You know what's cute and a little delusional? We all dream of living in a world where we wake up with smooth, clear, and hydrated skin, without a pimple or dark spot in sight. Unfortunately, that is not the reality. Our 20s to 30s are supposed to be our prime years, buuut instead we spend them panicking and finding ways to keep our skin from any signs that we are aging (and, reminder, aging is a very natural and privileged thing!).
I've personally, tried just about everything: the homemade facial masks, red light therapy, and drinking more water, but sometimes we need to go back to the basics to get smoother, firmer, and brighter skin. The top MVP ingredients? Retinoids, antioxidants, and peptides. Here's what they do and how to incorporate them:
1. Retinoids
Retinoids are the holy grail of breakout and wrinkle treatments, thanks to the fact that they speed up cellular turnover to churn out fresher, smoother, brighter skin. So if you are someone who struggles with acne day in and day out, retinol is definitely an ingredient you need to add to your skincare regimen (every other day or just twice a week, if your skin is sensitive af). And, thankfully, you can get great line-smoothing and pore-clearing results at home with an over-the-counter formula, saving us all a trip to (the great and powerful) dermatologist.
2. Antioxidants
Antioxidants are probably the best thing you could ever put on your skin (outside of sunscreen). Our skin deals with so many obstacles on a daily basis, like UV rays, pollution, blue light from our computers and phones, and just grime from living life. But antioxidants help protect your skin from those daily aggressors, which helps preserve your collagen and elastin, keeping your skin firm and fresh.
3. Peptides
If you are starting to notice your skin getting those cute little lines around your face, and you're not a fan, try adding peptides to your skincare routine (along with antioxidants and retinol, tbh). Peptides are the saving grace of anti-aging, because they contain amino acids that help strengthen your skin, leading it to look firmer and healthier over time.
If there is one easy dinner we know will always hit the spot for the whole family—it’s chicken parmesan. Having a go-to, quick-fix dinner that you can rely on the pantry and freezer for and is still delicious is an essential for busy weeknights. And chicken parm is just that. Plus, one should always have a jar of Rao’s homemade marinara sauce at the ready, which means you’re already a third of the way to serving up this delicious dressed-up-chicken dish that is full of flavor.
If you didn’t think this classic, Italian-inspired dish could get any easier, well honestly I didn’t either. This chicken parmesan hack will save you prep time on the front end and clean-up time after dinner, plus it spares you from buying a handful of extra ingredients. As it turns out, the freezer aisle holds the key to turning any chicken parmesan recipe into a 3-ingredient dish.
You can skip messing around with the three step flour,egg wash, and breading process to make your own breaded chicken. Instead, head to the frozen section of the grocery store and pick up your favorite brand of frozen pre-breaded chicken cutlets for the quickest, hassle-free weeknight dinner.
It’s fool-proof! All you have to do is plop the sauce and cheese on top after baking the breaded cutlets according to packaging directions. It’s essential for the chicken to get nicely browned and crispy to add texture to the dish. Once the chicken is cooked, follow your recipe starting at the assembly step to finish, topping the chicken with a spoonful of marinara (Rao’s obviously), and a few thick slices of fresh mozzarella cheese. Broil until golden brown with melted, bubbly cheese.
You can serve it over spaghetti (or the pasta of your choice) tossed in more red sauce, foregoing the homemade stuff and reaching straight for the from-the-jar goodness. However, in my humble opinion, chicken parm is best enjoyed on its own. Just the chicken please! Plus, a side of broccoli perhaps. It’s the perfect dish to serve a large family and can easily be made in a beloved casserole dish.
We're all guilty of feeling the twinge of nostalgia on occasion and nothing can take you back to a moment, a place, or a time like the smell and taste of a retro dish or certain old-school ingredients. If you're thrown back to the '90s when you try a fruit-forward cocktail or still dream of molten chocolate cake right from the oven, we've got great news for you: these dishes are making a comeback, along with some ingredients you'd never expect.
