Saturday, January 10, 2026 |
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The question hanging over food in 2026 isn't just what we eat, but what happens when we don't really want to eat at all. GLP-1 weight-loss drugs have gone from fringe to almost mainstream, creating a small but powerful "Ozempic generation" whose hunger is dulled, food noise quietened and meals reduced to something closer to nutritional admin. Marks & Spencer's new nutrient-dense range leans into that reality head-on, with compact salads, grain bowls and protein-heavy bits designed for people who are eating less, more slowly and often without much enthusiasm. Layer that over a new junk food advertising ban – already reshaping those eerily wholesome Christmas ad breaks – and you've got a food landscape being quietly rewired by drugs and regulation rather than appetite.
Of course, a dulled appetite is not most people's problem in January – guilt is. This is the month when we're told dinner should resemble penance: beige, worthy, a bit like eating an Excel spreadsheet. So I've pulled together the opposite: healthy recipes with actual swagger from Jamie Oliver, Joe Wicks, Tom Kerridge, Nathan Anthony, Dr Rupy Aujla, Emily English, Gigi Grassia and Christina Kynigos. Think fried cheese with jammy berries, Thai-style curries, air-fried fried chicken, Guinness pie, protein-packed pastas and brownies that don't taste like homework. It's a reminder that eating well doesn't have to mean eating miserably, even now.
If your idea of comfort skews more brothy than brownie, TikTok's latest fixation might already be on your For You page: "brothy rice". Under the hashtag-friendly name is something far older and deeper – the centuries-long tradition of rice-and-soup bowls from across Asia and beyond. Filipino arroz caldo, Vietnamese cơm chan canh, Thai khao tom, Chinese congee, Spanish arroz caldoso: food for when you're cold, skint, hungover or just need a bowl that feels like a blanket. We dig into the history and share two simple recipes from Farang's Sebby Holmes to prove why this spoonable staple deserves a permanent place in your winter rotation.
And because not all comfort comes in a bowl, we're also heading to Nobu – via Princess Diana, Cindy Crawford and a nearly-missed partnership with Robert De Niro. In a brilliantly nostalgic interview, Lauren Taylor sits down with Nobuyuki "Nobu" Matsuhisa to talk black cod with miso, rock shrimp tempura, "Cindy Rice" and the fire in Alaska that almost ended his career before it began. It's a story about grief, graft and reinvention, but also about the quiet joy of watching people eat – his real "Michelin star", as he puts it – plus a few restaurant recipes if you fancy bringing a little Nobu-style glamour to your own kitchen.
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How do you feed people who aren't hungry? |
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As M&S launches a nutrient-dense range designed for GLP-1 users, Britain's relationship with appetite is being quietly rewired, says Hannah Twiggs. From Ozempic menus to functional food, hunger is no longer the organising principle it once was – and 2026 may be the year that becomes impossible to ignore
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Christmas 2025 slipped past with a quiet but telling shift. Between the usual festive excess, television ad breaks looked different: fewer burgers and chocolates, more apples, carrots and "everyday" food. Not because Britain has suddenly turned virtuous, but because broadcasters had already begun adapting to the junk food advertising ban that came into force this week. Regulation, not appetite, was doing the heavy lifting.
This follows a year of near-constant contradiction, one where wellness and indulgence didn't take turns so much as talk over each other. No- and low-alcohol went mainstream just as Gen Z, once held up as the sober generation, began drinking at higher rates than those before them. Fibre was rediscovered and protein shrugged off years of heart-health suspicion to roar back onto the table. Ultra-processed food was cast as the great dietary villain of the age, yet "posh" ready meals, from luxury lasagnes to £195 beef Wellingtons, dominated headlines towards the end of the year.
At the same time, indulgence didn't retreat: American dining is firmly back on trend, with more US imports set to open here this year, maximalist comfort food thriving alongside functional snacks and mini portions. The result was less a clean shift than a cultural pile-up; a kind of low-level food schizophrenia that made it hard to pin down what, exactly, Britain was meant to be eating or drinking at any given moment.
But one of the biggest food stories of 2025 was the rise of weight-loss drugs, which have become almost mainstream. Which brings us neatly to Marks & Spencer. This week, the supermarket launched a new "nutrient-dense" food range explicitly designed for people using GLP-1 weight-loss drugs – medications that suppress appetite and slow digestion, making eating feel optional rather than urgent.
There's no coyness in the language. "We know the use of GLP-1 medications is growing, so it's more important than ever to ensure that even if people are eating smaller portions, we help provide them with the right level of nutrients," said Annette Peters, head of food innovations. "We have challenged ourselves to make products that are denser in nutrients than calories, so every single mouthful is packed full of more of the good stuff we all need."
Read the full article here
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| Healthy in One by Meg Robinson |
Healthy in One by Meg Robinson is a brilliantly practical cookbook that turns healthy eating into something you actually want to cook. Packed with craveable, high-protein, low-calorie dishes you can make in one pot, pan or tray, every recipe comes with macros, calorie counts and tracking barcodes to make fitness goals feel doable rather than dull. From smash tacos to comfort food favourites made lighter, this is health without the stress.
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