more than you think,” says Lisa Bryan, a recipe developer and author of Downshiftology: Healthy Meal Prep. She freezes most ingredients and leftovers—including produce, meat, and seafood—for up to three months, though some things (like soups and stews) can last longer.

Bryan recently bought too many sweet potatoes, for example, so she mashed them up and froze a few individual portions that she can quickly reheat as an easy side. When she cooks chicken breast, she slices or dices it and puts it into containers. She keeps one in the fridge to use throughout the week; the other two go into the freezer—right next to her frozen fresh herbs. “People buy a bunch of cilantro or parsley, and then it starts to wilt, and they just throw it away,” she says. Instead, chop that greenery up and put it in an ice-cube tray. “Put a little oil, butter, or ghee in, and you’ll have cubes of herb butter,” she says. “Then the next time you’re going to sauté something, instead of just using butter or oil, you’ve got herb butter or oil.”

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Adopt a “use-it-up” mentality.

Turn one dinner a week into an opportunity to clear the cupboards. (Waste Less Wednesday, anyone?) Gather all the ingredients at risk of being wasted, and unleash your culinary creativity. Almost anything can be tossed into soups, stir-fries, tacos, or salads, says Brian Theis, a chef and author of the cookbook The Infinite Feast.

Potatoes, rice, and legumes make a nice, starchy base that thickens soups, for example; leftover beets can be used to make borscht. Radishes play a key role in green goddess dressing, while extra tomatoes can be granted a second life as pasta sauce. Theis recently used leftovers to make a standout gumbo: He tossed in onions, bell peppers, celery, okra, seasoning, and even some extra whitefish he had on hand. “I fed it to a bunch of lifelong New Orleanians, and they were like, ‘This is amazing—how did you think of this?’” he says.

You can also save your ingredients by drinking them. “I’ve had smoothies made out of the most bizarre, unexpected things,” Theis says. “Mangoes and kale and pineapple juice—all this kind of stuff goes amazingly well together.” For more inspiration, check out recipes from Move for Hunger’s Zero Waste Kitchen or the Waste Free Kitchen Handbook.

Use the scraps.

Galen Zamarra’s motto in the kitchen is “zero waste.” Part of the way the James Beard Award-winning chef accomplishes that is by putting seemingly useless parts of food to work. Take spinach stems: “Even the little joint where they come together can be steamed and eaten,” he says. Broccoli leaves and celery leaves, meanwhile, make healthy additions to salads, and the base and stem of mushrooms can be cut and sautéed, or tossed into soups, stews, and sauces.

Turn unused bits into pet food.

There are certain parts of fish and meat that we tend to trim off and not eat—but you know who’d enjoy them? Your cat or dog. Zamarra points to the dark, oily bloodline of fish as one example: “There’s nothing wrong with the bloodline,” he says. “It just doesn’t look nice, and we take it off.” Likewise, if you’re making steak, you might slice off the sinewy parts to make it look more consistent.

Zamarra likes to boil those ingredients in water, then toss them into a food processor or blender. “Sometimes I’ll add scraps of potatoes or carrots, and I generally mix it with kibble,” he says. With a little extra work, you‘ll have a few servings of pet food made out of ingredients you would have otherwise trashed.

Trust yourself—not just date labels.

Date labels on packaged foods can contribute to waste, Lowy points out. With the exception of infant formula, federal regulators don’t require food product dating from manufacturers—though many companies still provide these labels to help consumers and retailers determine when ingredients are of best quality. Because there’s no standardization, companies use a wide variety of phrases, like “sell-by,” “use-by,” and even “freeze-by.” These end up confusing consumers. As the MITRE-Gallup report noted, 31% of Americans dispose of food that’s passed its date label, even if it hasn’t actually gone bad. 

Read More: Confused By Expiration Dates? You’re Not Alone. Here’s What They Really Mean

Instead of putting all of your faith into the date printed on the package, “smell your food, look at your food, taste your food,” Lowy says. Check for discoloration, mold, or signs of spoilage, for example, and whether you smell anything unusual. You can also feel it to see if you detect bruising, sliminess, or staleness. “When your food is bad, it will tell you that. You don’t need a piece of paper to tell you.”

Make it a family affair.

Today’s young diners are tomorrow’s zero-wasters. One fun game is to inspect what your kids bring home in their lunch bags every day and, as a family, dream up ways to give it a second life, Gunders suggests. How might you repurpose those sad rejects, so they don’t end up in the trash? For instance, “If I send carrots that come back home, I chop them up and put them in the fridge,” she says.

