5 Tips to Make Hosting Easy and Fun

(Feature Impact) From celebratory parties to casual get-togethers, hosting is a wonderful way to bring people together, share laughs and make memories. Of course, planning and hosting can be quite a bit of work, so a little preparation can go a long way to ensure an enjoyable time for everyone, including the host.

Follow these tips from the hosting experts at Bravo, makers of eco-friendly, high-performance paper towels, to plan your next gathering so it goes off without a hitch.

Keep the Menu Simple

Naturally, you want to make sure your guests are well-fed and happy, but trying to achieve a Michelin-star rating in your home kitchen is usually just a recipe for stressing yourself out. If you’re serving a meal, stick to some tried-and-true crowd-pleasers you can make in your sleep. Cook or bake in advance as much as possible so you’ll have less to worry about on the day itself.

Let Guests Know What to Bring

Good houseguests often enjoy contributing something, so make it easy for them – and yourself – by letting them know how they can help. You could ask one person to bring snacks, another to pick up beverages and a third to cover dessert. Potluck-style lunches or dinners are a great way to make sure everyone has enough to eat and drink while taking the pressure off just one person’s shoulders.

Have a Backup Plan

In case you’re arranging an outdoor get-together, remember the weather can betray you. Keep alternative plans on standby in case you need to move the party indoors. Tidy up your living areas and ensure there is enough seating for everyone attending. It doesn’t hurt to have indoor-friendly entertainment options available too – often, people are content to just sit and chat with one another, but depending on the crowd, classic party games can still be a hit.

Set Up Kids’ Zones

If you’ll be welcoming children to your home, provide one or two dedicated areas where they can safely play and enjoy themselves away from the rest of the action. Having an assortment of toys, games, coloring books, chalk, bubble wands and other sources of kid-friendly fun makes it easy for the whole family to have a great time.

Make Prep and Cleanup a Breeze

Keeping quality cleaning supplies on hand like Bravo paper towels means you can quickly wipe up spills and messes while you’re prepping. Then, after your guests depart, the strong, absorbent sheets make it easy to get your countertops sparkling again. They’re made with 75% curbside recycled paper and cardboard, making them sustainable-household-approved. Use them with water or your go-to cleaning solution before enjoying some well-deserved post-hosting relaxation in your fresh, clean home.

“Hosting can put paper towels to work, from quick countertop wipes to stuck-on foods and bigger cleanup jobs,” said chef and lifestyle expert Jamie Gwen. “Bravo has a clothlike feel that is soft on your hands, but it is still durable enough for scrubbing and strong enough to rinse and reuse.”

Find more smart cleaning tips at BravoTowel.com.

SOURCE:
Bravo

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How One Sweet Fruit Packs a Powerful Nutritional Punch

(Feature Impact) Consumers today are looking for foods that do more than simply taste good; they want foods that deliver nutrition in every bite. As conversations around nutrient-dense eating continue to grow, fresh fruit has become one of the simplest ways to add naturally occurring vitamins and minerals to everyday routines.

Kiwifruit is a standout example. According to the International Fresh Produce Association, kiwifruit climbed to No. 14 among the nation’s top-selling fresh fruits with household purchasing increasing 20%. What’s more, it’s now the fastest-growing fruit in the fruit bowl as more shoppers discover its unique combination of exceptional nutrition and naturally sweet flavor.

That success story has been more than a century in the making.

From Ancient Origins to Modern Favorite

Although many people associate kiwifruit with New Zealand, its story began in China’s Yangtze River Valley. In 1904, New Zealand educator Isabel Fraser returned home from China with green kiwifruit seeds, which she passed along to horticulturist Alexander Allison. Over the following decades, growers cultivated and refined the fruit, helping establish New Zealand as the world’s leading kiwifruit producer.

By the 1990s, years of natural breeding and cross-pollination led to the development of the first commercially successful yellow-fleshed kiwifruit, offering consumers a sweeter flavor and vibrant golden flesh. When a devastating vine disease threatened orchards worldwide in 2010, continued breeding innovation led to the development of Zespri SunGold Kiwifruit – a resilient variety with smooth skin, juicy golden flesh and a tropical-sweet flavor that helped revitalize the category.

Jam-Packed With Nutrition

Today, kiwifruit is recognized as one of the most nutrient-dense fruits available, making it an easy choice for people looking to get more nutritional value from the foods they eat. They provide more than 10 vitamins and minerals in every serving, including vitamin C to contribute to the normal function of the immune system, folate to support healthy cell growth and development and vitamin E to help protect cells from everyday damage.

“When people think about eating healthier, they often assume it has to be complicated,” registered dietitian Nisha Melvani said. “I encourage people to start with simple, whole foods that naturally deliver a variety of nutrients. Zespri SunGold Kiwifruit is an easy choice because it provides more than 10 vitamins and minerals, including 100% of your daily vitamin C needs, in one delicious fruit that fits seamlessly into breakfast, snacks or even dessert.”

