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It is portrayed on social media as a personal indulgence with photos of influencers laying in bubble baths, perfectly pedicured toes poking out of the foam, glass of rosé clasped in a perfectly manicured hand, and $100 sheet mask on their face. Later, we may glimpse the post-mask application of expensive serum, followed by a night cream made from the placenta of a rare goat, eye cream, and lash enhancer. At 4:30 one afternoon, when I hadn’t yet taken a sip of water, let alone eaten anything since my 6 a.m. start time, it occurred to me that sometimes self-care is simply making sure our basic biological requirements are met. Although a #sponsored bubble bath at a chic spa sounds glamorous, and being waited on hand and immaculately pedicured foot would be even better, in my world, a 20-minute power nap and a cup of tea will have to suffice.

We are just a few weeks into the year, and it’s not hard to spot some trends that will influence us in 2019. While most are not exactly brand-spanking new, the rate in which they are becoming mainstream demands our attention

Store-bought gluten-free flour blends have varied calorie counts, ranging from 400 calories to 587 calories per cup depending on the contents. Purported to have a lower glycemic index than white or brown sugars, it still is loaded with fructose and is similar in calories to refined white sugar. Honey and pure maple syrup have more nutritional value, but also are high in fructose, and can weigh in at a greater calorie count than conventional sugar. If you are eliminating food groups ( i.e. gluten or refined sugar) and eating a lot of replacement foods, especially those with processed and fabricated ingredients, it might be affecting your health in a negative way.

I would never try to trick someone into eating something they don’t want, but if it is an allergy, I need to take extra precautions to make sure that the offending ingredient is kept far away from the other foods. That means that I can’t put the gluten-free cookies on the same tray as the conventional ones, or more importantly, that I need to clean the kitchen completely between preparing items that use the allergen, and those that don’t. That said, I have I taken a single portion of many Thanksgiving sides and used margarine instead of butter, or eliminated sugar or nuts to feed a guest with restrictions. In doing so while I was cooking, I gave the guest a special version without much additional effort on my part and gave the rest of the group what they wanted.