It’s also helpful to set an example during family meals by serving yourself small portions, Gunders notes. That way, your kids will be less likely to put piles of food on their plate that they end up wasting.

Keep track of what you don’t use.

Call it a food waste journal: Log every piece of food you discarded and how (whether you threw it out or gave it to the neighbors), plus its price and why you didn’t eat it. “That will give you a sense of your patterns and the estimated value of what you’re wasting,” Theis says. “It’ll inform your list the next time you go to the grocery store,” and help you stretch your dollars even further.

A longing for authenticity. An urge to protect the planet and embrace nature. An itch to spice things up. These are the modern sentiments shaping what will show up on our plates and in our glasses in 2024, according to experts who forecast food trends.

We asked nearly a dozen industry insiders—from chefs to a food futurologist—what to expect in the year ahead for food and drink. Here’s what they said.

An emphasis on global flavors

Even if you don’t venture farther than a nearby restaurant in 2024, exciting new flavors from around the world will be at the other end of your fork. One of the defining trends of the year is expected to be third-culture cuisine, or dishes from a chef’s diverse background. Think: wafu Italian restaurants, which bridge Japanese and Italian cultures, and Filipino-British bakeries. “It’s very much derived from social changes and globalization and the meaning of identity today,” says Claire Lancaster, head of food and drink at the trend-forecasting company WGSN. In the past, she notes, someone might have “slapped something random on a pizza” and called it fusion, but more care goes into it now. “This new generation of chefs is creating products that reflect their unique, multi-layered cultural identities.”

More Asian ingredients

Expect Asian flavors and ingredients to have a moment. Black sesame, ube, and milk tea will follow the path of matcha and become more prevalent, predicts Denise Purcell, vice president of resource development with the Specialty Food Association, a trade group that hosts the Fancy Food Show. “We’re seeing milk tea-filled donuts and ube hot chocolate,” she says. “I was just someplace where they had black sesame cookies.” The flavors are also popping up in salty snacks, like black milk tea popcorn, Purcell notes.

Andrea Xu, co-founder and CEO of Umamicart, an online grocer that specializes in Asian groceries, anticipates more people will embrace Asian fruits, such as rambutan, pink guava, longan, mangosteen, and various types of dragon fruit. “If you go for the golden variety, it will be much sweeter and softer,” Xu says of dragon fruit. “The white and purple varieties are a little tangier. They make for really good smoothies.”

In Denver, Ni and Anna Nguyen—the married chefs behind popular Vietnamese restaurant Sap Sua—are excited about the emergence of first-generation Asian chefs diversifying what dining looks like. “A lot of people are starting to recognize that there’s a difference between the cuisines,” Ni says. “What makes Filipino cuisine special, and what makes Vietnamese cuisine special? It’s not just lumped into one category.”

Steps toward sustainability

One of the undercurrents driving food and drink trends is our collective desire to take care of the planet. More companies will prioritize sustainability in the coming months in surprising ways. Expect, for instance, the rise of alternative chocolates. As Lancaster points out, the demand for cocoa has led to deforestation worldwide; plus, access to it is becoming more difficult and expensive. Alternative chocolate is “made without cocoa,” but it still tastes remarkably similar to your standard bar, she says. “There’s a group of innovators who are creating alternatives that have the same taste, smell, and melt of original chocolate.” One U.S.-based company, Voyage Foods, uses ingredients like grape seeds, sunflower protein flour, and sunflower lecithin to make their alternative chocolate. In the U.K., WNWN Food Labs replaces cocoa beans with ingredients like cereals and legumes.

Other companies are responding to water scarcity, extreme heat, and droughts by creating products that minimize their water footprint. For example: waterless plant milks come in powder form, so you can mix in water at home. “The industry is realizing that we’re paying to ship water—that’s 90% of the product,” Lancaster says. “It’s a huge CO2 emitter, and it adds to the cost of the product.” Other companies are utilizing drought-friendly crops like prickly pear cactus to make snacks like popcorn, trail mix, and candy. 

Meanwhile, as we learn more about the climate impact of marine ingredients, expect innovators to start showcasing lesser-known ones, Lancaster says. That includes urchins and fish roe—all of which “create a really lovely, savory, umami depth of flavor, and they’re bringing it to a wider range of dishes.”

