I welcome genetically modified foods (GMOs). A GMO that I currently enjoy is Arctic ApBitz dried apple crisps. Regular dried apples are soft and pliable. Arctic crisps have been bred to dry naturally without browning and to retain their crispness and crunchiness. They are french-fry shaped and textured. The dry snack is extremely lightweight (great for hiking), satisfyingly crunchy and flavor intense, and comes in 3 apple varieties: Delicious, Granny Smith, and Golden (the variety in the link). I really enjoy them, and I am told that kids prefer these crunchy apple sticks over traditional apple leathers. — KK 

We eat enough granola that we can’t keep up making our own. But most store-bought granola is way too sweet with sugar. And it’s expensive. For the past many years I’ve been gobbling up Bob’s Red Mill Honey Granola. It is only mildly sweetened using honey, and not expensive. Amazon sells it in 18-ounce packages. We add our own nuts, raisins, etc. — KK 

When it comes to airplane food, I agree with Anthony Bourdain: it’s better to go hungry. But I don’t like going hungry so I pack snacks with me. One of my favorites is the Graze Bar. It’s a tasty, chewy stick of grass fed beef containing no sugar, gluten, or MSG. — MF 

I drop one Nuun tablet into my glass of water in the morning and another before I go to bed. Nuun tablets contain sodium, potassium, magnesium, and calcium. It’s very likely a placebo effect, but I feel better and more replenished from drinking water with a Nuun tablet in it. In any case, it’s a fizzy, citrusy treat that I look forward to. — MF 

Box wine is under-appreciated. I can get decent red wine in a collapsible bag/ box so that I can drink just one glass daily (for medicinal purposes!) and have the full 3 liters never expire. Trader Joe’s has a good Cabernet Sauvignon in a box. — KK 

When I travel I take snacks with me: macadamia nuts, Starbucks Via instant coffee pouches, and Graze Bars. I recently added a new item: 0.5 ounce coconut oil pouches. They go great with my low-carb diet. I can spread it on chicken and vegetables to increase the calories without adding carbs. I love the taste of coconut oil on almost anything. — MF 

These Wild Hibiscus Flowers in Syrup have become essential in my life. They can make any cheap champagne taste like liquid gold. The flowers themselves taste like a sweet fruit and they look so pretty sitting at the bottom of a flute. — CD 

Before I take a flight, I toss a few Dark Chocolate Nuts & Sea Salt Kind bars into my travel bag. The crunchy bars are gluten free and have just 5g of sugar. The perfect snack for a plane or hotel room. — MF 

I snack on nuts all day long. A couple of months ago I discovered Happy Belly nuts on Amazon. The price is good (a 44-ounce bag of cashews costs $23) and the nuts are fresh and tasty. — MF 

This simple French Chicken in a Pot recipe made the juiciest, most flavorful chicken I’ve ever cooked. It took me less than 2 hours to prep and make. I also had most of the ingredients on hand so all I had to buy was the chicken and some of the veggies which totaled around $10. As someone in the comments said, “It’s idiot-proof.” — CD

My wife is Armenian, and we have eaten a lot of Middle Eastern food over the years. We also like to cook Middle Eastern food. Here’s my go-to chicken kebab recipe. My mouth is watering as I type, remembering how great this is. I cook it over a charcoal grill. — MF

I love these white, blue-striped kitchen dishtowels. They’re $18 for a set of 13. They are 100% cotton, thick and absorbent. I just retired my former, coffee-stained set to the garage, and bought a new set. — MF

This wooden rolling pin ($20) comes with four pairs of discs that attach to either end, ensuring uniformly thick dough. We’ve used them for pizza, quiches, pies, and cookies and love the results. — MF

This OXO Good Grips Ground Meat Chopper ($12) quickly breaks up hamburger meat when making tacos or pasta sauce. Just chop away with the three fins until the ground beef is the way you like it. — MF 

I don’t deep fry food every day, but when I’m in the mood for some sweet potatoes fried in coconut or avocado oil, I am glad I have this $25 Fry Daddy deep fryer. It’s small so it doesn’t need a lot of oil and it heats up quickly. I keep the oil in the fryer and put the lid on once it has cooled down and use the same oil the next time I use it. — MF

This OXO Ice Cream Scoop ($13) makes serving dessert painless. The pointed scoop makes it easier to break into frozen ice cream and the eject trigger just drops it right in your bowl. I like to run it under warm water right before I scoop to soften the ice cream. — CD 

I came across Menagerie wine pourers/aerators at a winery and wish I would have bought more. They’re made from stainless steel and they definitely feel heavy and high-quality, but mostly they’re just really cute. They have almost 100 different creatures to choose from — animals and make-believe — I chose an octopus. – CD

I love drinking sparkling wine, but unless I have guests over it takes me 4-5 days to get through a bottle. I’ve tried a few different champagne stoppers, and this Fantes Champagne Stopper is the best designed. Others have broken or don’t seal as tight. Even on the fifth day, my champagne will still be bubbly. — CD 

One of my favorite hacks helps to quickly chill a bottle of bubbly — very useful when you are a dinner guest. Fully wet a paper towel, wrap it around the bottle, then place it in the freezer. In about 10-15 minutes, the paper towel should be hardened and the wine will be chilled. — CD

I’ve had the same lever-style bottle opener — like this one — for years now, and compared to the classic corkscrew or electric openers it’s definitely the easiest to use. I’m always surprised when I find that my friends and family don’t own one yet, so I’ve decided it’s what I’m gifting from now on. — CD