While you might welcome coffee, molten chocolate, and fruit purees back with open arms, some of these ingredients may seem a little unfamiliar. However, many are commonplace in other cuisines, such as fermented vegetables like kimchi or salted fish like bottarga. Others, to those in the know, may already seem familiar, like bone broth and white asparagus.
Espresso martini dominance aside, read on to learn what throwback ingredients chefs and bartenders are most excited about right now.
You've probably heard this ingredient mentioned for itshealth properties, but beyond that, it adds tons of flavor to so many dishes, saysChef and Food StylistJen Dyer Brown.
"Bone broth, a centuries-old health tonic made by simmering bones for a long time, is making a comeback on menus over the past few years. It's a versatile ingredient that adds flavor to soups, stews, and beverages," says Brown. "Chefs and food enthusiasts love it because it's rich in collagen, amino acids, and minerals, and a great source of calcium, magnesium, and phosphorus."
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This came up a lot, mostly due to the resurgence of the drink you're probably getting sick of, the espresso martini. But this old-school ingredient is also seeing popularity again as a spice rub, says Alex Guzman, chef and owner ofArcher & Goatin NYC.
"Coffee is an ingredient that I have been seeing a lot lately on menus, incorporated in every part of the meal," said Guzman. "From coffee-rubbed steaks, to coffee desserts like tiramisu, to coffee cocktails."
He continued, "The espresso martini has definitely made a comeback in the last couple of years and it's fun to see all the different variations. Our version at Archer & Goat includes masala chai and mole bitters, the spices and the chocolate notes pair really well with the espresso coffee in the cocktail."
Anthony Caporale, director of spirits education at theInstitute of Culinary Education, also sees this rising trend, saying, "I've been seeing a resurgence of espresso used in cocktails, and in particular, the espresso martini seems to have returned in a big way, especially online. I'm not sure if it's bartenders intentionally going retro, or simply discovering on their own that espresso makes a great cocktail ingredient, but either way, it's fantastic to see."
"Lava or molten chocolate cakes are seeing a resurgence," says Ferrari, who has a decadent flourless chocolate cake on her menu.
It's not surprising, because, as Ferrari notes, "Who doesn't love gooey delicious chocolate!" She explains why they've added this retro recipe, saying "In the case of younger patrons, while the nostalgic element is part of the draw, we are also providing exposure to something brand new, to people with curious palates. For older patrons, bringing back something that they enjoyed in the past (and continued to enjoy, but which, unfortunately, "fell out of favor" due to dining trends) is also rewarding."
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David Benstock, co-owner and executive chef ofIL Ritornoin Florida, is "personally loving the comeback" of cooking with different animal fats.
"It unlocks so many different flavors and brings richness to vegetables and other ingredients that really take dishes to the next level. A lot of people forget how much flavor is in these fats compared to your everyday oils," says Benstock. "For instance, duck fat is used in a lot of French cooking, and schmaltz can give so much flavor when cooking fried chicken or schnitzel, and even latkes. And then you have tallow, which can be used to baste steaks or even cook eggs. This is very present in IL Ritorno's new spring menu; we serve our house-made bread with tallow butter, we baste our steaks in tallow, and we confit potatoes and fava beans in duck fat."
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Chef Charles Olalia,MakereadyGroup's corporate director of culinary operations says fermented ingredients are making their way into kitchens.
"Fermenting is back more than ever! A few of our kitchens have installed larders so we can ferment on-property. We have been fermenting our own house vinegar, imparting layers of flavor to any dish," says Olalia.
Brown agrees, explaining why they're so popular, "Kimchi, sauerkraut, pickles, kefir, kombucha, and yogurt are some of the more popular examples. They contain probiotics, beneficial bacteria that boost the immune system and support gut health. Chefs and food enthusiasts love fermented foods because they add complex flavors to dishes."
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This legendary anise-flavored spirit, which originated in ancient Egypt and peaked in popularity in the 1800s, is starting to pop up on cocktail menus again saysTuscan Brandsbeverage director Jose Luis Betancur.
"At Bar Toscana, we are bringing back the traditional ritual of theAbsinthe drip, which is basically social bohemian European drinking and determining how herbal and/or diluted you like your drink, the power of balance and sweetness," says Betancur. This process sees sugar dripped into the liquor to achieve that balance.
