Chick-fil-A sparked some excitement this week when it announced that it&#8217;s adding a new all-day chicken and waffles breakfast sandwich, frosted coffee flavor, and milkshake to its menu this fall.
The breakfast sandwich has especially piqued Americans&#8217; interest as it will mark Chick-fil-A&#8217;s first nationwide attempt at chicken and waffles. The new sandwich features a chicken fillet and three strips of applewood-smoked bacon, plus honey butter spread and a side of syrup, with two waffles serving as the bun. The restaurant is also adding a S’mores Milkshake and a S’mores Frosted Coffee in celebration of the chain’s 80th anniversary. 
The new lineup will be available for order on August 24 and will run through November. The announcement has already racked up a wave of positive comments on social media. 
“Finally, some news I actually give a sh*t about,” <a href="https://x.com/Zeitresu/status/2087916845957599742">said</a> one user. 
“God loves us,” <a href="https://x.com/melancoptimist/status/2087945372035379364">wrote</a> another user. 
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis also chimed in, <a href="https://x.com/RonDeSantis/status/2087936587011109268?s=20">saying</a>, ”That’s going to cost me — three kids who will want both chicken and waffles and a s’mores milkshake. Can I get through the drive thru in under $50?” he wrote. 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
That’s going to cost me — three kids who will want both chicken and waffles and a s’mores milkshake. Can I get through the drive thru in under $50? <a href="https://t.co/sS6zhgB0HD">https://t.co/sS6zhgB0HD</a>
— Ron DeSantis (@RonDeSantis) <a href="https://x.com/RonDeSantis/status/2087936587011109268?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 13, 2026</a></blockquote>
DeSantis is known to be a huge Chick-fil-A fan and previously said that without the popular chain, his family’s everyday life would look different. 
“That’s probably our kids’ favorite thing. And look, it’s not like you just do it every day, but when you’re going from a baseball game to this or that, to be able to do it’s important,&#8221; he said.
Chick-fil-A Director of Menu and Packaging Allison Duncan said the restaurant decided on the new menu as nostalgia-based trends have recently taken off.
“In this year of Newstalgia-inspired celebrations, we wanted to bring something unique this fall by reimagining the comforting flavors our guests crave this time of year, delivering a taste that feels both familiar and new to appeal to all ages,” Duncan <a href="https://www.chick-fil-a.com/press-room/chick-fil-a-debuts-chicken-waffles-and-smores-flavored-treats">said</a>. 
“We have never done a seasonal breakfast entrée, so we’re excited about that — and I think it points back to that nostalgic idea of breakfast for dinner,” she added.

Chick-fil-A

Chick-fil-A Reveals Revamped Menu — And It Even Got Ron DeSantis Talking

Fast-Food

Food

Ron DeSantis

After the release of the revamped nutritional guidelines earlier this year, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has launched a cooking show putting these new guidelines into practice. &#8220;The Real Food Show&#8221; premiered last week with its first episode teaching Americans how to make crispy salmon cakes with a side of apple, white bean, and greens salad. 
The show’s premise is simple: Teach Americans how to eat healthy foods at affordable prices. RFK Jr. is joined by a renowned chef each episode with a new recipe for Americans to try at home. 
The premiere episode features celebrity chef and restaurateur <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/author/andrew-gruel">Andrew Gruel</a>, who has made a name for himself in Make America Healthy Again circles with his wealth of knowledge on cooking, sourcing food, the food industry, and focus on healthy eating.  
As RFK Jr. and Chef Gruel walk Americans through the steps and ingredients of the recipe, they aren’t just teaching people how to cook salmon cakes; they’re also focused on the nutritional benefit of each ingredient. Salmon contains high-quality protein, for instance, and beans offer prebiotic fiber. The flipped food pyramid and new dietary guidelines are heavily featured throughout the running commentary the hosts give as they cook. And along the way, sidebars pop up with more facts about the nutritional value of each ingredient, as well as other relevant facts about the ingredients. 
Speaking to the origin of the dietary guidelines, RFK Jr. explains that the previous guidelines were crafted by food lobbyists. The new guidelines flip the old ones on their head by being spearheaded by top nutritionists, he says. And while the public messaging on the new dietary guidelines has highlighted the benefits of high-quality protein and healthy fats, the other aspects of the guidelines — fruit, vegetables, and whole grains — have been far less discussed.
That’s one area &#8220;The Real Food Show&#8221; shines: The recipe includes arugula, apple, onion, nutritional yeast, herbs, and more. Certainly, the visuals of the flipped food pyramid are striking, but beyond the pictures, <a href="https://cdn.realfood.gov/Daily%20Serving%20Sizes.pdf">the actual guidelines</a> recommend nearly as many servings of vegetables as protein and as many servings of whole grain — if not more — than protein. The serving size for each food group is different, but the guidelines make clear the importance of all types of macro and micronutrients.
<iframe loading="lazy" title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/r5vKilWJNKo?si=Qd4W8wa16AJBY2x2" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
Additionally, the new dietary guidelines emphasize the quality of each food consumed, and RFK Jr. and Chef Gruel each reference the value of buying high-quality ingredients and offer their tips on buying seafood. For instance, Chef Gruel explains that flash freezing technology has made frozen fish a better choice than fresh fish in many cases.
Amid ongoing concerns about the cost of groceries, another part of the pitch for &#8220;The Real Food Show&#8221; is showing Americans how to make healthy food for less than $5 per serving. For some households, that’s an already high number, and for others, it’s lower than their current spending levels. But it is, of course, cheaper than dining out, especially at a restaurant offering healthy, quality choices. The first episode has a $4.91 per serving cost, and as the hosts point out, that cost could be lowered with canned salmon, tuna, or another protein of choice. It’s not a magic fix to rising grocery costs, but it’s one way for price-savvy Americans to save a few dollars. 
&#8220;The Real Food Show&#8221; also adds in other corollary tenets of MAHA such as conservation and supporting the American food supply, with mention of sustainable fishing regulations and U.S.-based fisheries. 
But all that information is also the show’s weakness. The tips on ingredient substitutions, flavor swaps, and other recipe modifications may be helpful to an intermediate cook but overwhelming to a novice. And for a first-time cook or a parent accustomed to reheating rather than cooking from scratch, the show doesn’t offer many beginner cooking tips or much advice. How do you know when your salmon is fully cooked? Why is emulsion important for the vinaigrette? Why do prebiotics matter?
There’s no doubt the show can help plenty of cooks by demonstrating the recipe, offering aspiring home cooks new ideas, and teaching Americans about health information that’s been long lacking in public discourse. The show is a perfect conversation starter for American families about real food, and for classrooms, it would be an equally appropriate lesson about nutrition and the American food supply. But there’s also a <a href="https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2023/may/22/wealth-geeks-more-half-americans-struggle-cook-bas/">contingent of Americans</a> who are completely new to home cooking and the world of health and wellness. On one hand, the show simplifies these concepts (and the <a href="https://www.hhs.gov/real-food-show/recipes/index.html">written recipe</a> also lays out some of the details in a format that can be re-referenced), but on the other hand, it may not meet beginner cooks where they are.
Despite this, it’s a light in the wasteland of American nutritional advice. Groceries are far too expensive, the standard American diet is filled with ultra-processed food and devoid of nutrients, and many Americans don’t know where to start. 
There are plenty of beginner-friendly resources to learn how to cook from home. We live in an age of millions of free recipes online, pages of recipes on shelves at local libraries, in-depth online tutorials for advanced and novice cooks alike, and even meal kit boxes that bring ingredients straight to your doorstep. There’s never been a better time to learn how to cook, and maybe &#8220;The Real Food Show&#8221; will be what some Americans need to start rethinking how they approach their grocery plans.
***
Jordan Jantz is the assistant editor at IW Features as well as a freelance writer, editor, and website designer.
This article is part of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/upstream" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Upstream</a>, The Daily Wire’s new home for culture and lifestyle. Real human insight and human stories — from our featured writers to you.