Fun with fungi

Todd Anderson, a chef and founder of the Turnip Vegan Recipe Club, gets mushy when talking about mushrooms. In 2024, more of us will embrace fungi, he predicts—and mushrooms will shine as a meat replacement. Anderson recently made mushroom meatballs and roasted lion’s mane, a mushroom that grows on woody tree trunks. He also enjoys dishes like shiitake bacon, mushroom roast beef, and maple sausage made out of mushrooms. Many mushrooms are easy to grow at home, he says, even for people in urban environments—and he’s looking forward to seeing more people grow and experiment with them in 2024.

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A celebration of vegetables

Matty Matheson, a chef and restaurateur who starred in FX’s restaurant dramedy The Bear, doesn’t consider himself a big trends guy—but he’s excited about veggies. We’re about to see a surge in “vegetable-forward restaurants,” he says. “I think people are now understanding how to cook vegetables in a way that’s more profound and more exhilarating for their customers and for themselves.” Take broccoli, for instance. You might see it grilled or pureed; a chef might stew its leaves with collard greens. Another increasingly popular technique: cooking Brussels sprouts’ “beautiful, very robust” leaves as though they were collard greens, which Matheson describes as especially flavorful. “Having more vegetables on the forefront is going to be a big thing.”

Dinner in a drink

Lauren Paylor O’Brien, a mixologist who’s the winner of Drink Masters season 1 on Netflix, likes to use food as inspiration for the drinks she creates. In 2024, she predicts we’ll see more culinary integration with booze. During a recent event, she paired a scoop of honey ice cream with three drops of olive oil and a fizzy whiskey cocktail. It’s a “sensory experience,” she says. “There’s the visual appearance of ice cream in a glass, the carbonation from the drink as you’re pouring it, the aromatics from both the ice cream and the canned cocktail, the additional flavor profile of adding olive oil, and then also the aromatics that you’re getting from the olive oil.”

Mixologists worldwide are embracing meal profiles for drink flavors, Lancaster notes. She points to Double Chicken Please, a New York City bar, where patrons can order cocktails like the Cold Pizza (Don Fulano Blanco, parmigiano Reggiano, burnt toast, tomato, basil, honey, and egg white) or Mango Sticky Rice (Bacardi Reserva Ocho, mango, sticky rice pu’er tea, wakame, cold brew, coconut). At the Savory Project bar in Hong Kong, patrons can sip on drinks that utilize ingredients like beef, charred corn husks, leeks, and shiitake mushrooms. “Really unexpected flavor profiles” are going to be big, Lancaster says.

More mindful drinking

For years, Derek Brown was best known in Washington, D.C., for owning high-profile bars. But the longtime bartender’s attitude about alcohol has shifted, and he’s now an advocate for non-alcoholic cocktails (he wrote the Mindful Mixology recipe book in 2022).

In 2024, Brown expects we’ll see the continued rise of mindful drinking, vs. an either/or approach. “We still see a lot of polarization in discussions about alcohol,” he says. “They tend to revert to: drink or don’t drink.” Instead, we’ll start to hear more about what he calls “substituters,” or people who switch between “non-alcoholic and alcoholic adult sophisticated-beverages based on the occasion.” That allows us to keep the best parts of drinking—being social and trying delicious drinks, Brown says—while leaving heavy consumption behind.

Another trend bubbling toward the surface is non-alcoholic wine, Brown predicts. Attention has largely centered on non-alcoholic beer until now, but companies like Leitz in Germany and Giesen in New Zealand are starting to offer dealcoholized wines. Many add teas and extracts to compensate for the body and flavor lost during the dealcoholization process—and Brown describes their taste as “amazing.”

Funky flavors, ingredients, and colors

During a conversation on a recent afternoon, Xu snacked on Lay’s “numb & spicy hot pot” flavored potato chips. “We’re starting to see people really going outside the typical snacks they’d been having,” she says. Enter: unique offerings like roasted cumin lamb skewer Lay’s, Sichuan Peppercorn Doritos, and Lay’s Stax potato chips flavored like jamon (Spanish ham).

On the higher brow end of things, chef Michele Mazza of Il Mulino New York is looking forward to cooking with unique pasta flavors, like squid ink pasta—which “has a very salty flavor with some hints of the ocean”—and truffle-infused pasta, which “gives off a more earthy taste.” We’ll also likely see wider use of whimsical pasta shapes, he believes, such as orecchiette, farfalle, fusilli, and Cavatappi.

Color-wise, blue will rule, predicts Morgaine Gaye, a food futurologist based in London. That’s a reflection of a broader trend: In 2024, we’ll continue to seek out nature—part of our ongoing quest to find solace in a divided, stressful world. Inspired by ocean and sky hues, more of our snacks and meals will incorporate blue: “We’ll see muffins, we’ll see cupcakes, we’ll see drinks” colored with butterfly pea protein—a powder made from the butterfly pea plant, a vine native to Thailand—or blue-green algae, Gaye says.

