Why everyone's freaking out about oat milk

Food is the best way I know how to take care of people, and this past week provided a pretty big culinary challenge. When my mom and dad simultaneously faced some health emergencies, I hunkered down in their kitchen armed with my best medicine — recipes that would provide nourishment and comfort. Here are some of the go-tos I relied on:

The Best Instant Pot Recipes To Make: Healthy soups to the rescue.
38 Mac And Cheeses and 21 Lasagnas: Mac and cheese is instantly comforting, and you can leave behind a frozen lasagna for later.
Instant Pot Minestrone Soup: This recipe from Damn Delicious is the only virtuously healthy recipe that makes everyone in my family happy.
Pistachio Pound Cake with Concord Grape Glaze: This is the treat you bake as therapy for YOURSELF after things have settled down. On her Instagram feed, Yossy Arefi recently topped her pistachio pound cake recipe with a concord grape glaze, and the combination is nothing short of a miracle.

You readers should take good care of yourselves, too. In that spirit, we've got some great stories that'll keep you up to date on everything you need to know about oat milk and gluten-free labeling, plus a copycat recipe for a healthy Trader Joe's product that you'll love. Be well!

XO, Kristen

Oat milk is having a moment

Oat milk is a creamy, naturally sweet, dairy-free and gluten-free milk alternative that happens to go perfectly with just about everything. Europe has been enjoying it for about 25 years, and the U.S. is just now joining the party ... so much so that there's an oat milk shortage.

But what exactly is oat milk and is it good for us? Read all about it, plus learn how to make it yourself.

Read the full story

Learn how to make this wildly popular Trader Joe's sauce yourself

If you’re a Trader Joe's fanatic, it’s likely that you know all about zhoug (pronounced "zoog"), a spicy, herbal sauce with a cult-like following. With clean, simple ingredients like cilantro, jalapeños, garlic, cumin and cardamom, it’s something you can feel good about slathering on just about anything with abandon, and we've got a copycat recipe so you can make it at home.

Get the recipe

Is your gluten-free label a lie?

Can you trust your gluten-free label? Not often enough.
A surprising number of foods — from cookies to salads to sauces — are misbranded as gluten-free when they contain ingredients not permitted under that label by the Food and Drug Administration.
“Sometimes I feel like I’m screaming into the wind,” said Tricia Thompson, founder of the advocacy group Gluten Free Watchdog. Find out more about why she's so frustrated.

Get the scoop