Dr. David Katz on Finding the “Best” Diet
Healthy living requires more than delicious, nourishing food. You also need a reliable resource that cuts through fads and false claims to give you fact-based information about eating well. That’s why we’re thrilled to discuss this topic with Dr. David Katz, a globally recognized, leading authority on nutrition, wellness, and the prevention of chronic disease. He served as the founding director of the Yale-Griffin Prevention Research Center, president of the American College of Lifestyle Medicine, founder of the True Health Initiative nonprofit, and author of The Truth About Food.
We asked Dr. Katz to answer a few questions about how to plan for a healthier new year. He explains why good nutrition has little to do with complicated macro counting or demonizing entire food groups, and more to do with maximizing the quality of our food choices.
People are often inspired to start a new diet at the beginning of the year. Is there a particular one that you recommend?
There are hundreds of diets out there, but when we ask which one is best, we’re asking the wrong question: it’s not about which diet you follow, it’s the quality and balance of the food you eat that determines its healthfulness. This year—as with last year, 10 years ago, and even 100 years ago—the best diet is one made up of wholesome, minimally processed foods, with an emphasis on vegetables, fruits, whole grains, beans, lentils, nuts, and seeds. These are fundamental truths about eating well, and they don’t change when we hang up a new calendar.
My advice is simple: eat plenty of plants and fill your plate with nutrient-rich whole foods that you enjoy. Use these basics of a healthy diet to develop a habit of eating that supports your lifestyle, your food preferences, and your values.
So what specifically do you recommend to someone who wants to improve their eating habits?
- Ditch the diet mentality. Resist the temptation to jump onto the latest trend. Stick to what’s tried and true: follow a sustainable eating pattern that you truly enjoy and nourishes your body with nutrient-rich whole foods.
- Discover Your Kind of Healthy. Nutrient-rich whole foods that you enjoy should be the foundation of what you’re eating. You can be a pescatarian, vegetarian, vegan, or follow a Paleo diet, just as long as you stick to the basics. Explore, experiment, and always eat the foods you like. Discover “your kind of healthy” and learn to love the food that loves you back. Your eating pattern should be as unique as you are.
- Embrace change. Your body is dynamic, and so is your environment. Be empowered to adjust your food choices to support whatever season of life you find yourself in. Maybe you recently signed up for a marathon and your body is asking for extra fuel, perhaps you’re a mom-to-be and you find yourself gravitating towards or away from certain foods. How you eat should evolve over time and respect the changes around you.
- Look beyond the plate. We are what we eat, but the more important thing is that we are what we repeatedly do. Yes, your food choices affect your health, but so does sleep, stress management, physical movement, and relationships. Your health is a reflection of your habits. This year, I encourage you to take a more holistic approach and commit to building habits that support true health.
- Dine at the intersection of health and happiness. Remember, we aren’t pursuing health just for the sake of health—the real goal is happiness. If your approach to health feels more like a burden than a bonus, take a deep breath and remember the big picture. Food should be fun. Eating is a pleasure. Your approach should be uplifting and life-enhancing—always.
Find Your Kind of Healthy on the Sunbasket menu
Whatever your kind of healthy is, you can find it at Sunbasket. Our goal is to make it easier for you to eat plenty of plants and more nutrient-rich whole foods every single week. Try it today!
2019 Ushers in a Season of Fresh Starts
After a year riddled by retrograde planets and progress meted out in fits and starts, all the planets will be direct (moving forward) right after the new moon on the 5th and, minus a few speed bumps, all systems should be go. A second eclipse on the 20th, a total lunar and super full moon, packs an emotional punch, bookending a chapter-turning month of powerful beginnings and endings. Out with the old and in with the new, indeed.
By Lisa Lisa and the Star Jam*
CAPRICORN (Dec 22-Jan 19) Like Michelangelo, goats have been methodically chiseling away the superfluous material from their own marble block for the past decade. With a bunch of planets, joined by a new moon and a solar eclipse in your sign, you begin the year with a bonafide rebirth. Whether you change the font on your business card, test drive a new look, or sculpt yourself a new body, you’re ready to reveal a fresh form. Your relationships take on new shape as well. This is no small feat, so as you put the final touches on your creation, apply a little tenderness. Toward the end of the month, take stock of how you feel about what you’ve accomplished. As you go within, you’re aware of divine protection that has been guiding you throughout the process.