They're also adding the strong spirit to cocktails, he told us. "Besides the drip ritual, there are several classic cocktails that only use a wash of absinthe in the glass or a few drops."
Fun and bright ingredients are having a moment after years of bourbon-based drinks dominating cocktail menus, saysButtermilk & Bourbon GroupBeverage Director Sarah Heimreid.
"I've been seeing more fruit purées and juices coming back. You're not going to see a screwdriver on a menu again but maybe a more well-thought-out balanced version," says Heimreid. "One drink we do at both of the Buttermilk & Bourbon locations is the Crime of Passion. It combines the elements of an Old Fashioned with a passion fruit liqueur, Love Potion bitters, and a touch of raspberry purée to make a refreshing tangy, and slightly bitter cocktail. It's still all about balance and not having things taste overly sweet, so mixing some of the classic elements with the more fun and bright ingredients that we saw in the 90s."
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This classic ingredient is seeing a return on menus, according to chef Robbie Shoults, owner ofBear Creek Smokehousein Texas.
"An old-school ingredient I'm seeing on and adding to the menus again is cornmeal," Shoults told us. "Cornmeal is an old-fashioned ingredient that has been used since the beginning of time and has become popular again. At Bear Creek Smokehouse, we now have cornbread on the menu as well as our unique Jalapeno Honey Corn Muffins, both made from cornmeal."
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Blaine Welsh, the executive chef atDestinoin Washington, D.C., is excited about the return of celery root, also called celeriac on menus. 6254a4d1642c605c54bf1cab17d50f1e
"We marinate our celery root in a barbacoa marinade, then grill it. It's plated with a celery root puree and topped with an apple tomatillo salsa. The dish is completely vegan without sacrificing taste," says Welsh. "You can find recipes from Thomas Keller, Charlie Trotter, and other chefs from the 90s and early 2000s that used celery root. It's a very versatile product. It's high in fiber with a very slight bitterness which allows you to cook and marinate it almost any way you like."
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Never heard of this one? It's a super old school and delicious preparation, says executive chef Will Cisa ofJettie Rae's Oyster Housein North Carolina.
"Recently we've had the pleasure of working with mullet roe to make a house-made bottarga (the salted, pressed, and dried roe sac of a fish), a culinary tradition dating back to ancient Egypt," Cisa told us, about the origins of this dish. "Bottarga is an exciting way to add clean fish flavor and umami to finish our dishes, and we're glad to help North Carolina fisherman find a market for this delicious, plentiful fish."
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Chef Kyle Patterson, of the retroSinema Restaurant & Barin Nashville (it's inside a restored 1940s movie theater) says the standard olive is coming back in different ways.
"I don't think olives ever went away, but we've been on an olive kick recently. Our preparation is definitely a nod to 'old school' while modernizing them," Patterson says. "We love Gordal olives and have been stuffing them with 'Nduja sausage and then tossing them in a garlic chili crisp that Chef Nikolai fromBlack Dynasty Rameneducated us about," the chef shared. "We then finish them with lime zest and micro cilantro. The olives themselves are meaty and perfectly brined and are the epitome of something simple executed extremely well. They're worth celebrating."
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Paté was a huge dish in restaurants in the 90s, and much of it was made with this ingredient. Executive Chef Dane Blom ofGrange Restaurant & Barin California, has seen it come back.
"Duck liver has been experiencing a recent resurgence in the form of pate and mousse on many menus since it peaked in popularity in the 1990s and early 2000s," says Blom. "We routinely feature it at Grange Restaurant & Bar in Sacramento, and it's exciting to me because it's a prime example of how everything that goes out of fashion can return in popularity in different, more modern iterations."
You don't see a lot of white food on menus at the moment, but Soogil Lim, chef and owner ofSoogilin NYC is trying to change that.Lim says they're adding "White asparagus and beans such as fresh garbanzos, fava, English peas," to the restaurant's menu because, "They are great spring ingredients and it's good to see them back on the menus versus ramps, for example, which have recently become trendy spring items."