Gaye also foresees florals. Rose, lavender, and violet flavors will pop up in drinks, baked goods, ice cream, snacks, and more to delight us. In 2024, “we’re going to need comfort, kindness, and nature,” she says. “All of that stuff is key to mental well-being, as we try to hold ourselves, and hold one another, together.”

The start of the 2020s—marked by the COVID-19 pandemic and its aftermath—changed how we eat. Early lockdowns made home kitchens, gardens, and pantries the new centers of culinary culture, and the rise of TikTok democratized recipe creation, turning home cooks into trendsetters.

But not every change was welcome. Some trends should stay right where they are in 2023. In 2024, it’s time to let these nine trendy dishes, gadgets, and conversations go so that others can shine.

Overpriced tinned fish

If Girl Dinner was the meal of the year, tinned fish was the centerpiece. Rising food prices turned diners toward budget staples, and suddenly tinned sardines, salmon, mackerel, and other salty swimmers became unlikely superfoods on TikTok. “It’s a great weeknight dinner protein option for people who may not want to go to the grocery store, or people in small kitchens who are weary of smells and spatters,” says Molly Baz, a recipe developer, video host, and cookbook author.

Now, some high-end companies are capitalizing on the trend with ever-fancier products (like a can of sardines, packed with gold leaf, selling for $44 a pop). But quality doesn’t always increase alongside price, Baz says. “There’s a lot of really nicely branded tinned fish that actually isn’t prepared and packaged properly.” Resist the urge to grab the prettiest tin off the shelf; she suggests stopping by a small grocer to ask for recommendations.

The Ninja Creami

Most people probably don’t need a $200 machine with only one function. But that didn’t stop the Ninja Creami—a specialized blender with descending blades capable of turning a frozen brick of anything into a rich slush—from becoming one of the more popular appliance trends of the year. It was sold out at many retailers nearly all summer as the hashtag #ninjacreami racked up more than 800 million views on TikTok. In the Creami, its proponents promised, nearly anything could become soft-serve—you just have to remember to freeze your ingredients in the proprietary cup 24 hours beforehand, eat it all in one sitting so it doesn’t reharden in the freezer, give up a sizeable chunk of prime kitchen-counter real estate, clean a bunch of pieces, and listen to what sounds like a low-flying jet engine run for up to 10 minutes. 

The Creami represents a trend of highly specialized (and expensive) kitchen gadgets that lend themselves to easy impulse purchasing—probably because they looked cool on TikTok. Many are now collecting dust. “If you don’t want to eat ice cream and you want frozen fruit, make a smoothie,” says Meredith Hayden, the chef and recipe developer behind the popular food blog and TikTok page Wishbone Kitchen.

Water bottle collections

First, it was Hydroflask. Then Yeti. Then Stanley. Now, the water bottle brand du jour is Owalla. This year, thanks in part to the rise of flavored #watertok on TikTok, we got a glimpse into the lives of people who collect water bottles like they’re building sets of trading cards. Some influencers boast shelves lined with every color a brand offers—sometimes upwards of 100 bottles.

Stockpiling the very item that most symbolizes reduced consumption is more than a little ironic. Just remember: A New Year’s resolution to drink more water is just as achievable with a bottle you already own.

ChatGPT recipes

ChatGPT can do a lot of things, but it can’t cook. All it takes is five minutes with the AI service to realize that its creative capacity is limited when it comes to the culinary arts. When presented with a theme or a list of ingredients, ChatGPT tends to go for the lowest common denominator: simple recipes and menus that aren’t going to knock anyone’s socks off. (Usually a stir fry.)

Successful recipe creation requires serious trial and error. “I have to make something a bunch of times before the recipe is worked out,” says Jeanine Donofrio, a recipe developer, author, and creator of the vegetarian haven Love and Lemons. In contrast, a machine-generated recipe will almost always be lacking.

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Olive-oil coffee

Olive-oil coffee made its 2023 debut when Starbucks released the “Oleato” first in Italy, then in the U.S. The line of drinks—which include coffee infused with a spoonful of olive oil—soon hit meme status, with content creators tasting them on video. “It was not for me,” says Baz, who tried the drink and calls it “greasy.”

One issue for some drinkers: Olive oil has a laxative effect, and coffee isn’t much better in that arena. We’ll let you guess what happened to some of the people who tried it. 