AQUARIUS (Jan 20-Feb 18) Before you put the key in the ignition and go, take a breath. For Waterbears, the year starts with all the buzz behind the scenes. The astrological omens coax you to take time out and turn your attention to metaphysical and emotional healing. Securing peace within prepares you to release old ways of being in relationships, and the lunar eclipse later in the month makes way for unattached Aquarians to open up to a new type of partner. By the end of the month, your personal new year begins with a fresh you and vision financially. All the while, you’re motivated to network, study, and expand your social circle. Like any self-respecting Aquarius, you think your way into a radical new version of yourself.
PISCES (Feb 19-Mar 20) With a line up of planets in your house of friends, groups, and objectives, opportunities abound to manifest your wildest dreams. Real fish swim in schools and, this month, you would do well do so, too. Wait, there’s more: the good news planets meet up in your career domain; you’re in demand and effortlessly attract what you love. Meanwhile, you’re stoked to take the lead around finances and keen to make money. Later in the month, the lunar eclipse presses the reset button around your health and habits, highlighting what you need to do or release to sustain your body long term. At the end of the month, slip away and take time to daydream; that’s when Pisces visions can take shape.
ARIES (Mar 21-April 19) Like a man shot out of a cannon, the new year catapults you forward. Action planet Mars, your ruler, is in your sign all month, and you’re revved to get moving and go, go, go. Set priorities around your career. Write them down. If you don’t like what you’re doing, there’s plenty of cosmic energy available to change direction. You’re at a crucial crossroads that calls for authenticity and being comfortable in your own skin at work. Lucky planets, Venus and Jupiter, pile up in your wild blue yonder house, beckoning you to take off for parts unknown; and a lunar eclipse near the end of the month illuminates that which brings you joy and urges you to explore your fun-tier.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20) Bulls like to hang out in familiar pastures. But come the new year, resolve to venture further afield. Try travel, spiritual pursuits, or learning a language – all can offer a different perspective on your own backyard. With so much activity buzzing in your house of long-distance travel and wisdom, stretching your boundaries opens up opportunities for growth. During the first week of the year, Venus, your ruler, still sizzles in your partnership house, ringing in the year on a harmonious note and making New Year’s ripe for a romantic date. Then the planet of love and money joins lucky Jupiter in your house of shared resources, inspiring others to fund you; and you’re flush to pay off debt or invest in ethical ventures. The lunar eclipse toward the end of the month could point you in a new direction professionally.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20) Outwardly, Twins’ energy lights on their social life this month. Collaboration sparks new connections and inspires breakthroughs. But with much of the planetary energy stacked in the hidden realms—of transformation and other people’s money—Twins take a deep dive into their inner world. Mysteries and metaphysics may capture some’s fickle fancies, while others might receive an inheritance or insurance settlement, and still, others might hook up with a business partner that may prove fruitful in the coming months. Meanwhile, Venus and Jupiter join forces in your partnership house, where love or a deepening of an existing relationship is in the air. Twins often balk at being tied down, but this month (all year, really) they’re more likely fans of commitment. Later, the lunar eclipse shines on changes you’d like to see in your community and make around the way you communicate. Yes, even you could improve in this capacity.
CANCER (June 21-July 22) A focus on relationships sets the tone for the better part of the year. Sometimes co-dependent, Crabs tend to hold onto the past, but a fresh start with someone new, or a reboot around an existing partnership, helps you draw the line with people who drain you. It’s easy to get overstimulated or pulled in opposite directions at this time of year, so make sure to get plenty of rest, take care of yourself, and guard against stress. Fortunately, Jupiter and Venus grace your house of health and work this month, which helps bring balance to your daily rhythms. An emotionally charged lunar eclipse in your money house near the end of the month brings things to a head around your finances. An income stream may suddenly dry up, a new one materializes, or you find yourself a business partner. All the while, action planet Mars, and Uranus the great liberator, run interference in your career house, spurring you to take the lead and take a risk. Our money’s on Crabs making a breakthrough.
