Author: Janet Helm, MS, RDN

Pulses are being reimagined in new and exciting ways across grocery shelves and restaurant menus, and have become a favorite ingredient on TikTok—from dense bean salads and brothy beans to bean dips and black bean brownies.

Caribbean cuisine is truly a bubbling melting pot—shaped by the cultural traditions of the indigenous populations of the islands combined with the influence of enslaved Africans and European colonists, including Spanish, British, French, and Dutch.

Sales of nonalcoholic drinks have skyrocketed—driven by the changes in today’s drinking culture. Not only is it common to find mocktails on menus, but people can now sign up for nonalcoholic subscription services, visit booze-free bars, and attend sober events that don’t rely on drinking.