Cottage cheese desserts

If there’s one trend that best capped off food media’s great transformation into a video-first medium, it was cottage cheese cookie dough. The idea of making treats with lower-calorie and higher-protein ingredients is nothing new, but for years, these types of recipes have been designed to mimic taste above all else, and can sometimes come out looking less than appealing.

With cottage cheese, TikTok creators flipped the script. The desserts it starred in—like cheesecake, ice cream, cake, pudding, and the famous edible cookie dough—looked really good. “It was so exciting, because the mixture itself looked so convincing,” says Donofrio. “It was so smooth and creamy. And then I dipped my spoon in, and it was so disappointing.”

Hayden, who enjoys cottage cheese in savory dishes, says she thinks constantly about new ways recipe developers can convey taste through video. “It’s so easy to make food look like it tastes good, and the viewer is never going to know,” she says. Ultimately, she suspects the answer to disappointments like cottage cheese desserts is that demonstrating consistency and reliability will be more necessary than ever for recipe developers in 2024. 

Nonstick cookware

We’re calling it now: For 2024, nonstick is out, and steel is in. To cook like the pros, there’s no better option. “2023 was almost like the peak of millennial-coded aesthetic cookware,” says Hayden, referencing the Instagram-advertising brands peddling pots and pans that prioritized design over function. “I feel like [nonstick] is a crutch, and it’s preventing people from learning how to cook.”

Though solid evidence has yet to confirm concerns that the coatings on these products—which use substances like Teflon and silica to remain slick—could cause health issues as they chip or secrete PFAS into food, there are other reasons to ditch them for stainless. One is versatility. With the right heat control, stainless steel can slide and sauté like the best of them, or sear and fry with a crispness that rivals the work of an established cast iron. “There’s a fear of heat in the kitchen,” Baz says. “I notice a lot of times that cooks are afraid to turn their burners up.” While nonstick pans don’t get quite as hot, you can crank it up for max flavor with stainless steel, and skillets made from it are built to last in a way other cookware just isn’t.

Caviar everything

Caviar used to be a luxury experience. Now, it’s a casual snack, at least according to lifestyle creators across Instagram and TikTok. Caviar “has woven its way into more mainstream foods and out of fine dining, I think because people are spending so much more time in their home kitchens as a result of having had to for several years,” Baz says. Now, the trendy way to eat it is as part of a “high-low” pairing: Think caviar with Doritos, potato chips, fried chicken, or scrambled eggs. 

On TikTok, this type of caviar consumption is more about the aesthetics than the actual gustatory experience. But since sturgeon are severely overfished and their eggs are often sold on the black market, caviar should remain a rare treat.

Scooped bagels 

The so-called “scooped bagel” went viral this year when a man chronicled his search for a bagel shop willing to hollow out New York’s iconic breakfast food. Scooped bagels may have their origins in anti-carb diets, but if you’re trying to be healthier, disemboweling a food you actually enjoy—or asking a busy worker to do it for you—isn’t the way to start the new year. 

The scooped bagel, even more so than other viral bagel “crimes” like 2019’s horizontally sliced “St. Louis bagel,” ignores the fact that an already-pristine baked good with a less doughy center already exists: the bialy, a dense, chewy, and flatter-than-a-bagel roll of similar origins and technique. Like your bagels with less center? In 2024, let the quest for your dream breakfast lead you to a boiled-and-baked good that needs no tweaks.

The science is clear: from a health perspective, the less you drink, the better. But alcohol is a cornerstone of nearly every personal and professional gathering, so you may not always want to abstain.

Nor do you always have to. Most people can make drinking in moderation part of a healthy lifestyle in a variety of ways, experts say.

Here’s how to do it.

Take inventory of your habits.

Becoming a healthier drinker starts with getting real with yourself. Have you had a problem with alcohol in the past, or do you now? “Reflecting earnestly and honestly is an important first step,” says Dr. Aakash Shah, chief of addiction medicine at Hackensack Meridian Health in New Jersey. Those with alcohol addiction issues are usually advised to abstain from drinking. Not sure if that’s you? Consider whether you’re increasingly snapping at or arguing with your loved ones about how much you’re drinking, showing up late or not performing well at work, or unable to think of anything but your next drink. If that sounds familiar, talk to your primary care doctor or search online for an addiction medicine specialist. “Not only is this a disease, but it’s a disease for which we have medications that work well,” Shah says.