LEO (July 23-Aug 22) Lions can expect at a busy year. In preparation, the cosmic omens call for some adjustments around your health and daily habits. A new diet or exercise program may be in order to revitalize and strengthen your body to keep pace with the new year. Changes in the workplace may also alter a routine-turned rut; and being a fixed sign, Leo doesn’t shift so easily. Thankfully, a friendly jolt of enthusiasm from Jolly Jupiter stokes your ambition and helps you readjust. Both Venus and Jupiter are at your service this month, bumping up your creativity, maybe causing a late-blooming talent to emerge, and you’re back in business. Having this lucky pair in your house of love and romance also could cause a lion’s heart to beat a little faster.
VIRGO (Aug 23-Sept 22) A planetary party in your fun house paves the way for you to express yourself and find your joy as the new year unfolds. Resolutions and setting intentions are fine ways to kick off a new calendar year, but for Virgos it’s less about planning your future and more about finding pleasure in it. You may feel drawn to sprucing up your home; the more comfortable and ample your environment, the more likely you are to relax and enjoy yourself. As an earth sign, Virgo is attuned to the body and its physical surroundings. Boosting your creature comforts with beauty and ease helps you embody the pleasure principle. Later in the month, focus on your health and healing; when your cup is full, give back and go volunteer.
LIBRA (Sept 23-Oct 22) Much of Libra’s famous balance stems from the homefront this year. A cluster of planets in your house of home and family brings you down to earth, anchoring your social gifts, and granting you a degree of comfort. With love goddess Venus, your ruler, and lucky Jupiter both in your house of communications and community, you’re primed to learn something new, churn out harmonious messages, and are likely to meet someone in a class. By month’s end, you find yourself bringing more fun to the dating game and feeling more relaxed. All month, you’re proactive around relationships in general. At the lunar eclipse, you may loosen ties with friends who no longer resonate and find your true allies.
SCORPIO (Oct 23-Nov 21) The cosmic omens beckon you to consider how you communicate. Mastering a new skill, centering your mind and noticing when your phone is distracting you become turning points in building your power this year. This month, good-press planets Venus and Jupiter grace your money house, sharing good vibes around starting a new business or creating another income stream. Want to manifest abundance this year? You can (or at least have the potential to) earn more. With the lunar eclipse and supermoon happening in your career house toward the end of the month, it may be time to make a change; and a newly-minted communications skill or connection could be just what’s needed to lead you in a different direction. Throughout January, you’re driven to start an innovative exercise regimen to sustain your future health. At the end of the month, you make room for family.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov 22-Dec 21) With your ruler Jupiter and lovely Venus focusing their good fortune on you, you’re feeling and looking good. Popular, at peace, and in harmony with yourself—what better way to start off the year? A pack of planets and a solar eclipse in your money house amplify the need for a reset around your finances. All this energy directed from earthy Capricorn demands grounding and insists good-time Sages get down to business. A serious look at earnings and taxes and a plan for leveraging your skills to get in the black is in order. The lunar eclipse near the end of the month inspires you to travel, explore, learn a new language, or publish that manuscript. Whenever Sages lose direction or get bogged down they should grab their credit card and book tickets. But to start off this year on the right foot, make sure you have enough cash to cover the airfare.
If you know your rising sign, read that, too; it’s often relevant.
*Lisa Awrey and Lisa Carroll
illustration by @boccaccinimeadows
Four 5-Minute Organic Salads that are Better than your Sad Desk Lunch
Effortless and beautiful, our 5-minute Organic Salads are hard to beat. With ingredients like crispy quinoa, savory sun-dried tomatoes, crisp greens, and housemade dressing, they’re as delicious as they are stunning. Plus, you can add organic grilled chicken breast to any salad and organic rib-eye steaks to select salads. It’s no wonder they’re the envy of lunches everywhere.