From Orchard to Everyday Favorite

As more consumers embrace whole foods over complicated nutrition trends, kiwis are finding their way into everyday routines – and pop culture. Creators including Emma Chamberlain and musician Josh Conway have highlighted the fruit as part of their daily snacking habits, while “Good Housekeeping” featured golden kiwifruit in its 2025 Best Produce Snacks of the Year, highlighting its naturally sweet flavor, juicy texture and broad appeal.

Whether enjoyed on its own, added to smoothies, layered onto yogurt or incorporated into savory dishes, kiwifruit offers a simple, delicious way to enjoy more nutrition throughout the day. One easy place to start is this Nut Butter and Kiwifruit Toast, which combines wholesome ingredients with the sweet tropical flavor of Zespri SunGold Kiwifruit for a satisfying breakfast, snack or light meal.

Discover more fresh recipes, nutrition insights and delicious ways to enjoy kiwifruit at Zespri.com and see why one of today’s fastest-growing fruits is earning a permanent place in more fruit bowls.

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Nut Butter and Kiwifruit Toast

Nut Butter:

• 1       cup roasted nuts (almonds, cashews, hazelnuts or pecans)
  
• sunflower oil
  
• 1/4    teaspoon salt
  
• 1       tablespoon seeds (chia, sunflower or hemp)

• 2       slices sprouted grain bread, toasted
• 1       Zespri SunGold Kiwifruit, sliced

1. To make nut butter: In food processor, blend nuts at high speed until finely ground. Scrape sides of blender. Add few drizzles of sunflower oil, salt and seeds; blend until creamy. Transfer to jar and store up to 1 week in refrigerator.
2. Spread nut butter onto toasted bread and top with slices of kiwi.

SOURCE:
Zespri

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(Tiffany Miller) There is a container in your fridge right now. You know the one. It has been there since Tuesday, quietly waiting for its moment. It’s not coming. By Sunday, you will throw it out with a small, familiar sense of guilt. According to new research from Frigidaire, this cycle is basically the national experience.

Americans have good intentions when it comes to leftovers—at least in theory. Eighty-six percent say they love or like them, and half say they sometimes enjoy leftovers more than the original meal. One in three Americans even proudly calls themself a “Leftover Legend,” the type who genuinely believes yesterday’s meal is tomorrow’s treasure.

Yet, leftovers are still getting left behind. Nearly 3 in 4 U.S. adults (74%) say their leftovers are thrown away at least once a week. According to the USDA, the average American family of four loses $1,500 each year to uneaten food.

What’s more, 9 in 10 Americans (90%) say they have chosen takeout, delivery or a drive-through even though a perfectly good meal was waiting at home. Fifty-eight percent of Americans have ordered delivery while leftovers sat 10 feet away. They looked at their fridge, considered what was inside, and made other plans anyway.

More than half of Americans (52%) say the number one reason they throw out leftovers is simple: They forgot. What gets pushed to the back of the fridge—behind condiments and half-empty jars—effectively disappears. This then leads to the second leading cause for tossing leftovers: 40% of Americans say they do this because they worry about food safety or freshness, which can be driven by confusion around food date labels. Out of sight, out of mind, out of the fridge and into the trash.

When waste starts to feel personal

The disconnect is striking, especially as Americans overwhelmingly say their motivation for saving leftovers is rooted in smart, intentional habits, like trying to avoid food waste (64%) and saving money (52%). Four in 10 even say finishing leftovers feels more rewarding than cooking a brand-new meal from scratch or ordering takeout.

Yet, food still gets forgotten and thrown out, often leaving consumers feeling guilty—and lately, that guilt feels more expensive. With grocery bills and restaurant tabs climbing, 70% say food waste now feels more frustrating or guilt-inducing than it used to.

Helping leftovers finally get their moment

So what actually helps turn intention into action? Visibility, in part. More than a third of Americans (37%) say better fridge organization and simply being able to see what is in there would do more to reduce leftover waste than anything else. But remembering leftovers is only half the battle. The next challenge is what to do with them.

New AI tools are starting to close that gap, helping people turn what’s already in their fridge into meals they actually want, with recipe ideas and step-by-step guidance based on what they have on hand. The goal is to make leftovers easier to use before they become another container pushed to the back of the fridge.

Because when leftovers are visible, and even a little inspiring, they get eaten.

Methodology

Ruder Finn, on behalf of Frigidaire, commissioned Atomik Research to conduct an online survey of 2,000 adults throughout the United States. The margin of error is +/- 2 percentage points with a confidence level of 95%. Fieldwork took place between March 20 and March 24, 2026. Atomik Research, part of 4media group, is a creative market research agency.

SOURCE:

Frigidaire

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