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RFK Jr.’s New Cooking Show Proves We Can Fix The American Diet

grocery prices

Health

MAHA

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Upstream

August is supposed to be fully clear of Pride month, according to the calendar. But when I popped by a popular harvest festival in my neighborhood, it looked like summer had surrendered to the rainbow flag.
Picture a sweet 3-year-old girl wearing a green tutu and glittery stickers clapping alongside a parade of high school marching bands writhing to Penthouse-style routines, at the instruction of male choreographers who stepped out in full faces of makeup. At the same moment, a (drunk?) man I didn’t know made a joke by purposely touching my backside after I apologized for accidentally bumping into his. An eye for an eye. He said he was sorry. I’m an adult; I said it was fine. 
What was happening? This was a freaking vegetable festival at 9 a.m. on a Saturday. Calm down, Nashville. 
An hour later, EDM blared from a popular gay bar as a tomato red disco ball glimmered in the sunlight. A couple running their homemade gelato cart tried to make the best of the heart-thumping beat spilling onto the street. Small children looked on as revelers dressed in booty-baring festival garb gathered with friends. At least the bar got the memo on the theme. The Bloody Marys and micheladas on the cocktail list featured tomato-ish ingredients.
Fifteen minutes in, things were going off the rails. 
Every August, the historic Five Points neighborhood in East Nashville cranks its eclectic spirit up to an 11 for the <a href="https://www.tomatoartfest.com/">Tomato Art Fest</a>, a two-day event that goes all in on the savory fruit. Now in its 23rd year, the official motto declares the tomato as “A Uniter, NOT A Divider! Bringing Together Fruits &amp; Vegetables.” But I’ll be the judge of that.
Just like the first time I voted for Obama, I was filled with hope. (Leave me alone — I’m a tomato fest survivor.) After moving to the state several months ago, I was desperate to dive into local tradition. And how cute! A festival based on the season’s harvest. Coming from the dirty, soulless streets of Los Angeles where I learned that “stronger together” means “every man for himself,” I imagined a cozy farmers market-style craft fair with tomato-focused foods from local farmers. Fried green tomatoes! Wood-fired pizza! Gazpacho! Weird heirloom varieties we never see in stores! Tomato ice cream! Tomato beer! A blue ribbon for whoever can grow the biggest tomato! The Hallmark Channel works.
Instead, the few ripe tomatoes I saw all day were strung together as a necklace by a guy in a t-shirt that used to be white. Bless his heart. (I’m learning.) Call me crazy, but acai bowls, mac and cheese, and barbecue aren’t exactly screaming “tomato fest.” 
Per usual for a warm weather celebration, the “all are welcome here” crowd turned out. In reality, the unspoken guest list for this kind of party is pretty restrictive. But please enjoy social bonus points for having a thing for fishnets, vodka sodas, socialism, and an insatiable need to get away to Palm Springs. You seem fun.
I got a hot dog (they were out of ketchup) and watched an LGBTQ marching band squawk its way through a song the Girl Scout troop parading behind them would have played better, even if they had to form a band from scratch on the spot. Several trans-identifying men passed by me in the crowd. I handed one of them a paper fan I wasn’t really using. We smiled at each other. He was kind. Would he hate me for writing a feature on <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/weekend-plans-with-chloe-cole-detransitioner-and-child-advocate?author=Lauren+Bair&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Weekend+Plans+With+Chloe+Cole%2C+Detransitioner+And+Child+Advocate">Chloe Cole</a> for work? Are we all really welcome here, like, with our thoughts and everything?
You know those neighbors who keep Christmas trees up all year long? Some people around these parts display tomato signs in their yards 365 days a year. Now I see why. The concept started out earnestly, as far as I can tell. The tomato has served as Tennessee’s official <a href="https://sos.tn.gov/civics/pages/tennessee-state-symbols">state fruit</a> since 2003 (so what if the Supreme Court classified it as a veg in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nix_v._Hedden">1893</a>), and the festival grows bigger every year, promising a weekend of wholesome fun for the whole family that includes a costume parade, 5K race, full roster of live musical performances, arts and crafts vendors, kid-friendly science experiences, portrait painters, food trucks, and drink tents for fun aunts. 
I tried really hard to conjure the collective kumbaya I assumed was baked into the neighborhood’s biggest event of the summer. But it remained elusive. Political campaigns dotted the parade for candidates I don’t know yet. A small leftist organization shouted something about voting and planting seeds. Tomato-ish, but I assume they’re talking about voting only one way. Another woman seemed better suited for Coney Island’s Mermaid Parade dressed in a fish tail and tomato bikini instead of seashells. She and her cool bikini friends navigated large groups of children representing their magnet and charter school programs.
I was having trouble wrapping my head around the “heartland risqué” aesthetic. I wondered if Spain’s La Tomatina festival — the one where 20,000 people throw tomatoes around for an hour until everyone looks like <a href="https://www.instagram.com/reels/DakFFFaz-KM/">human meatballs</a> sloshing around in street pulp — has a more cohesive je ne sais quoi.
Maybe what was missing were the actual tomatoes. I know they’re out there. The devil works hard; that tomato vine in your backyard works harder.
But I was also missing a real sense of community. I’m new here, but I can already feel the neighbors picking sides. The “Pride” vibe can be exclusive, weaponizing the rainbow — a promise that was meant for everyone — as a symbol of one particular team. With all the LGBTQ venues opening in my neighborhood, Tomato Fest will likely become an all-rainbow party someday. I watched it happen in my Los Angeles neighborhood. Families will still go, but they’ll be consuming 100% more drag in order to do it. (And even fewer tomatoes.)
Later that afternoon as the festival rocked on, black storm clouds rolled in, and a sudden crack of thunder unleashed a downpour. I wondered if this is what everyone not in Noah’s Ark felt like, back in the day. I imagined all of those ancient folk somewhere on the other side, throwing tomatoes at each other, with some divine understanding of where it all went wrong. Sure, we’ve been promised no more epic floods. But we definitely needed to be cleansed from whatever just happened at Tomato Fest.
***
This article is part of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/upstream" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Upstream</a>, The Daily Wire’s new home for culture and lifestyle. Real human insight and human stories — from our featured writers to you.