Rainbow Asian
Better than: cold leftover takeout
Our Rainbow Asian Salad is a bowl of brightness that tastes even better than it looks (a tough bar to clear). Tamarind cashew dressing coats spinach, cabbage, dry-roasted cashews, and a super-nutty, black sesame-cilantro tag-team garnish.
Protein Crunch
Better than: a protein bar
This fuel-filled bowl of sensational super greens, not-too-sweet dried blueberries, crunchy walnuts, and crispy quinoa beats a dry protein bar every time.
Spicy Southwestern
Better than: a microwave burrito
This one comes complete with crunchy cabbage, fresh herbs, rich sun-dried tomatoes, a pop of pepitas––plus a dreamy, creamy dressing.
Garden Italian
Better than: A pre-packaged supermarket salad
Our mix of greens, cherry tomatoes, and fresh parsley with parmesan, crunchy croutons, roasted sunflower seeds, and a generous portion of Sun Basket signature red-pepper vinaigrette has a flavor straight as bright as the Tuscan sun.
A Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free Chocolate Cookie to Rule Them All
It’s not easy to come up with a fat-free, gluten-free cookie but Test Kitchen Sous Chef Kate Langheim nailed it with these chewy, chocolate-y meringues. Better yet, they’re quick to make, less than 30 minutes from the time you crack the first egg until you’re taking them out of the oven. This simple recipe can easily be doubled. Just be sure to divide the cookies between two sheet pans.
Dark Chocolate Cherry Meringues Recipe
Makes 12 to 14 cookies
Shopping List
2 organic eggs
2 tablespoons finely chopped shelled pistachios
1 teaspoon flaky sea salt, such as Maldon
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1½ cups confectioners’ sugar
¼ cup plus 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
½ cup dark chocolate chips
¼ cup dried sour cherries
Tools
Small bowls, 3 medium bowls, sheet pan, wire cooling rack, parchment paper
1. Make the cookie dough
Heat the oven to 350°F.
- Working over 2 medium bowls, crack 1 egg at a time and separate the white and yolk, carefully dropping the white into 1 bowl and the yolk into the other bowl. Save the yolks for another use. Add the vanilla to the egg whites and, using a fork or whisk, lightly beat until combined.
- In a small bowl, stir together the chopped pistachios and sea salt.
In a medium bowl, stir together the confectioners’ sugar, cocoa powder, and kosher salt. Add the egg white mixture and stir until combined. Add the chocolate chips and dried cherries and mix until just incorporated.
2. Bake the cookies
Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
Using a tablespoon, spoon the dough onto the sheet pan, spacing the cookies 1 inch apart. Sprinkle each cookie with the pistachio-salt mixture. Bake until chewy and a toothpick comes out clean, about 15 minutes. Remove from the oven. Let cool slightly, then transfer to a wire cooling rack.
Serve
Transfer the cookies to a plate and serve. Store in an airtight container for up to 2 to 3 days.
Nutrition per serving: Calories: 120, Protein: 2g (4% DV), Fiber: 1g (4% DV), Total Fat: 4g (6% DV), Monounsaturated Fat: 0g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 0g, Saturated Fat: 2g (10% DV), Cholesterol: 20mg (7% DV), Sodium: 210mg (9% DV), Carbohydrates: 20g (7% DV), Total Sugars: 17g, Added Sugars: 13g (26% DV). Not a significant source of trans fat.
Bonus recipe—ingredients not included in box.
A Guide to Mise en Place for Home Cooks
At the start of every day, the counters in the Sun Basket test kitchen are covered with sheet trays of small glass bowls filled with herbs, vegetables, and sauces alongside kitchen towels, tongs, and spatulas. No, the chefs aren’t hoarding their favorite snacks (though that’s not unheard of), those bowls are mise en place for the recipes our team will be developing that day.
Mise en place is French for “put in place.” In the kitchen, it’s a call to prepare yourself and the physical space for the work ahead, and it’s as essential to a professional kitchen as a sharp knife. Once you have all of the ingredients and tools assembled, it’s important to read the recipe so there are no surprises. Then, get to work dicing an onion, salting the steak, juicing lemons, etc.—whatever the recipe calls for—prepping the ingredients so you can move quickly once it’s time to start cooking. In your home kitchen, mise en place can be the difference between chaos and calm. When you mise, you can multitask, you’re less likely to make mistakes and have more time to clean as you go.
