19 Products That Promote Health and Wellness

Trying to cut back on coffee? Our team leader, Lauren Friedman, swears by this bold blend of Irish black tea and says it offers a pick-me-up close to that of coffee. It brews quickly, too, and is strong enough that you’ll probably want to add at least a dash of milk.

Our food editor, Trisha Calvo, loves this brand of fruit preserves. They’re made with no added sugars, and Trisha says you don’t miss it: “The sweet flavor of the fruit comes out rather than just tasting sugar.” The preserves are great on toast, swirled into yogurt, on a cheeseboard, or as the J in a PB&J. The trio set, with strawberry, blueberry, and peach flavors, makes a perfect gift.

These days I never pass up an opportunity to evangelize about heirloom beans. During the first year of the pandemic, my partner expressed a desire to learn how to better use beans in cooking. I’d grown up eating my mom’s ham and bean soup, but I didn’t know much beyond that, and my research led me to Rancho Gordo, a purveyor of heirloom beans. I ordered him a gift set that included a book on heirloom beans and recipes for each variety, and from then on we were hooked. You can absolutely tell that these are superior to grocery store beans both in taste and texture. If the idea of cooking beans from scratch makes you balk, the Rancho Gordo method demystifies the process, turning boiling beans into a positively meditative practice. I’ve found that these beans cook a lot faster than grocery store dry beans, too. (There’s no need to soak them beforehand either!) The bean guide included in this gift set has plenty of tips and tricks, plus lots of unfussy recipes that let the beans shine.

It’s the season for diligent hand-washing, but even though respiratory viruses abound during winter, antibacterial soaps are not necessary or recommended. A good scrub is all you need, so you may as well pick a soap that you love. I recommend this one, which comes from a lavender farm just down the road from where my parents live in Maine. Ever since my mom gave me a bottle of this liquid hand soap for Christmas a few years ago, I have been obsessed, and I absolutely refuse to put any other kind of hand soap in my bathroom. The texture is gentle and elegant, and I cannot get enough of my preferred scent, lemongrass and lavender. I also like that the products come in glass containers so that when I order refills, I don’t feel as if I’m wasting a ton of plastic.

This absorbent cushion yoga mat offers a nice balance of features, with a good amount of cushioning, very grippy top and bottom surfaces, and a quick drying time, according to CR’s tests. It comes with a carrying strap, so you can easily tote it to class. It’s also significantly less expensive than many other absorbent cushion yoga mats.

This L.L.Bean set ranks near the top of our ratings for bed sheets. They’re also a significant savings and a great value compared with our very top scorer. They’re soft, earn top marks for durability, and provide a nice fit for your mattress. 

For people who struggle with waking up in the early morning, the shorter days of winter can be a challenge, even when daylight saving time isn’t in effect. A sunrise alarm clock employs the power of light to trigger your circadian system into waking you up gently. The JALL model we evaluated earned high marks for how easy it is to set up and use, and for its many features. Bonus: It costs less than half as much as some other models.

This unassuming mask proved to be our editors’ top choice in our evaluation of sleep masks. It blocks light effectively for a variety of head shapes, feels comfortable on the face, and is easy to adjust.

Mushrooms are packed with health benefits. And growing them with this North Spore mushroom kit requires just a spritz of water. In our evaluation, it took eight days for them to start growing and two additional days before the blue oyster mushrooms were ready to harvest. Our taste testers deemed the resulting fungi to be juicy.

Our evaluators found this tabletop garden device to be especially easy to set up and take care of, a plus for folks without the greenest of thumbs. Its capacity is small, just three plants at a time. But even that can make a good introduction for folks looking to get started growing their own leafy greens at home.

Wish a friend bon voyage with something sweet so that they’re not tempted by overpriced plane snacks. As our testing has revealed, dark chocolate can be contaminated with heavy metals. This Taza bar is one of the safer choices and makes a great gift for anyone on your list with a love for chocolate.