Gemini_Generated_Image_ovk1bmovk1bmovk1

The Tomato Festival That Turned Into A Culture War

Nashville

Pride

A new law that went into effect on August 1 has changed the way you order takeout in New Jersey. 
Under the “Skip the Stuff” law, restaurants can no longer automatically pack single-use plastic utensils, straws, or condiment packets with to-go orders, and customers who want those items must now specifically request them. The law was signed by then-Democratic Governor Phil Murphy in January and took effect last week. Its purpose is to reduce plastic waste and limit the so-called environmental footprint of food businesses. 
Officials touting the new law noted that approximately 95% of food packaging is discarded after a single use.
In practice, this means plastic knives, forks, spoons, chopsticks, and individual packets of ketchup or other condiments will no longer appear in takeout bags by default. Diners can still receive them free of charge, but only if they ask. The same rule applies to online ordering platforms. Services such as DoorDash and Uber Eats must now default to withholding utensils unless a customer actively chooses to include them.
The restrictions also cover restaurants that offer indoor seating for at least 10 people. These establishments may provide only washable utensils for diners eating on site. Condiment packets are no longer allowed; sauces and seasonings must instead come from full size bottles or other reusable containers.
Some places are exempt. Public and private K-12 schools do not have to follow the law, nor do county or state correctional facilities or healthcare facilities. Food court restaurants have until August 1, 2028, before the requirements apply to them.
Enforcement begins with a warning for the first violation. A second offense can bring daily fines of up to $100. Later violations carry higher penalties of as much as $250 per day.
The measure stacks on earlier plastic reduction steps in New Jersey. In 2022, the state banned single-use plastic carryout bags and polystyrene foam food containers. In 2021, it placed restrictions on plastic straws. A similar “Skip the Stuff” law went into effect in New York City in July 2023.
For customers, the most instantaneous change is a small adjustment in how they place an order. Whether ordering in person, by phone, or through an app, diners must now decide if they need utensils or packets and say so clearly. 
Restaurants and delivery platforms are required to wait for that request before including the items. The law does not ban the items when asked for, it simply ends the previous practice of including them automatically with every order.
The rules are now in effect for most restaurants and delivery services across New Jersey, with the noted exemptions for schools, institutional facilities, and food courts until 2028.

Doordash Delivery Bag

A New Law Is Changing The Way You Order Takeout

Democrats

New Jersey

restaurants

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Thursday launched an online cooking series aimed at helping Americans prepare healthy, budget-friendly meals as part of the Trump administration&#8217;s &#8220;Make America Healthy Again&#8221; initiative.
The new series, &#8220;The Real Food Show,&#8221; features Kennedy traveling across the country to meet with chefs and culinary experts who demonstrate recipes using minimally processed ingredients.
“Inspired by President Trump&#8217;s Make America Healthy Again agenda, Secretary Kennedy is bringing the Dietary Guidelines for Americans to life and showing that cooking with real food can be practical, approachable, and affordable for every family,” the Department of Health and Human Services <a href="https://www.hhs.gov/real-food-show/index.html">said</a> in a statement.
“Every episode is packed with affordable, budget-friendly recipes and easy cooking techniques designed to save you time and money,” the department added.
In a promotional video announcing the series, Kennedy <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hWBP4REwZeY">said</a> the goal is to encourage Americans to embrace healthier eating habits through simple home cooking. 
“Thanks to President Trump, we flipped the food pyramid and put real food back to where it belongs — at the center of the American plate,&#8221; Kennedy said. &#8220;America, it&#8217;s time to eat real food. Let’s get cooking.” 
The new series premiered Thursday on the HHS website and YouTube. Celebrity chef Andrew Gruel joined Kennedy for the first episode, where they prepared crispy wild Alaskan salmon cakes served with an apple, white bean and greens salad.
&#8220;I&#8217;m excited to be part of the premiere episode because I believe the message is much bigger than a cooking show,&#8221; Gruel <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/food-drink/rfk-jr-takes-maha-kitchen-hhs-cooking-series-promoting-healthy-meals-under-5">told</a> Fox News Digital.
&#8220;My hope is that this series helps demystify cooking and shows people that preparing crave-worthy, healthy meals doesn&#8217;t require professional training or expensive ingredients,&#8221; he added.