Read the recipe.
Say it louder for the people in the back. Taking the time to read a recipe through means there are no surprises during the cooking process. Quick-pickled onions get a little extra time in the brine, eggs have time to cool down before being boiled, and you’re not hunting for the vegetable peeler in the midst of cooking.
Gather everything you’ll need.
Think about preparing dinner the same way you think about getting ready for your day. You wouldn’t get into the shower without making sure you have soap and a towel nearby, the same applies to cooking. Once you’ve read the recipe, grab all of your ingredients from the pantry and fridge. Take the time to find your fine-toothed grater and choose the pan(s) you’ll be cooking in. Put everything within arm’s reach before you get to work.
Get chopping.
That sheet tray full of small glass bowls we mentioned earlier is a key component of mise en place, but you don’t need to find special bowls to be an organized cook. Use any containers or bowls you have around the house and choose them strategically. A small bowl is good for herbs or a few chopped cloves of garlic, but a chopped head of cabbage requires a bigger container. Setting everything on a sheet tray makes your mise portable so you can move easily from the counter to a space near the stove.
Stay organized.
Using all of those bowls can seem like a recipe for a sink full of dishes. While technically there are more things to clean, your newfound organization skills will leave you with an organized mess. Stack the mise bowls as you empty ingredients into the pan and clean as you cook. You’ll find that the mess is much easier to manage.
Our 5 Favorite Dishes for Entertaining
The key to cooking for a crowd is choosing dishes meant for sharing. Leave the single item entrees to the restaurants, and make it easy on yourself with family-style platters instead. Double up on Sun Basket recipes, particularly those labeled “Great for Entertaining” to make cozy, communal meals that brighten your holiday spirits. Here are a few of our favorites:
Mediterranean Meze Platter with Lamb, Eggplant, and Hard-Cooked Eggs
Pull out your favorite serving platter and fill it with lamb, eggplant, eggs, and a tahini dip. Add a bowl of pita chips on the side and offer your guests an exciting alternative to the standard crudité. Serve as an appetizer to feed three times the meal serving size.
Southwestern-Simmered Sustainably Farmed Trout with “Dirty” Rice
A big plate piled high with this colorful fish and vegetable combination will be the standout on your holiday buffet. Tortillas aren’t included, but we think it would make a great DIY taco bar….
Saigon Noodle Bowls with Braised Tofu and Cucumber-Radish Salad
Build-your-own bowl meals are not only fun for your guests, but also a nice way to allow them to stick to their dietary restrictions without standing out. This stunner of a salad comes together quickly with ready-braised tofu, fast-cooking gluten-free rice noodles, and a crisp salad garnish.
Seared Tuna and Black Rice Bowls with Roasted Sweet Potato and Nori
Another ‘gram-worthy meal your guests can build themselves, these beautiful bowls pack a powerful nutrient punch. Superfood superstars sweet potato, nori seaweed, seared tuna, and bold black rice make for a clean, satisfying dinner that will leave your guests feeling great.
Greek Fasolada with Cod and Carrot Fritters
Soup is an oft overlooked party trick. It’s so easy to make ahead, then let simmer while you get ready and welcome your guests. In our hearty spin on this classic Greek bean soup, we’ve included fish for added protein. Serve carrot fritters on the side for color and crunch.
Give Yourself a DIY Spa Treatment
Holiday stress, extra caffeine, and maybe a little too much alcohol at the office party has likely left you feeling less than stellar this season. Treat yourself to a little self-care to keep your party game on through the New Year. This three-part DIY spa treatment includes a peppermint and citrus bath soak, a turmeric honey eye mask to soothe your sleep-deprived eyes, and a honey-cinnamon lip scrub to soften your dry, winter lips.
Plus, this also doubles as a great DIY gift for the person in your life who needs a little self-care.