Choosing what to make for dinner can be tricky—especially when you don’t actually want to spend a lot of time in the kitchen. We’ve all seen those meals that claim to be quick and easy, but then immediately start with dicing an onion. Sorry, but when I say “lazy meal,” I mean no knives involved at all.
That’s why when I saw this three-ingredient pasta blowing up on TikTok, I knew it would become an instant addition to my dinner lineup. In a now-viral video, TikTok user Consciouschris shared his three-ingredient recipe for what he called a “lazy Trader Joe’s meal.”
The dish is simply pasta, jarred spaghetti sauce (specifically, tomato basil-flavored), and cream cheese. Consciouschris uses ingredients from Trader Joe’s, but you can use any brand you like.
How to Make TikTok's Three-Ingredient Pasta
Bailey Fink
The recipe is just as easy. All you do is boil your pasta, then heat the spaghetti sauce and cream cheese together on the stove until warmed through and the cream cheese is melted to create a creamy sauce. Then combine the sauce and pasta, and top with optional Parmesan cheese.
TikTok users love it because it’s delicious and also an easy way to make something similar to pink sauce. Pink sauce is a tomato and cream sauce that’s traditionally made from scratch with diced tomatoes, heavy cream, sugar, butter, basil, and a few other ingredients and spices. While pink sauce can come together in less than 30 minutes, this knockoff version is ready in less than 10—you really can’t beat that.
Of course, cream cheese and jarred pasta sauce aren’t going to give you the perfect pink sauce, but it does create a similar creamy sauce with extra cheesy flavor.
Any brand of ingredients and pasta shape will work for this recipe. I used fusilli, tomato basil pasta sauce, and whipped cream cheese. I chose whipped because it has an airier texture, which melted into the sauce quickly and gave it a smooth consistency.
Truthfully, this three-ingredient formula could work with any pasta shape, red sauce flavor, or cream cheese you have on hand. It would even be great with something like Boursin cheese in place of cream cheese.
The world is your oyster, and once you make this dish once, I promise, you’ll find excuses to make it again and again.
Choosing what to make for dinner can be tricky—especially when you don’t actually want to spend a lot of time in the kitchen. We’ve all seen those meals that claim to be quick and easy, but then immediately start with dicing an onion. Sorry, but when I say “lazy meal,” I mean no knives involved at all.
That’s why when I saw this three-ingredient pasta blowing up on TikTok, I knew it would become an instant addition to my dinner lineup. In a now-viral video, TikTok user Consciouschris shared his three-ingredient recipe for what he called a “lazy Trader Joe’s meal.”
The dish is simply pasta, jarred spaghetti sauce (specifically, tomato basil-flavored), and cream cheese. Consciouschris uses ingredients from Trader Joe’s, but you can use any brand you like.
How to Make TikTok's Three-Ingredient Pasta
Bailey Fink
The recipe is just as easy. All you do is boil your pasta, then heat the spaghetti sauce and cream cheese together on the stove until warmed through and the cream cheese is melted to create a creamy sauce. Then combine the sauce and pasta, and top with optional Parmesan cheese.
TikTok users love it because it’s delicious and also an easy way to make something similar to pink sauce. Pink sauce is a tomato and cream sauce that’s traditionally made from scratch with diced tomatoes, heavy cream, sugar, butter, basil, and a few other ingredients and spices. While pink sauce can come together in less than 30 minutes, this knockoff version is ready in less than 10—you really can’t beat that.
Of course, cream cheese and jarred pasta sauce aren’t going to give you the perfect pink sauce, but it does create a similar creamy sauce with extra cheesy flavor.
Any brand of ingredients and pasta shape will work for this recipe. I used fusilli, tomato basil pasta sauce, and whipped cream cheese. I chose whipped because it has an airier texture, which melted into the sauce quickly and gave it a smooth consistency.
Truthfully, this three-ingredient formula could work with any pasta shape, red sauce flavor, or cream cheese you have on hand. It would even be great with something like Boursin cheese in place of cream cheese.
The world is your oyster, and once you make this dish once, I promise, you’ll find excuses to make it again and again.
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