Screenshot 2026-07-31 at 5.01.07 PM

Move Over, Food Network: RFK Jr. Has A Cooking Show

Department of Health and Human Services

nutrition

TV Shows

YouTube

Something has shifted in American pediatrics. After the American Academy of Pediatrics recommended in 2023 that doctors offer weight-loss medication to children as young as 12, prescriptions of GLP-1 drugs such as Wegovy and Saxenda for <a href="https://www.wsj.com/health/wellness/when-diets-dont-work-parents-turn-to-wegovy-for-elementary-school-kids-35aa9c05">kids jumped sharply</a> almost overnight, and they have climbed every month since. Clinical trials are now underway to push these drugs to children younger than 12. We are, in effect, deciding that the cure for a childhood spent eating processed foods and addicted to screens is a weekly injection that reengineers a developing brain&#8217;s hunger signals. Have we fallen so far off the cliff that we must inject our kids to lead them down a healthy path? This is not a solution.
There are some adults with serious metabolic conditions for whom these medications can be a genuine tool. But we have to address our cultural disease at the roots. “Let food be thy medicine” could never ring truer than it does at this pivotal juncture. 
Clearly, in this instance, GLP-1 drugs are a Band-Aid stretched over a wound not yet cleaned up. They suppress appetite; they do not teach a child what to eat and how to move. They lower a number on a scale; they do not change a home or a school cafeteria. The moment a child stops taking them, the weight tends to return because the underlying habits never change, and all of the issues will be exacerbated. Are we truly willing to commit a generation of kids to lifelong pharmaceutical dependence when basic, wholesome meals and daily outside play is usually all that’s needed?
The food put in front of children is the real scandal. Roughly 70% of the calories American children eat now come from ultra-processed foods, the engineered snacks and drinks designed in laboratories to override the body&#8217;s natural sense of fullness. We have built an environment that makes children sick and then act surprised when they are. 
The MAHA Commission&#8217;s <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/MAHA-Report-The-White-House.pdf">report</a> last year, &#8220;Make Our Children Healthy Again,&#8221; named this plainly, pointing to poor diet, environmental toxins, physical inactivity, and the over-medicalization of childhood as the roots of a genuine crisis in chronic disease. It’s good to have a clear prognosis on the dire state of things, but the real shift needs to start at dinner tables and in schools. We need to bring back simple, time-tested wisdom and real foods from God’s green earth.
The good news is that the solution is not complicated, and it does not require a prescription. It requires basic foods. Start with protein at every meal, especially a real breakfast, the kind that steadies a child through a school morning instead of delivering the sugar spike and crash of a toaster pastry. Fill the plate with vegetables until they become ordinary rather than a negotiation. Get kids moving their bodies every day, not as punishment, but as play, the way childhood is supposed to be. And cut the processed foods and refined sugars that are doing the damage.
None of this is exotic. It is exactly how previous generations of healthy children were raised before their nutrition was outsourced to vending machines, cafeterias that offer mac and cheese or pizza, and drive-throughs.
We’ve been working with women and their families for the last 15 years, and our latest book, &#8220;<a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/0736994610/?bestFormat=true&amp;k=7%20skills%20to%20lasting%20health%20by%20trim%20healthy%20mama&amp;ref_=nb_sb_ss_w_scx-ent-bk-ww_k0_1_8_di&amp;crid=11YSVR5IE2B7Y&amp;sprefix=7%20skills">The 7 Skills to Lasting Health</a>,&#8221; provides all of these tools in a simple, accessible way. We’d be happy to make it available as a curriculum for schools nationwide. But, if you don’t know where to start, this is an easy on-ramp.
This is not merely a matter of personal health. A nation whose children are growing up sicker, weaker, and more medicated than their parents is a nation weakening at its foundation. When military recruiters struggle to find young people fit to serve and when the cost to treat the epidemic of chronic disease consumes an ever-larger share of our economy, the health of our children stops being a private concern and becomes a question of national strength.
We may be celebrating 250 years of America, but a country cannot lead the world while its next generation is too unwell to carry it forward. We have a clear choice in front of us. We can keep treating the symptoms, normalizing injections for children addicted to their screens and hoping the bill never comes due. Or we can do the harder, better thing and address this at its root, one breakfast, one home-cooked dinner, one afternoon outside at a time.
The drugs will always be there for the few who truly need them for breakthrough. But for the millions who simply need real food and a healthier life, reaching for the syringe first is a failure. Our children are our future. They deserve more than a bandage. They deserve to be made well.
***
Pearl Barrett and Serene Allison are New York Times bestselling authors and the founders of Trim Healthy Mama.
This article is part of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/introducing-upstream-a-lifestyle-and-culture-section-of-the-daily-wire" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Upstream,</a> The Daily Wire’s new home for culture and lifestyle. Real human insight and human stories — from our featured writers to you.