Peppermint Citrus Bath Soak
Ingredients:
2 cups Epsom salt
4 peppermint tea bags or 4 tablespoons loose peppermint tea
10 to 15 drops citrus essential oil of your choice
Tools
Parchment paper or funnel, glass jar, scissors, medium bowl
1. In a medium bowl, add the Epsom salt. Open the tea bags and sprinkle over the Epsom salt.
Add 10 to 15 drops of citrus oil over the salts and tea leaves. Toss lightly to incorporate. Transfer to parchment paper or using a funnel, carefully transfer into the jar.
2. Add all of the bath soak to a warm running bath and let the salt dissolve. Soak for at least 30 minutes. If not using immediately, store in an airtight container, away from heat, for 4 to 6 weeks.
Ingredient IQ:
Epsom salt: Epsom salt is not really a salt, it’s actually magnesium sulfate, a mineral that helps your body produce energy and impacts more than 300 enzyme systems. Many people are magnesium deficient, which is known to increase anxiety and can cause muscle aches and high blood pressure.
Peppermint tea: Peppermint rejuvenates the nervous system and is both energizing and soothing for red or inflamed skin.
Citrus essential oil: Orange, lemon, and grapefruit essential oils are energizing and mood-boosting and support the immune system. They can also ease anxiety and irritability.
Turmeric and Honey Eye Mask
Ingredients:
¼ cup manuka or raw honey
2 tablespoons turmeric powder
Tools
Small bowl, measuring spoon, measuring cup, small jar for storage, small fan brush, optional
1. In a small bowl mix the honey and turmeric powder together until completely incorporated. Transfer to a jar.
2. With your fingers or a brush, if using, apply 1 teaspoon under each eye and leave on for 10 to 15 minutes. Remove using a washcloth soaked in warm water. Use once per week. Store at room temperature for 4 to 6 weeks.
Ingredient IQ:
Turmeric: This bright orange spice is naturally anti-inflammatory to help with puffiness around eyes, and contains curcumin which helps lighten dark circles.
Honey: A natural humectant, honey moisturizes and softens skin, which—around the eye—is typically dry.
Honey-Cinnamon Lip Scrub
Ingredients:
4 tablespoons raw coarse sugar, such turbinado
1 tablespoon coconut oil
1 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Tools
Measuring spoons, medium bowl, glass jar for storage
1. In a medium bowl, combine the coconut oil, honey, and cinnamon and mix until incorporated, then gently fold in the sugar; don’t over mix. Transfer to a glass jar.
2. Apply 1 teaspoon of the scrub to clean lips for up to 1 minute to remove dry flaky skin. Then apply lipstick or a moisturizing lip balm. Store lip scrub at room temperature for up to 6 weeks.
Ingredient IQ:
Coconut oil: Antimicrobial, antibacterial, and moisturizing.
Coarse sugar: The large granules of coarse sugars are exfoliating without being too rough on delicate skin.
Cinnamon: Cassia oil, a calming agent found in cinnamon, activates your mucus membrane (not in a harmful way) when applied to the lips. This causes blood circulation to your lips to increase, making them temporarily plumper.
A Food-Lover’s Gift Guide
Holiday giving can feel like a trap. Play it safe with a gift card and risk coming off as impersonal, but take a guess at what the gift-ee might want and find your present in the regifting pile. Which is why we focused our kitchen-centric holiday gift guide on every type of food lover in your life, from the newbie to the Instagrammer. But don’t forget to include a gift receipt, just in case.
Give the Gift of Likes
Make your Instagrammer friend’s viral dreams come true with beautiful props that will take their feed to influencer status. One can never have enough surfaces to shoot on. This marbled wood cutting board and these stoneware platters in both earth tones and black make sleek backgrounds for food photos. For the one who’s always cheeseboarding (that’s a verb, right?), try a monogram marble cheese board with a set of Laguiole cheese knives. But the most Instagrammable prop of all is this polished metallic rainbow flatware set.
Inspire the cooking newbie
Have a friend who doesn’t know the first thing about cooking? Yes, you should send them your Sun Basket referral code, but go a step further and give them a bundle of essential kitchen tools. Every cook needs a reliable chef’s knife, vegetable peeler, fine-toothed grater, and flexible spatula. Other essentials to tuck under the tree include stainless steel nesting bowls, a large wood cutting board, and a cast iron pan.