Even those who haven’t struggled with alcohol use disorder can benefit from this type of reflection, Shah adds. Do you tend to drink more during celebrations? When you’re sad or in the middle of an argument? Taking stock of your triggers can help you better prepare for the times when you tend to overdo it.

Stick to the recommendations.

Experts agree it’s essential to follow federal guidelines to limit intake to two drinks per day for men, and one a day for women. A standard drink means 12 ounces of beer, 5 ounces of wine, or 1.5 ounces of distilled spirits. Binge drinking—defined as having five or more drinks per occasion for men or four or more drinks for women—is especially dangerous, because it’s associated with serious injuries and diseases, as well as a higher risk of alcohol use disorder. “Spread out your alcohol over the week,” advises Eric Rimm, a professor of epidemiology and nutrition at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. “Don’t have it all Friday or Saturday night.”

Make a plan before going out.

If you tend to overindulge, decide in advance how much you’re going to drink, and enlist a friend to help you stick to your goals—maybe reminding you that you only wanted to have two drinks before switching to water or soda. “Tell so-and-so that if they see you behaving in a certain way, they should let you know, and you’ll head out early and call it a night,” Shah says.

It can also be helpful, he notes, to figure out how you’ll say no if your friends start pushing you to have another. You could even rehearse potential scenarios with someone you trust. “Practicing is so important,” Shah says. “If you leave it up to yourself to find the words in the minute, especially if you’ve already been drinking, it’ll be much more difficult.”

Don’t drink on an empty stomach.

You’ll typically order a drink first at a restaurant, then figure out what you want to eat. But that can amplify the negative effects of alcohol. “It would be much better to get your appetizers first, and after they’re delivered, get a drink,” Rimm says. That way, you won’t spend 20 minutes or so drinking on an empty stomach. Food slows down the rate of intoxication, research suggests, by interfering with how quickly alcohol is absorbed into the small intestine. Meals high in fat, carbs, or protein are particularly effective.

Choose your drinks wisely.

Know the concentration of alcohol in your drink—and if possible, dilute it, Rimm advises. That’s not necessary with wine, which is about 14% alcohol by volume (ABV), or beer, which is usually about 5-7%. “But spirits have a huge range that can be as low as 30% or as high as 70% alcohol,” Rimm says. One shot could deliver as much or more alcohol than a large glass of something else, so cutting it with water or another mixer—and reading labels carefully—is a good idea.

Make an effort to cut back.

The healthiest thing most people can do is figure out a way to drink less, says Dr. Timothy Naimi, director of the Canadian Institute for Substance Use Research. “Less is better when it comes to health,” he says, noting that heavy drinkers will get the most out of reducing their intake, even if they’re not yet able to drop below recommended daily limits. “If you’re somebody who drinks five or six drinks a day, and you can cut down to three a day, you’re going to get a tremendous benefit.”

To stick with it, first name your motivation, Naimi suggests. Do you want to drink less so you don’t have trouble waking up in the morning before work, or because your relationships are suffering? Then, set a goal, like the number of drinks you’ll stick to each week. Consider enlisting support from your close friends and family members, or tapping into online or in-person communities. It’s also key to arrange alternative activities so your social life and free time don’t revolve around alcohol. “Maybe going for a walk instead of going to the bar, or hanging out with people who tend not to drink much,” Naimi says.

Take a break.

You’ve probably heard of Sober October or Dry January—month-long endeavors to give up alcohol. Research suggests that people who quit drinking for even short periods experience long-lasting benefits. In one study, moderate-to-heavy drinkers who gave up alcohol for a month lost about 4.5 pounds and improved their insulin resistance and blood pressure, while also experiencing a reduction in cancer-related growth factors. Other research has found that people who participate in Dry January still drink considerably less than they used to by the time August rolls around.

You can start this sort of challenge at any time of the year, says Dr. George F. Koob, director of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA). If a month feels too long, embark on a shorter trial run. “I always tell people, if you stop drinking for a week or two and feel better, and you’re starting to sleep better and your interactions with your family are better, then listen to your body,” he says. “It’s trying to tell you something.”

Practice mindful drinking.

Tapping into meditation-inspired strategies can help you become more aware of how much you’re drinking, and why—potentially making it easier to cut back. “When you take a sip, don’t think about other stuff that’s going on,” Rimm advises. Instead, savor the flavor. When your glass is empty, spend a few moments reflecting on whether you truly want another. Slowing down—instead of mindlessly chugging—can help ensure that you make clearheaded decisions about what and how much you drink, kickstarting a healthier relationship with alcohol.