GettyImages-1373079600

The Childhood ‘Solution’ That Should Terrify Every Parent

Children

glp-1

Ozempic

If you’re relishing the rise of fermented cucumber these days, hold on to your gherkins. Not only are pickles clutch for charcuterie, but the brine can bring you back to life. 
There’s a time and place for <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@morganchompz/video/7627558422073937165?embed_source=121374463%2C121468991%2C121439635%2C121749182%2C121433650%2C121404359%2C121497414%2C122349556%2C122221973%2C122122240%2C121351166%2C121811500%2C121960941%2C122122244%2C122122243%2C122122242%2C121487028%2C121679410%2C122258714%2C121331973%2C120811592%2C120810756%2C121885509%3Bnull%3Bembed_blank&amp;refer=embed&amp;referer_url=www.allrecipes.com%2Fwhat-are-kool-aid-pickles-12016646&amp;referer_video_id=7627558422073937165">Kool-Aid pickles</a> and <a href="https://www.instagram.com/reels/DVuSXTlD7xj/">24-layer pickle cake</a> (that time may be never), but standard pickle juice can help your muscles recover faster than you can say “please pass the emergency cornichons.” 
This protocol played out in real time in front of nearly 70,000 people at Seattle Stadium during the World Cup. As the U.S. battled it out against Australia, field referee <a href="https://time.com/article/2026/06/26/does-pickle-juice-help-muscle-cramps/">Felix Zwayer</a> suddenly fell to the ground with a muscle cramp in the middle of the game. After a little stretching did nothing to quell the pain, Zwayer downed a shot of pickle juice and was back in the game. 
So was it some kind of miracle pickle-lixir? More like the right minerals at exactly the right time.
Muscle cramps can happen for a variety of reasons such as holding a position too long, pinching a nerve, or straining a muscle. But when you sweat out body-balancing electrolytes during exercise, your muscles freak out. That’s where pickle juice comes in. 
Pickle brine boasts concentrated amounts of <a href="https://www.verywellfit.com/pickle-juice-nutrition-facts-and-health-benefits-4164284">potassium and sodium</a>, both of which are essential for body function. Known as electrolytes, they serve as two key minerals that form an electric charge when mixed with body fluids, helping to regulate hydration and keep your cells nourished. Sodium and potassium, in particular, do the heavy lifting when it comes to <a href="https://medlineplus.gov/fluidandelectrolytebalance.html">muscle</a> function.  
Since the brine also has no protein or fat, it’s quick to digest. FIFA Official Zwayer may have chugged something similar to <a href="https://picklepower.com/">Pickle Juice</a>, which reportedly goes to work in 60 seconds.
Another factor may be the cheek-pinching flavor. If you’ve ever felt a pickle juice kick in the back of your throat, that’s precisely the characteristic this remedy leverages. Pickle Juice, the registered performance beverage, claims to interrupt the stressed-out nerve signals between your brain and your muscles (via zippy shock to your throat), thus lessening the pain of a cramp. <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19997012/">Studies</a> show that it works.
If straight pickle brine isn’t exactly your jam, a more palatable <a href="https://www.runnersworld.com/nutrition-weight-loss/a71871221/pickle-juice-recipe-recovery-drink/">pickle lemonade</a> offers the benefits with a refreshing twist. Providing sip-worthy recovery for runners and other athletes looking to replenish sodium more quickly than they would by drinking plain water, lemon and a little sweetener help the pickle juice go down. An added benefit? Unlike store-bought <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/whats-really-hiding-in-your-electrolyte-drink?author=Jordan+Jantz&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=What%E2%80%99s+Really+Hiding+In+Your+Electrolyte+Drink%3F">electrolyte drinks</a>, a DIY recipe gives you more control over the ingredients you put in your body.
But this isn’t the only reason it might be time to swap that hot sauce in your bag for a jar of bread and butter chips. If you think the phrase “good for you” also applies to your soul, get ready because “pickle” is the flavor of the summer. 
Calling it a “pickle renaissance,” food trend spotter and author of the Snaxshot newsletter <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2026/06/14/us/pickle-flavor-summer-cec">Andrea Hernandez</a> says, “It’s not something that just feels gimmicky — it’s a major unlock for a category that has been sleepy for a while.” Contrasting the overdone mid-2000s bacon trend that was not-so-secretly <a href="https://www.salon.com/2023/01/31/heres-how-we-fell-in-and-out-of-love-with-bacon/">engineered by Big Pork</a>, she says the pickle rise was more of a grassroots initiative. Even snacks that were never cucumbers have gotten the pickle treatment.
There’s a world in which dill pickle-flavored popcorn, peanut butter, protein bars, jelly beans, pretzels, jerky, and canned tuna exists, and we’re already living in it. But more unexpected flavor pairings also seem to be fair game. 
Sam’s Club is so confident in the enduring popularity of its cake pops that it’s camouflaging <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/Daygd-Ch3jQ/">“surprise” pickle pops</a> among fan-favorite pineapple and blue raspberry flavors. And <a href="https://www.smoothieking.com/stories/pickle-smoothie-at-smoothie-king-made-with-grillos-pickles/">Smoothie King</a> hopes to leverage the electrolyte craze with a pickle smoothie featuring fresh-blended Grillo’s Pickles spears. If that sounds weird, maybe the bananas and coconut water will help.
While pickles and ice cream may have been the pregnancy craving trope of the &#8217;80s, it’s now what you’d call a thing. Whether you <a href="https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1288412380088327">shave frozen pickles</a> on top of a scoop of vanilla, or concoct a pickled syrup, it’s the sweet and savory combo to erase all other pairings from your mind.
Over in the drinks category, pickle juice is popping up in <a href="https://parade.com/food/viral-pickle-margarita-recipe-review">margaritas</a>, and frozen pickles add dimension to a glass of <a href="https://www.foodandwine.com/frozen-pickle-sauvignon-blanc-trend-11989639">white wine</a>. Despite being a fan of wine-flavored wine, I had to see what all the pickle fuss was about. It’s also not beyond my talents to slice up a few gherkins, freeze them, and drop them into a glass of sauvignon blanc. I actually loved the briny contrast to the herbaceous citrus of the wine, and my frozen pickles kept things chill without diluting the flavor like ice. Five out of five stars, would recommend. (Snacking on room temp, wine-soaked gherkins I forgot at the bottom of the glass? Maybe not.)  
I fully reject <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DWrI7TakYjr/">pickle-flavored Oreos</a> and <a href="https://www.oakpark.com/2019/12/13/behold-the-peppermint-stick-in-a-dill-pickle/">peppermint stick pickles</a> with the ferocity of a toddler who refuses to eat her favorite foods when they touch. But for further proof of a heartily embraced variation on the theme, look no further than the pickle festivals and state fair offerings that remain unapologetic about brazenly expanding your dill-pickled horizons.
As some of us prepare to pay our respects to <a href="https://www.arlingtontx.gov/News-Articles/2026/June/Snooki-to-Become-Americas-Pickle-Queen-at-The-Big-Dill-in-Arlington">Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi</a>, the official pickle queen of the World’s Largest Pickle Party in Texas, the Minnesota State Fair hopes to tempt visitors with <a href="https://www.kaaltv.com/news/ranch-dressing-beer-dill-pickle-seltzer-minnesota-state-fair-unveils-dozens-of-featured-drinks-for-2026/">dill pickle seltzer</a>. Kentucky’s Dainty Fest already hosted a <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DbBD_xdDg_K/?hl=en&amp;img_index=6">pickle juice-chugging contest</a> that was less about balancing electrolytes and more about crushing the competition.
Traveling festivals such as <a href="https://www.picklepaloozafoodanddrinkfest.com/">Pickle Palooza</a> offer mechanical pickle rides along with food creations like “Dilled Cheese,” “Dilly Cheesesteak,” and pickle candy. Pittsburg, Pennsylvania’s <a href="https://www.axios.com/local/pittsburgh/2026/07/15/picklesburgh-2026-guide">Picklesburgh</a> leveled things up with pickleball and pickle-bobbing contests for anyone who thinks too many pickles is never enough.
Maybe we’re tipping into oversaturation in this current pickleconomy, but until then, brine on.
***
This article is part of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/upstream" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Upstream</a>, The Daily Wire’s new home for culture and lifestyle. Real human insight and human stories — from our featured writers to you.

GettyImages-2022372760

America’s Weirdest Food Obsession Comes With A Surprise Benefit

New York City democratic socialist Mayor Zohran Mamdani unveiled perhaps one of his loftiest promises yet on Monday, vowing that his grocery stores will be 30% cheaper than competitors and will sell apple slices that stop toddler tantrums. 
“The savings will last for the entire month. That means no weekly fluctuations or sticker shock at the checkout line — not for our seniors living on fixed incomes, nor for the parents who rely on a regular supply of apple slices to keep toddler tantrums at bay,” he said. 
Mamdani <a href="https://www.nyc.gov/mayors-office/news/2026/07/mayor-mamdani-unveils-30--discount---including-all-produce--all-">said</a> the stores will have a “core set of goods which will include all fresh produce, meat, and seafood, along with 20 other essential items like cheese, milk, and bread.” The stores will set prices at the beginning of each month and will not change until the next month. The markets will not sell hot food to avoid competing with local bodegas. 
“Mamdani’s policies — from state run groceries to government-provided babysitting for parents’ night out — perfectly demonstrate how much Leftists want the government to co-parent your kids. Ironically, Mamdani’s obsession with the City parenting your children stems from his own childlessness — and we parents will stick to our own apple slices, thanks,&#8221; Daily Wire host Isabel Brown said.
The first of the five grocery stores, one in each borough of New York City, will open by the end of 2027 in Hunts Point in the Bronx at the former Spofford Juvenile Detention Facility. Mamdani has committed that the other four will be open by the end of his term as mayor. Mamdani predicts that New Yorkers will save $90 a month, which could translate to $1,000 per year. Another store will open in 2029 at La Marqueta in East Harlem, where former New York City Mayor Fiorello La Guardia placed a public retail market 90 years ago. 
The city will own or lease the land at each of the grocery stores and will pay for needed construction or renovations, but a third-party operator will be in charge of running the store. Mamdani’s administration is requesting proposals from third-party operations to run the grocery stores that the mayor says have “no plans to turn a profit.” 
Mamdani has <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/zohran-mamdani-quotes-ronald-reagan-as-he-rolls-out-socialist-campaign-promise?author=Brecca+Stoll&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=0&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Zohran+Mamdani+Quotes+Ronald+Reagan+As+He+Rolls+Out+Socialist+Campaign+Promise">argued</a> that the city-owned grocery stores are meant to serve as a proof of concept for a larger government role in providing essential services. While announcing the second location, he pushed back on President Ronald Reagan&#8217;s famous line that the nine most terrifying words in the English language are, &#8220;I&#8217;m from the government and I&#8217;m here to help.&#8221; Instead, Mamdani said the more frightening words are: &#8220;I worked all day and can&#8217;t feed my family.&#8221;
Critics cite failures of government-run grocery stores in places like Venezuela, <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/parallels/2015/10/29/452636462/the-nightmare-of-grocery-shopping-in-venezuela">where</a> stores suffered chronic shortages, empty shelves, spoiled food, and logistical breakdowns.