Get a little fancy
There’s always that one person on your list who seems to have everything. Focus on something that’s functional but also has their sleek vibe. This tiered fruit basket with a plated-copper finish is a functional piece of art and the Bodum Chambord French press coffee pots make the most mundane morning task undeniably chic. These cocktail prints look sweet behind the bar, but if your friend prefers tea to cocktails and coffee a ceremonial matcha starter set includes everything they need to whisk up their morning matcha.
Encourage your favorite cook to keep cooking
People who love to cook are always coveting new tools. This enameled cast iron dutch oven from Great Jones cookware is sleek and beautiful. You can’t have too many aprons, and one with a pattern or in a favorite color feels a little more special. Budget-friendly gifts like a Thermopop instant-read thermometer or these salt and pepper mills that double as spice and nut grinders and a set of serving utensils are a great way to remind your friends that you’re always willing to come fordinner.
When all else fails, DIY
If shopping isn’t your thing, consider making something instead. Our chocolate tahini truffles make a great gift when individually wrapped in parchment paper. Test Kitchen Sous Chef Ali Ramee recommends packaging up your go-to spice blend in individual jars. Our spiced winter syrup for drizzling over desserts and stirring into cocktails is a great multi-use gift, and while they’re not for eating, homemade beauty products like a DIY spa treatment, berry body scrub or beeswax coconut lip balm are gifts that come together quickly with many ingredients you probably already have at home.
DIY Glittery Tea Light Holders
The plastic containers in your Sun Basket practically scream “reuse me.” Here, we decorated them with glitter and glue to make sparkly tea light holders. Use them to light up a party, mantelpiece or the holiday table.
Glittery Tea Light Holder How-to
Materials
4 small bowls, for mixing glitter with glue
4 paintbrushes
Glitter in 4 different colors
Clear drying or glitter glue
Four 2-ounce or 4-ounce Sun Basket recyclable screw-top plastic containers
4 battery-powered flameless tea lights
1. In a small bowl, using a paintbrush, mix 1 teaspoon glitter with 1 tablespoon glue. Depending on the size of the glitter, you may want to add up to 2 teaspoons glitter to the glue to make it more sparkly.
2. Using the paintbrush, apply the glitter glue to the outside of one of the recyclable plastic containers from just below the rim to the base. Let dry.
3. When dry, paint another layer of glitter glue on the container. You can paint the whole thing, rim to base, as you did before, or just the bottom half to create an ombré look.
4. Repeat with the rest of your containers and glitter, using a different color glitter for each container.
5. When they glitter on all the containers is dry, turn on the tea lights and put 1 tea light inside each container.
How To Cook Your Organic Rib-eyes
2 organic rib-eye steaks (about 7 ounces each) Serves 2
Choose your cooking method
Stovetop
- Pat the steaks dry with a paper towel; season generously with salt and pepper.
In a large frying pan over high heat, warm 1 to 2 tablespoons oil until hot but not smoking. Add the steaks and cook, turning once, until well browned, 1 to 2 minutes per side for medium-rare. Transfer to a cutting board to rest for 5 minutes. Serve whole or, if desired, cut into ½-inch strips.
Grill
- Pat the steaks dry with a paper towel; season generously with salt and pepper.
Prepare a medium-hot fire on one side of a grill. Set the steaks on the grill directly over the heat and cook, turning once, until lightly charred, about 2 minutes per side. Transfer to indirect heat, close the grill, and cook without turning to the desired doneness.
Nutrition per serving: Calories: 360, Protein: 40g (80% DV), Fiber: 0g (0% DV), Total Fat: 22g (34% DV), Monounsaturated Fat: 12g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Saturated Fat: 6g (30% DV), Cholesterol: 115mg (38% DV), Sodium: 80mg (3% DV), Carbohydrates: 1g (0% DV), Total Sugars: 0g, Added Sugars: 0g (0% DV). Not a significant source of trans fat.
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