Last year, the U.S. Department Of Agriculture school lunch program provided low-cost or free lunches to an estimated 30 million children in public schools. Those schools were adhering to Obama-era nutritional guidelines, which required whole-grain foods and only non-fat flavored milk.

Sure, we love bacon, but what about convenience? How can we get our bacon quicker? According to WTHR in Columbus, Ohio, the students at Ohio State University have lucked out: “The Ohio Pork Council has installed a bacon vending machine in the university’s animal science building at the College Of Food, Agricultural…

Are candy canes shaped to represent the “J” in Jesus, with the red representing the blood of Christ and the white his resurrection? That is actually what the principal of Manchester Elementary School in Nebraska wrote in a memo to teachers and staff, outlining her list of accepted and unacceptable holiday decorations…

My mother was an expert baker, the type who pulled out at least a half-dozen or so recipes at Christmastime to prepare for family and friends. She even had certain cookie cutters for certain varieties: her gingerbread bears, for example, or shortbread stars. I treasure the time I spent baking with her as a kid, when I…

You probably have an ugly sweater at the ready in case of a last-minute invitation to a fun, themed holiday party. Once my husband won the ugliest sweater prize at a neighborhood ugly sweater party, filling me with shame/pride. But anyone can go to the thrift store and search through the scratchy sweater section. You…

Little Caesars, not usually known for its innovation, announced this week that it has unfurled a lasagna pizza in select locations in West Virginia, Ohio, and Georgia. Brand Eating announces that said pizza will feature a toasted Parmesan breadcrumb crust, a meaty marina sauce, Italian sausage, some ricotta added to…

Many of us enjoy a fun food festival, and buy tickets with the assumption that the festival, you know, actually exists and is going to happen. That’s where many Chicago food-fest lovers were let down, as they purchased tickets to fraudulent taco, bacon, and crab festivals, according to the Chicago Tribune. Now the…

As pranks go, it’s a strange and kind of mean one, especially to burger lovers. After a Tulsa Whataburger was torn down after tornado damage, someone put up a sign announcing a new In-N-Out burger in the same spot. But, as with previous schemes before it, that promise turned out to be a crock of cold fries.

A few years ago, I got fed up with my inexpert baking skills. Facing a slew of holiday parties, I decided to bring a cheese ball instead of slightly singed sugar cookies to each and every one. I’m not sure where my inspiration came from, although it might have been from the Philadelphia Cream Cheese Cookbook (I am a…

Surrounded by Christmas cookies and candy and planning big meals ahead, some of us are grappling for ways to balance out our holiday diet with something less artery-clogging. So I spied with interest this headline in Time today, designed exactly for people like me to click on it: “Here’s One Simple Way You Can Start…

This is one of those stories where we’re just at a loss and have a lot of questions. Namely, “Why?” Also, “What for?” Specifically, “How come?” Nevertheless, we are compelled to report that ten players from the Byron High School football team in northern Illinois were recently reprimanded after confessing to a “naked…

Twitter blew up yesterday when Eric Rimm, professor in the departments of epidemiology and nutrition at the Harvard T.H. Chan School Of Public Health, was quoted in The New York Times as pushing a mere six french fries as the ideal serving size. The article “You Don’t Want Fries With That” featured the following…

Yes, we know that PETA has a tendency to go over the top in its fervent quest for animal rights, like this recent article saying that eating eggs is anti-feminist, or this old campaign linking milk consumption to autism. And yesterday the organization tweeted out a list of common sayings that should be revised…

In One-Pan Wonders, we look for easy and delicious weeknight dinners that can be cooked using a single pan. 

There are many great things about working with Caitlin PenzeyMoog (author of the January 2019 release On Spice: Advice, Wisdom, and History with a Grain of Saltiness from Skyhorse Publishing). She is a wonderful co-worker and the incredibly organized keeper of The A.V. Club editorial calendar. She is also, as you…

When he’s not writing about pasta or sake for The Takeout, Jeff Cioletti hosts a far-ranging travel and booze podcast called The Drinkable Globe. In September, Jeff and I met up during Great American Beer Festival in Denver to record an episode that was released yesterday. We talk about my chemical dependence on…