NYC Mayor Mamdani Holds News Conference On Municipal Grocery Store Announcement

Socialism’s Latest Fantasy: Apple Slices Stop Toddler Tantrums

Economy

New York City

Socialism

Zohran Mamdani

The U.S. food system has devolved into a massive, unintentional science experiment, and we&#8217;ve unknowingly become the lab rats. This isn&#8217;t something new, either. It&#8217;s been going on for well over a century. We have access to the most advanced medical technology, the most life-saving medicines, and more knowledge about germs and infection than at any other point in human history. So why is our health as a nation declining so rapidly?
Here&#8217;s a number that should stop you cold. In the 1930s, roughly one in five Americans had a chronic illness, and that count included things we don&#8217;t even tally anymore, such as visual impairment. Today, without counting visual impairment at all, it&#8217;s closer to three in five. That&#8217;s a jump of roughly 40 percentage points, and most of those chronic illnesses can be connected directly to food and lifestyle. That is not a coincidence, and it is not something that “just happened” to us.
I wanted to understand exactly how we got here, so I sat down with Steven Rofrano, CEO and co-founder of Ancient Crunch, the company behind Masa chips, tortilla chips made with whole-food ingredients and fried in grass-fed beef tallow. Steven is on the leading edge of making snack food real food again, and he doesn&#8217;t need a research budget to make his case.
“Go pick up some history book and just look at photos of people,” he told me. “You don&#8217;t need a doctor to tell you that someone with like 32 perfectly straight white teeth who never had braces and is like six foot two, who lives in the jungle of wherever … you don&#8217;t need a doctor to tell you that person&#8217;s healthier than the average person today. It&#8217;s just so obvious if you look.”
It really is obvious once you look back. Not that long ago, in the early 1900s, Americans were shopping within walking distance of home at local mom-and-pop grocery stores, stocked with local goods because refrigerated transportation didn&#8217;t exist to move food any real distance. There were butchers, milkmen, cheese shops. Actual specialists, not aisles. The “classic American diet” of that era, as Steven put it, consisted of staple carbohydrates such as potatoes, corn, and wheat; fats like butter and pork; beef once it caught on in the mid-1800s; and whatever vegetables happened to be in season. That was it. Those were your options. “The additives that we are trying to avoid now … it just didn&#8217;t exist,” he said. “Citric acid? What citric acid? Red 40? What Red 40? There wasn&#8217;t any of this stuff.”
<iframe loading="lazy" title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/4FKCGFHqZQ0?si=VqtU86cDWOFZ91Up" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
Then the grocery stores got bigger, and bigger stores needed longer shelf life. That&#8217;s the moment preservatives, chemicals, and seed oils entered the American diet, and it wasn&#8217;t some accident of nature. It was three forces working at once: the Green Revolution of the 1960s, which used pesticides, GMOs, and fertilizers to massively increase agricultural output; a wave of new food additives designed to extend shelf life and cut costs; and a food system that rewarded whoever could sell the cheapest calories, regardless of what those calories did to the people eating them. Cheap food was, and still is, treated as a kind of God-given right in this country. The market gave us exactly what we asked for.
Nowhere is that clearer than in the story of seed oil, which now makes up roughly 30% of all American calories. It is by far the single biggest processed ingredient anyone eats, by volume, nationwide. And the origin story is almost too strange to believe. In the 1870s, a German immigrant invented a method for pressing oil out of cottonseed, which until then was just a waste byproduct of the cotton industry. Procter &amp; Gamble, the soap company, bought the process because it was looking for a cheaper alternative to the fats used in soapmaking. But the oil itself was, in Steven&#8217;s words, “kind of gross … foamy and smelled weird,” so it got shelved. Eventually someone figured out how to process it into a solid fat that resembled lard or butter at room temperature, and somebody at Procter &amp; Gamble had the idea to sell it as a cooking fat instead of soap. That product became Crisco, marketed in the early 20th century as clean, modern, and “enlightened” at a moment when people actually associated processed and chemical food with progress rather than danger. Liquid seed oils got a second life during World War II as machinery lubricant. When the war ended, the seed-oil producers were sitting on a mountain of surplus supply, and that&#8217;s when they started selling it as food.
What&#8217;s almost more disturbing than the ingredient itself is how it stayed unquestioned for so long. Steven pointed out that billions of dollars of industry-funded research over the past several decades have gone into cementing the idea that seed oils are good for you. Studies get funded on whatever someone has a financial interest in proving. Nobody is spending serious money studying whether kombucha is good for you, he noted, not because kombucha is bad, but because nobody profits from that research. The same imbalance applies here, at a much larger scale, and it should make you a little more skeptical of the “settled science” you see stamped on a cereal box.
Naturally, I asked Steven whether it&#8217;s actually possible to feed this many people without relying on cheap, unhealthy ingredients. His answer surprised me: Current farming isn&#8217;t even optimized for total calories per acre, let alone nutritious calories per acre. It&#8217;s optimized for profit per farm, which is a completely different calculation. Regenerative farming, which rotates cattle and pasture and lets animals shape the land and cycle nutrients back into it instead of leaning on pesticides, can produce more healthy calories per acre than conventional monoculture. “It is relatively easy to conceive of a structure of managing farmland that could produce even more food than we&#8217;re currently producing. It would be healthier,” Steven said. “It just might not be as cheap or maybe not as profitable.”
So what do you actually do with all of this? Steven&#8217;s advice is refreshingly simple. Avoid seed oils and high-fructose corn syrup. “If you just avoid those two things, like 90% of the things that are bad for you will automatically, by default, get kicked out,” he said. His broader rule of thumb: If you can&#8217;t imagine an ingredient sitting in your great-grandmother&#8217;s cupboard, don&#8217;t eat it. You don&#8217;t need to know what maltodextrin or carrageenan actually is. You just need to know your great-grandmother didn&#8217;t either.
And on the cost question, because there&#8217;s always a cost question, Steven reframed it in a way I haven&#8217;t stopped thinking about. Most Americans now spend only about 10% of their money on food, a fraction of what our ancestors did. So increasing your food budget by 50% might raise your total household spending by only about 5%. At a certain point, you have to ask yourself what you actually want, and what you&#8217;re willing to trade for it. The answer to our modern health problems will not be found in convenience. It takes some sacrifice, and sometimes some money; what we have collectively been willing to sacrifice at the altar of convenience and cost is, intentionally or not, our own health, our futures, and our most valuable resource: our limited time here.
The good news is that the shift is already underway, and not just in my own kitchen. Thanks in large part to the moms of the movement, major grocery chains such as Target are banning certain food dyes. Fast-food chains are advertising that they cook with tallow. Hershey&#8217;s has pledged to go back to using real chocolate. This isn&#8217;t a fringe, overprotective-parents movement anymore. It&#8217;s becoming mainstream, and if brands want to keep their customers, they&#8217;re going to have to get with the times.
I feel this shift in my own life, too. Eating foods that were completely normal for me just a few years ago genuinely tastes bad to me now. Same with my husband. It felt like a long process of rewiring our brains, but once you actually know and care what you&#8217;re eating, you stop being a passive consumer of whatever&#8217;s on the shelf or in the commercial in front of you. I look at supermarket shelves in a completely different light now, and it forces me to get creative with the whole foods that are actually available. It&#8217;s less convenient, yes, but it&#8217;s entirely possible. It may feel like an antiquated idea in 2026, but we can even grow some of our own food for close to free, on a balcony or in a backyard.
This is our health we&#8217;re talking about. How can we call ourselves a strong nation if we&#8217;re this sick? It&#8217;s not normal, and we need to stop pretending it is. We need to look for small ways to cut the excuses and take back control of our health in the most natural ways possible. Start by getting out of the rat race. Stop feeling like a drugged-up lab rat, and instead lean back into the traditions of our ancestors, for the sake of our health, our longevity, and our overall well-being. It&#8217;s worth it.
***
This article is part of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/upstream" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Upstream</a>, The Daily Wire’s new home for culture and lifestyle. Real human insight and human stories — from our featured writers to you.

Getty Images

America’s Food System Turned Us Into Lab Rats. Here’s How It Happened.

Reagan Conrad

Seed Oils

Rejoice, all coffee fanatics. The experts have concluded that drinking up to five cups of coffee is not only healthy, but may decrease your risk of various heart problems.
On Monday, the American Heart Association published a paper <a href="https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/CIR.0000000000001454">detailing</a> findings from a panel of experts on decades of research related to caffeine, especially caffeine found in America’s <a href="https://foodinstitute.com/focus/coffee-americas-most-popular-beverage/">favorite drink</a>. 
The group concluded that the safe level of maximum caffeine consumption rests around 400 milligrams daily — that’s up to five eight-ounce cups of regular coffee.
“Data are fairly consistent that moderate caffeine consumption, again studied primarily in the setting of coffee consumption, was associated with a lower risk of stroke,” the paper said, adding that caffeine consumption in coffee was associated with a lower risk for heart disease and type 2 diabetes.
The paper also said that “Randomized controlled trial data among regular caffeinated coffee drinkers showed that caffeinated coffee decreases the risk of atrial fibrillation occurrence but increases the frequency of premature ventricular contractions.” 
<a href="https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/atrial-fibrillation/symptoms-causes/syc-20350624">Atrial fibrillation</a> is an irregular beating of the heart that can lead to blood clots, stroke, and heart failure. Premature ventricular contractions are irregular contractions in the lower part of your heart that give the feeling of your heart skipping beats. However, the premature ventricular contractions are mostly harmless.
In other words, coffee could potentially make your heart beat a little differently, but it could also prevent bigger beating irregularities down the road.
The experts did find some caveats with caffeine consumption. They determined that <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3346273/">CYP1A2</a>, the gene that creates the enzyme in your liver associated with metabolizing caffeine, is inherited, so caffeine tolerance and toxicity vary from person to person.
The experts found that “unfiltered coffee raises low-density lipoprotein cholesterol” — that’s the “<a href="https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/24391-ldl-cholesterol">bad cholesterol</a>” that can create plaque buildup in the arteries and cause heart failure or stroke. Caffeine could also cause an increase in blood pressure, which can pose a risk for individuals suffering from hypertension.
Although caffeine in the context of coffee has been seen to be beneficial, the paper stated that “Data on high doses of caffeine such as that found in energy drinks are limited and generally suggest cardiovascular harm.”
According to the CDC, heart disease was the number-one cause of <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/leading-causes-of-death.htm">death</a> in the United States, taking the lives of 683,491 Americans in 2024. It might be that some of those people needed more coffee.

Screenshot 2026-07-21 at 4.19.26 PM

The Caffeine Debate Is Back. Is It Good For Us?

Coffee

Olive Garden is betting America still has an appetite for unlimited carbs, bringing back its iconic Never-Ending Pasta Pass for the first time since 2019.
The popular promo always causes a sensation, and for good reason. Passholders get to gorge on 13 weeks of unlimited pasta, homemade sauces, and protein toppings along with unlimited soup or salad and breadsticks as part of the Never-Ending Pasta Bowl promotion. 
Beginning July 16 at 2 p.m. ET, Olive Garden addicts can visit <a href="https://pastapass.com/">PastaPass.com</a> and pay $100 to reap all the carb-tastic benefits. There are only 10,000 passes available.
The Never-Ending Pasta Pass debuted in 2014 and was an instant hit with restaurant goers, per <a href="https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/olive-garden-announces-the-return-of-its-iconic-never-ending-pasta-pass-302823110.html">PR Newswire</a>. A company rep said people have been asking for it ever since it was last available seven years ago.
&#8220;Guests still ask us about Never-Ending Pasta Pass, which speaks to the lasting enthusiasm and connection our fans have for it,&#8221; Jaime Bunker, Olive Garden&#8217;s senior vice president of marketing, said of the promo. &#8220;Bringing it back felt like the right way to recognize the loyalty of so many guests who have kept it top of mind all these years, while celebrating what they love most about Olive Garden – abundance and incredible value – all wrapped into one experience.&#8221;
Those who grab the $100 pass can load up on Olive Garden’s bounty beginning August 31 through November 22. The passes are non-transferable and require photo identification for use. The company noted that it can only be used for dine-in orders, and not for takeout or online purchases.
While many chain restaurants have been struggling due to rising food costs and people generally spending less on dining out, Olive Garden has remained a top performer in the space. However, it has been slipping and was dethroned by Texas Roadhouse last year as America’s number one dining spot. 
This was based on systemwide sales data from Technomic for the Top 500 largest restaurant chains in the U.S., as <a href="https://finance.yahoo.com/news/steakhouse-unseated-olive-garden-america-144754310.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported by Yahoo</a> in 2025. 
Olive Garden had been in the top position since 2018. The nationwide chain recorded $5.2 billion in U.S. systemwide sales for 2024 and opened 15 new restaurants. It currently operates more than 900 locations in 49 states.

Olive Garden

Olive Garden Revives Wildly Popular Deal After Seven-Year Hiatus

Restaurant

United States

The internet has video after video of fruit and veggie hauls being dunked in baths of specialty produce wash. What was once a simple rinse under tap water has become a complicated routine fraught with questions about food safety, organic vs. non-organic, and contamination. And after year after year of <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/fda-deadly-lettuce-recall-2061394">produce recall headlines</a>, it’s no wonder we’re obsessing over clean produce. 
Between pesticides, dirt, and bacteria, there’s a lot that can catch a ride on your produce, but that doesn’t mean the Instagram-chic method is the best one. If you’ve seen the aesthetic videos of rows of berries and peppers washed, diced, and tucked into the fridge, you’re not alone in wondering whether that’s truly the best way to prep produce. 
For starters, washing and cutting produce before storing can introduce moisture that grows mold as the produce sits in the fridge. That’s why this method requires eating washed produce soon or ensuring it’s dry and stored with a paper towel to absorb excess water. 
But even the process of washing the produce itself is muddled by mixed messaging and arguments over what method is most effective. For sturdier produce such as potatoes, carrots, or beets, a <a href="https://www.amazon.com/OXO-Grips-Vegetable-Brush-color/dp/B00004OCL2/ref=sr_1_5?sr=8-5">produce scrubber</a> and tap water will clear away most of the dirt. When it comes to clearing away pesticides and bacteria, though, especially on more delicate produce like berries and lettuce, the answer is less clear. 
Leafy greens and herbs <a href="https://static.ewg.org/upload/pdf/EWG_FruitVegWashing_Tipsheet.pdf">can hide dirt and grime</a> in pockets and folds, so peeling or cutting open lettuce will help expose any areas that need extra cleaning. However, many lettuce mixes are labeled as “pre-washed” or “triple washed” and <a href="https://www.pubs.ext.vt.edu/FST/fst-478/fst-478.html">do not need to be rinsed again</a>. 
That aside, just about any produce can survive a gentle rinse. I’ve personally had luck washing delicate mushrooms — rather than just brushing them clean — and leaving them to dry longer or cooking out the extra water. Even produce with an inedible peel, such as avocado or melon, can transfer bacteria from the exterior to the interior on a knife’s blade, leading many food safety recommendations to advise washing all produce. 
Across the country, produce washes are hitting grocery store shelves, but these rinses are not necessarily safe to eat and <a href="https://www.nifa.usda.gov/sites/default/files/resource/Guide%20to%20Washing%20Fresh%20Produce508.pdf">may get absorbed</a> into produce during use. Instead, rinsing produce in white vinegar is a safe way to kill bacteria; just follow up with a quick water rinse to get rid of the vinegar flavor and residue. 
Pesticides can be more stubborn to remove, but some studies <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/is-washing-with-water-enough-to-get-pfas-pesticides-off-fruits-vegetables/">suggest</a> that a 10-minute baking soda soak (1 teaspoon per cup of water) can help remove the pesticides on the surface of produce. There is also some evidence that rinsing produce in vinegar can help remove pesticides. However, neither of these methods is foolproof. 
<div id="attachment_1132305" style="width: 310px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1132305" class="size-medium wp-image-1132305" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/07/GettyImages-1497134529-300x169.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="169" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/07/GettyImages-1497134529-300x169.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/07/GettyImages-1497134529-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/07/GettyImages-1497134529-768x432.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/07/GettyImages-1497134529.jpg 1200w" sizes=" (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />Getty Images</div>
The unfortunate truth is that it’s impossible to remove all dirt, bacteria, and pesticides from fruit and vegetables. 
Instead, the most effective method is buying food that starts with less contamination. This means shopping from a local, trustworthy farm or looking for in-season foods. It also means sticking to foods sprayed with fewer pesticides or buying organic. Each year, the Environmental Working Group publishes the <a href="https://www.ewg.org/foodnews/clean-fifteen.php">Clean Fifteen</a> and <a href="https://www.ewg.org/foodnews/dirty-dozen.php">Dirty Dozen</a> as buyer guides. The Clean Fifteen includes foods low in pesticide residue, and the Dirty Dozen lists the foods most contaminated with pesticides, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture data. When it comes to making grocery store decisions, the Dirty Dozen are best to buy organic and skip the pesticides altogether, and while the Clean Fifteen are still best to buy organic, they likely carry fewer pesticides if you’re looking to save a few bucks and buy non-organic. 
This year, pineapple, sweet corn, avocado, papaya, onion, frozen peas, asparagus, cabbage, cauliflower, watermelon, mangoes, bananas, carrots, mushrooms, and kiwi top the Clean Fifteen. Meanwhile, spinach, kale, collard greens, mustard greens, strawberries, grapes, nectarines, peaches, cherries, apples, blackberries, pears, potatoes, and blueberries landed on the Dirty Dozen. 
These lists vary year-to-year. The produce that tends to carry the most pesticides is often not protected by a thick peel: The leafy greens and berries on the Dirty Dozen will carry pesticide residue straight from their thin peels into our stomachs. 
In the end, though, the nutrients derived from fresh produce <a href="https://static.ewg.org/upload/pdf/EWG_FruitVegWashing_Tipsheet.pdf">outweigh</a> the risk from potential contamination that sticks on after a good scrub, wash, or soak. Aside from avoiding food on recall lists, staying away from obvious signs of mold or rot, and buying organic, there’s no way to know what produce is safe and what is contaminated. Instead, focusing on what is fresh, in-season, and nutrient-dense goes much further in the health department than any fancy produce wash. When it’s impossible to eliminate all risk, the best we can do is buy organic, rise away the dirt, and enjoy what is otherwise a healthy meal.
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Jordan Jantz is the assistant editor at IW Features as well as a freelance writer, editor, and website designer.
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